Psychosocial disability fluctuating functional impairment (Individual advocacy)

National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026

Submission 2566

Dear NDIA Consultation Team,

I am writing to oppose any proposed changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme that would reduce access or support for participants with psychosocial disability, particularly where disability is characterised by fluctuating or episodic functional impairment. These changes risk misaligning with the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (Cth), which provides for reasonable and necessary supports for people whose disability substantially reduces functional capacity in one or more major life activity domains.

1. Psychosocial disability is episodic and fluctuating in nature My psychosocial disability presents as variable and episodic impairment of functional capacity. Function is not stable or predictable, and depends on sensory load, cognitive demand, stress, and cumulative fatigue. This means I cannot reliably sustain independent functioning across time without ongoing support.

2. Shutdown states constitute functional impairment Shutdown states are a core expression of psychosocial disability involving episodic loss of functional capacity. During these episodes, there is a significant and time-bound inability to:

• initiate tasks
• sequence activities
• complete activities of daily living This impacts core NDIS functional domains including self-care, self-management, and social interaction. Although awareness and intent may remain, functional access to these domains is temporarily unavailable without external support.

3. Functional capacity is not stable – variability is the impairment Psychosocial disability in this context is defined by functional instability over time, not consistent presentation. Periods of activity are often followed by recovery phases where capacity is reduced or absent across multiple domains. Attempts to maintain activity beyond capacity result in:

• shutdown episodes of increased severity or duration
• loss of functioning across multiple life domains
• reduced ability to sustain daily living tasks over time This demonstrates that capacity cannot be understood as additive or reliably accessible.

4. Systemic risk: “good day bias” in assessment A key risk in NDIS decision-making is reliance on snapshot assessments of capacity. This creates a systemic “good day bias,” where temporary functioning is misinterpreted as sustained independence. This leads to:

• overestimation of functional capacity
• underestimation of recovery costs and collapse cycles
• misclassification of episodic disability as low support need

National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026

Submission 2566

This approach does not reflect real-world functional continuity requirements and is inconsistent with the intent of the NDIS Act.

5. Impact of excluding fluctuating disability If psychosocial disability is assessed primarily through point-in-time functioning, rather than functional capacity over time, the likely outcomes include:

• increased functional breakdown and crisis presentations

• reduced social and economic participation

• greater long-term system cost due to reactive rather than preventative support

• exclusion of participants whose disability is episodic rather than constant I request that any proposed reforms explicitly recognise that:

• psychosocial disability includes episodic and fluctuating functional impairment

• shutdown/freeze states constitute functional impairment under the NDIS framework

• functional capacity must be assessed over time, not via snapshot observation

• recovery costs and post-activity functional loss are valid aspects of disability impact

• reasonable and necessary supports may be required to maintain functional continuity Psychosocial disability must not be excluded or deprioritised due to variability in presentation. Doing so would misinterpret functional impairment and undermine the intent of the NDIS Act 2013 (Cth).

Thank you for your consideration.

Warmly,

Koryn Lloyd

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