National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 2648
Submission to the Senate Committee on the NDIS Bill ‘Securing the NDIS for Future
Generations’
Submission by
I give permission that this submission can be published anonymously.
I am a mother of a 28 year old young man with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) He has been a recipient of NDIS supports since 2018. The proposed changes to this Bill will have an impact on his life. I am also a retired nurse and I can think of many individuals that will face untold harm from this Bill.
The NDIS has meant that my son has been able to live his life his way. This has been possible because the original intention of the NDIS was 1. Choice and Control 2. Individualised Supports 3. Inclusion and participation 4. Personal Rights, Dignity and Independence. This new Bill does not address any of these meaningful goals, it looks like a Balance Sheet that has to be reduced no matter the consequences on those who require the care and support. The proposed changes are causing anxiety and a deterioration in mental health to many participants, their families and carers as well as the many people employed within the sector.
I agree that there are gaps within the system which need to be plugged! The number of fraudulent claims and abuses of the system is a problem but, these are being perpetuated by a few rather than the majority of the participants of the scheme. Yet, this new legislation will affect everyone on the NDIS and those who will need supports in the future.
The need for a sustainable long term system is without question but, the changes proposed will cause a lot of harm to a lot of people. I fear that some dollars may be saved in the NDIS budget but there will be significant impact on the budgets of the Health, Social Services, Judiciary and Corrections departments as a direct result of unmet needs to individuals with disabilities. I have grave concerns for many of the most vulnerable people in our society and for the families and carers who support them.
In my son’s case much of his plan includes Social and Community Access. The thought that the amount allotted to this will just be cut by 50% even though it has been deemed as ‘reasonable and necessary’ to participate and engage in the local community is beyond belief. An example of how we use this funding is so that he can attend Tutti Arts, he is part of Quirkestra and Tutti Choir he has performed with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Adelaide Fringe Festival. He has an enormous sense of achievement because he has had the opportunity to be part of this organisation. This adds to his total wellbeing. It also means that he has met people who he would probably never had the opportunity to meet in normal circumstances. We also use this funding for him to be out in the community doing activities that are of interest to him and not have his mother tagging along with him. He likes to go for walks in an attempt to keep him fit, what will happen if he is not this active? He will sit in front of a computer and have the increased risks of a sedentary lifestyle. You may say that he doesn’t need to have a Support Worker for him to have a walk but the fact is, that it would be unsafe for him to do this by himself. He has little concept of road safety
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 2648
or how to read people who may want to cause him harm or ridicule him. There are many people who know him and are accepting of his quirks which are part of his disability. A local bookshop has put an armchair in a corner as a result of him spreading himself across the floor when looking at their books. I’m sure there are many people who benefit from this chair being available.
What happens when we remove this funding? Do we revert back to the dark days of the past when people with disabilities were left at home not to be seen or heard? Are we going to invest in large scale institutions because that model of care costs less?
I am also very concerned of the Powers that will be afforded to the Minister without having to be transparent and accountable to parliament or to the people who will be impacted by the decisions made. It is disturbing that any politician would have this amount of power.
Another area of concern is that Plan suspension and revocation can happen without the recipient even knowing about it and all because the agency has made ‘reasonable attempts’ to contact them. There is no definition of what this term means!! The timeframe that this can be implemented is very limited, there are many plausible reasons that someone may not be able to be contacted.
No surprise that many people including myself are concerned about the unscheduled reassessment rules and the loss of review rights.
The suggestion that there would be an introduction of automated decisions and algorithms with no individual appeal process is staggering. It smacks of robodebt but then, no one has ever been held accountable for that fiasco despite the anxiety, heartbreak and loss of life that cost. This must be reconsidered.
This is a few of the proposed changes which I am particularly worried about. I will admit I have not had the time or energy to read the full proposal. The short timeframe to even make this submission is questionable. Many of these changes seem ill conceived and damaging. There appears to have been no consultation with people with a disability, their advocates or others who are involved in the disability sector. It reads like a cost saving exercise which hurts the participants rather than closing the loopholes that allow the exploitation to happen. I ask that this Bill be delayed until many areas are addressed that have safeguards for the participants are assured.