National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 2741
I am an autistic NDIS participant. My partner and child (8yo) are also autistic, and are both NDIS participants. The NDIS is not a luxury for our family. It is the reason we are surviving (not thriving).
A few years ago, I experienced severe autistic burnout after years of trying to work, parent, and manage disability without enough support. I became so unwell that I had to leave my job and was admitted to hospital. After leaving the hospital, I had to fight extremely hard to get the NDIS supports I needed. I didn’t have the energy for that fight, but I had no choice because I needed the support. Even now, I do not believe my supports fully meet my needs, and I’m on a “step down” plan, so the NDIS has put a timeframe on my capacity building and daily life supports.
I am deeply concerned about proposed changes that would allow supports for children to be considered a parental responsibility. My child is autistic and has previously experienced significant school refusal, communication difficulties, meltdowns, shutdowns, and challenges accessing the community. The supports he receives have helped him make enormous progress.
Those supports do not only help him. They help our entire family. Both of his parents are disabled. When my child’s support needs were not adequately met, it caused severe carer burnout for both me and my partner, and contributed to my own autistic burnout. If my child’s supports are reduced, it will not only affect him. It will affect me and my partner as well.
I am concerned that the bill does not adequately consider families where the parents are disabled themselves. If supports are removed because they are considered something a parent should provide, what happens when the parent is already struggling with their own disability?
I am also concerned about changes that would make it easier for people to lose access to the NDIS entirely, or have supports reduced. I am deeply concerned that people could lose access to supports before the proposed “foundational supports” are established and available. It is irresponsible to remove people from the NDIS or reduce their supports when there are no alternative services in place to meet their needs.
I am also very concerned about proposed changes to the disability definition and the prospect of increased reassessments. NDIS reviews are already stressful and often traumatising, requiring disabled people to repeatedly prove and document their impairments and limitations. The idea that people could be reassessed against a new measure or assessment tool that has not even been developed yet is alarming, especially when it’s already incredibly hard to get access to the NDIS in the first place. It creates uncertainty, undermines confidence in the system, and risks people losing essential supports based on criteria that have not been properly defined or scrutinised. Honestly, it will cost people their lives.
The government has said these changes are needed to reduce costs. However, disabled people should not carry the burden of fixing problems within the system. If there are concerns about fraud, poor quality providers, or wasteful spending, those issues should be
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 2741
The solution should not be reducing support for people who genuinely need it.
I am also concerned about the lack of transparency around these changes. Many disabled people, including autistic people and people with intellectual disabilities, need information in plain language and Easy Read formats to understand how proposed changes may affect them. People cannot meaningfully participate in decisions about their future if they do not understand what is happening.
I am frightened about what these changes could mean for my family. The NDIS has allowed us to survive, parent our child, participate in our community, and maintain some level of stability in our lives.
Reducing access to support will not make disability disappear. It will simply shift the burden onto disabled people, their families, hospitals, and already overwhelmed services.
I do not support this bill, and I urge the committee to reject this bill.