National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 2818
30 January 2026
Committee Chair
Community AƯairs Legislation Committee
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Dear Chair and Committee members
Re: National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future
Generations) Bill 2026
Thank you for your consideration and the opportunity to contribute to this consultation process.
I write as an NDIS participant, a concerned citizen and a professional well versed in human services.
I have some deep concerns about the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 and proposed changes to the NDIS recently outlined by Minister Butler and request that you reject this bill.
By way of background, I am a Social Worker and executive professional who has been employed full time since I was at university in 2002, with a short break in employment only for the birth and care of a child. I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis when I was in my early 20s, and am now near 48 years old. I joined the NDIS in August 2024 as after 20 years living with this disability, I have had to rely on support that I fortunately had not needed for most of my life to date. NDIS support has been a game changer for me with my current condition. It has enabled me to continue working and paying taxes through economic participation. Most of all, I can continue to contribute to the community where I have dedicated my whole career, and to contribute to our nation’s Social Work profession as an emerging leader. I would likely not be able to do so without this support, which is mainly around assistance with daily life and access to economic participation. As a person who seemingly has lower support needs and a relapsing remitting condition in MS, I am likely one of the people whose access will be revoked.
I can tell you though, that fatigue and balance mean I can no longer do the things I used to and the impact on mobility is significant. During the Summer months I become a prisoner to air conditioning and do not leave the house outside of work due to heat sensitivity. Let me elaborate, a heat sensitive disability means that I cannot walk or function if I feel hot. It is more than just discomfort.
I am also a long term social work professional with a sophisticated understanding of social policy and human service systems. I believe the modelling provided by Minister Butler at his recent National Press Club address was flawed and did not reflect the figures published by the NDIA. I am aware a Freedom of Information submission has been made by disability advocates.
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 2818
I am deeply concerned about the implications of the amendment and cuts on people with disability, some of the most vulnerable in society. I am also concerned about Minister Butler’s comments on the role of the judiciary, which has a clear role in ensuring Government enacts and follows laws. And finally, I am concerned about the attack on the workforce, with industry peak body National Disability Services estimating the proposed cuts to equate to 204,000 FTE positions nationally.
Returning to my situation, without the NDIS, it is unlikely that I would be able to sustain work, which is key to my identity and fulfillment, and enables me to meaningfully contribute to society and to my profession. It enables me to contribute to our community, broader society and our country. It allows me to pay taxes and without these supports, I will be at risk of relying on a disability support pension. I imagine this is an unintended undesirable outcome that would result in a greater expense to taxpayers.
Though I have only had NDIS supports in place for 1.5 years, it has made a significant diƯerence and I am now finally considering my options for PHD candidature and a part time role teaching at university level, even amongst full time work and young children. I request that you reject this bill and ensure conditions such as MS be adequately considered due to their relapsing remitting nature. That is that seemingly lower level supports be retained (which incidentally were always part of the original intent of NDIS - that’s what early intervention is when applied to someone over 9 years old like me, to avoid the need for higher level support in the future.
In addition, I implore you not to support this blatant attack on people with disability, and on one of our nation’s most significant social service systems. There are certainly other ways to gain savings or contributions to the budget than this dismantling and destruction of services for the vulnerable, services for citizens of this country. The NDIS simply has less fraud than our taxation system, and it would be ludicrous to shut down part of the employment system for part of the workforce in order to reduce the cost of fraud. And the same can be said of the large amount of fraud in the Medicare system. Would you remove certain people’s healthcare to stop fraud and for budget savings? Indeed, the cuts to the NDIS, no matter how they are framed, are a dangerous step for our country in what they mean for citizen support in general. If you can attack people with disability, others will have no hope.
I urge the Government to reject this bill and to do the right thing for Australia.
If you need any further information, please don’t hesitate to contact me, and thanks again for the opportunity to contribute to this matter.
Yours sincerely,