National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 2833
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future
Generations) Bill 2026
As the partner of someone diagnosed with Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) it is hard to explain why NDIS is required. Over a short encounter they appear to be able to function at a normal level, when in fact a large portion of the time their function is well below what would be deemed acceptable, and also varies depending on previous activities that have been taken. Many doctors and specialists have made assessments which have shown this inadequate functional capacity, but this is not visible during a standard assessment, and would only be visible over multiple days or weeks.
This is only one personal anecdote, but many disabled people that require support to live a normal life face similar situtations that the changes to the Bill does not adequately account for.
Schedule 1 Using a standardised test for functional capacity does not allow for individual conditions to be properly accessed, and by excluding relevant experts that have knowledge of the relevant conditions, many situtations are overlooked as not being relevant even though all aspects factor into how a person is able function in their life.
Requiring the impairment to be permanent means that people that have varying capacity day to day, week to week, or year to year, would not qualify for support when the reality is that without the support at their lowest level of capacity, they would not be able to function at a normal level when their capacity has increased above what the tests deem acceptable.
Other people who are only temporarily impaired may not have access to the help they need during impairment, meaning that although the impairment is not technically permanent, in practical terms it becomes permanent due to being unable to access means of recovery, or being unable to have normal functional capacity for a long period of time during their recovery.