National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 2835
Submission to the Senate Inquiry: NDIS Amendment (Securing the Future) Bill 2026
I welcome the opportunity to provide a submission on the proposed amendments to secure the future of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
I acknowledge the best intent of the reform of the NDIS, but ask that it must begin from a balanced and accurate premise. As Minister for the NDIS, Jenny McAllister, has noted, “the vast majority of NDIS providers are outstanding organisations.” This important context has largely been missing from an imbalanced public discourse. I urge that all further work and messaging about these reforms be guided by people from disability communities to avoid that domination of the narratives of fraud and system failure. The NDIS has delivered life-changing outcomes for many Australians – participants and their families, friends and carers. Those stories have been lost in the negative messaging around a broken system. We’d like to see these gains upheld in a way that dignifies rather than dehumanises people with disability. Government has a huge say in how the story of these reforms is told and needs to take that responsibility seriously.
This imbalance risks undermining trust in a scheme that has delivered life-changing outcomes for many Australians. It also contributes to the dehumanising framing of people with disability (PWD) as a homogenous group, rather than as individuals with diverse needs, aspirations, and rights.
Part of the problem in that narrative is the mis-portrayal of the role of essential supports for social and community participation. Supports that enable social and community participation are not discretionary extras—they are fundamental to wellbeing, inclusion, and dignity. We all expect those and now most Australians expect that they are available to all, including people with disability.
- Any reduction in these supports must be clearly evidence-based.
- Alternatives must be co-designed with people with disability.
- No participant should lose access to supports without a fully funded and accessible alternative already in place. I’m most afraid for the isolation this will place many NDIS participants under.
Tightening eligibility without strengthening mainstream services risks leaving people without the supports they need. The social and health impacts of that will ultimately be borne in other budgets and those flow on costs must be considered now as the reforms are negotiated.
Take care that reforms target the real drivers of cost growth
Concerns raised by friends and family working within the sector highlight the need for reforms to focus on the actual drivers of cost growth, rather than placing additional restrictions on participants’ everyday supports. Please ensure that policy responses don’t inadvertently penalise individuals for systemic issues. Care also needs to be taken to keep a diversity of providers in the NDIS scheme.
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 2835We haven’t seen anywhere near the planning and engagement needed to safeguard the workforce and provider diversity in the NDIS. There are huge impacts unfolding right now in the NDIS workforce due to the fear and uncertainty the proposed reforms have cracked open. It’s critical that government provides workforce transition supports – please don’t leave this too late.
The proposed reforms have significant implications for the NDIS workforce and provider landscape:
- Many workers in the sector—including parents of children with disability—have built flexible employment around NDIS service delivery. Careful planning is needed to manage any transition impacts.
- Smaller, registered not-for-profit providers are being stretched beyond their administrative capacity by complex and onerous registration processes.
- There is a real risk that high-quality small and medium providers will be forced to exit the scheme. The participants they support will suffer if the long-term relationship building providers have forged with participants are compromised by these changes.
To maintain a diverse and high-quality provider market:
- Registration processes must be proportionate to provider size and type,
- Administrative requirements must be streamlined and accessible, and
- Clear planning must be undertaken for workforce transition where changes affect demand.
In conclusion, the NDIS is a vital national reform that must be strengthened and not diminished. Most agree that sensible, evidence-based reform is necessary. However it must be done with care, grounded in co-design, and focused on protecting the rights, dignity, and everyday supports of people with disability.