Submission 290
Date: 27th May 2026
Submission to the Senate Community Affairs Committee – NDIS Future
Generation Bill
Submitted by Thrive Rehab Pty Ltd
My name is Anita Brown-Major, Director of Thrive Rehab Pty Ltd and an Occupational Therapist with 27 years of experience. For 20 years I worked within the public health system and for the past 10 years I have worked within the NDIS as a private provider.
Across my career, I have seen firsthand the life-changing impact the NDIS has had for people with disability, their families, and the wider community. The NDIS has allowed people with significant disabilities to avoid premature placement in nursing homes, remain connected to their communities, participate in work and education, and live with dignity and choice. It has also enabled people with disabilities as well as their carers and/or family members to return to work, improving both wellbeing and economic participation.
At Thrive Rehab, we currently employ 12 staff, including 10 Occupational Therapists, an Allied Health Assistant and one Disability Educator. We primarily support people with mental health conditions, neurodivergence, and complex psychosocial needs, alongside some physical disability support. We support a large LGBTQIA+ community through trusted word-of-mouth referrals and contribute to broader community health education. For many of our participants, trust in healthcare systems has been hard-earned and fragile.
Our practice is not driven by profit. Like many small, allied health providers, we regularly provide unpaid work because we care deeply about the people we support and the outcomes we see when people are given the right supports.
Areas of concern about the proposed NDIA legislation
We are deeply concerned;
- that the proposed reforms risk creating greater barriers for the very people the Scheme was designed to support. Many of our clients already experience enormous difficulties engaging with systems due to trauma, cognitive disability, psychosocial disability,
Submission 290
communication barriers, executive functioning challenges, or periods of crisis. Increasing administrative processes, stricter timelines, automated decision making, and reduced flexibility are likely to disproportionately harm participants with the highest support needs.
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with the bill’s proposed reduction in community supports, which are essential for many people with disabilities to remain connected, safe, independent, and well. Many of the people we work with rely on support workers to attend medical appointments, access community activities, maintain social connection, shop for essentials, engage in exercise, or safely leave their homes. Without these supports, people are at significant risk of becoming isolated, physically unwell, and experiencing worsening mental health. These supports are not luxuries — they are fundamental to participation, wellbeing, and safety.
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that the proposal will reduce trained clinical human involvement in planning and review processes. As therapists we often spend many hours building rapport with participants before meaningful assessment can even begin. Reports are completed with great care and detail, yet clinicians are increasingly seeing plans approved that do not reflect participants’ actual support needs. In some cases, essential and life-sustaining supports have been reduced while funding has been allocated to supports that were never requested or clinically recommended.
These are not abstract policy concerns. They have real human consequences.
Recommendations
We strongly support Occupational Therapy Australia’s recommendations, including:
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ensuring Occupational Therapists are involved in NDIA assessment processes;
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protecting access to therapy supports;
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slowing implementation of reforms to allow meaningful consultation and co- design;
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ensuring safe and clinically informed assessment processes; and
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establishing independent monitoring and review processes during rollout.
Submission 290