Submission to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future
Generations) Bill 2026
Submitted by:
Director I Occupational Therapist
29th May 2026
Title: Protecting Early Intervention and Participation Outcomes for Children in
Regional Communities
Thank you for the opportunity to provide feedback regarding the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026.
I am a paediatric Occupational Therapist and owner of
- • a small private practice based in the Shoalhaven region of New South Wales. I work directly with children, families, schools, preschools and community services across clinic, school and community settings. The majority of children I support are NDIS participants with autism, ADHD, developmental delay, intellectual disability and complex sensory, emotional and functional needs.
I understand the need to ensure the long-term sustainability of the NDIS. However, I am concerned about the practical impacts these changes may have on children, families and services, particularly in regional communities where alternative supports are already limited.
Concerns Regarding Access to Early Intervention
Many of the children I support would not be considered severely disabled by traditional measures, yet they experience significant challenges participating in everyday life.
These children may struggle to attend school consistently, form friendships, regulate emotions, manage self-care tasks, participate in community activities or cope with the demands of daily life. Early intervention often prevents these difficulties from becoming more significant and costly over time.
I am concerned that a narrower interpretation of eligibility may reduce access to supports for children who would benefit most from early intervention. Once difficulties become entrenched, they are often far more difficult and expensive to address.
From a clinical perspective, it is generally preferable to support a child before they disengage from education, develop significant mental health concerns or require crisis intervention.
Reliance on Alternative Systems
The proposed reforms place greater emphasis on children accessing support through mainstream services, education systems, health services and family supports. While this may be reasonable in principle, it does not reflect the reality currently experienced by many families in regional communities.
In the Shoalhaven, families already face long waitlists for public health services, limited access to specialist paediatric services, workforce shortages across allied health professions, significant travel requirements, and limited availability of school-based supports.
At the same time, schools, preschools and early childhood services are supporting increasing numbers of children with complex developmental, behavioural, sensory and emotional regulation needs. Many are also supporting children who have experienced trauma, adversity and significant family stress. In the Shoalhaven, services are working with a high number of vulnerable children and families, including a large Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. In my own practice, two local childcare centres have recently sought occupational therapy consultation and staff training to help educators respond to the growing complexity of children’s needs. This reflects what I am hearing across the sector: educators want to help, but many are already stretched by the increasing demands placed upon them.
Educators consistently report feeling stretched, overwhelmed and under-resourced. The issue is not a lack of willingness to support children. Rather, many services are already operating at capacity. Without significant investment in education, early childhood and community support systems, there is a risk that responsibility will simply be shifted from one strained system to another.
The success of any transition away from NDIS-funded supports depends on alternative services being available, adequately funded and operational before access pathways change. Without this, children may lose access to support without having a genuine alternative available.
Impact on Families
Families are already navigating complex systems while supporting children with significant developmental, behavioural and emotional needs.
Many parents spend substantial time coordinating appointments, advocating within schools, managing behavioural challenges and supporting their child’s daily functioning.
If access to supports becomes more difficult, families are likely to experience increased stress and greater administrative burden.
I am particularly concerned about families who have limited financial resources, lower health literacy, limited advocacy capacity or who are already experiencing significant caregiver fatigue.
These families may be disproportionately affected by any increase in complexity or barriers to accessing support.
Functional Capacity and Reassessment Concerns
The proposed focus on functional capacity may have benefits if implemented thoughtfully. However, there are practical concerns regarding how reassessments and evidence gathering will occur.
In many regions there are already lengthy wait times for paediatricians, psychologists and allied health professionals.
If more frequent reassessments or additional evidence requirements are introduced, families may face delays obtaining the documentation required to access supports.
This may unintentionally create bottlenecks throughout the system and divert clinician time away from direct intervention.
Neurodivergent Children and Developmental Delay
Many neurodivergent children do not fit neatly into categories of mild or severe disability.
A child may have average intelligence yet experience profound challenges with emotional regulation, school participation, executive functioning, self-care, sensory processing or social relationships.
These children often require support precisely because their difficulties are less visible.
I am concerned that eligibility decisions based on narrow interpretations of functional capacity may fail to capture the cumulative impact these challenges have on daily life, family functioning and long-term outcomes. Impact on Schools and Communities
When therapy and family supports are reduced, the impact is often transferred elsewhere.
Schools frequently become the service of last resort.
Teachers and school support staff are already managing increasing complexity in classrooms. Reduced access to therapy is likely to increase pressure on education systems that are similarly experiencing workforce and resource constraints.
Without appropriate support, children may experience reduced attendance, increased behavioural challenges, disengagement from learning and poorer educational outcomes.
These impacts are unlikely to be confined to individual families and may be felt across entire school communities.
Impact on Regional Providers
Small regional practices play an important role in ensuring children can access support close to home.
Many private practices operate with significant workforce challenges, rising operational costs and increasing administrative requirements.
Any reforms that substantially reduce access to funded supports without a clear and funded alternative pathway may affect the viability of regional providers.
If services close or reduce staffing, workforce capacity may be lost permanently from communities that already struggle to recruit and retain clinicians.
Rebuilding this workforce would take many years.
Conclusion
The long-term sustainability of the NDIS is important and necessary. However, sustainability should not be achieved by reducing access to effective early intervention without ensuring alternative supports are genuinely available.
Children and families need clarity, continuity and confidence that support will remain available when required.
From a frontline perspective, the greatest risk is not the intent of the reforms but the possibility of implementation occurring before replacement systems are adequately established.
Recommendations
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Ensure foundational and mainstream supports are fully funded, operational and accessible before any reduction in NDIS access pathways occurs.
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Maintain access to early intervention supports for children with significant functional impacts, even where disability may not be considered severe.
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Ensure eligibility and reassessment processes remain practical and proportionate, particularly in regional and rural communities.
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Consider regional workforce shortages when designing implementation timelines and evidence requirements.
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Monitor the impact of reforms on school participation, family wellbeing and long- term developmental outcomes.
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Undertake ongoing consultation with families, disability advocates, clinicians, educators and regional service providers throughout implementation.
Thank you for considering this submission.