Submission to the Senate Inquiry into National Disability Insurance Scheme
Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
27/5/2026
Committee Secretary
Senate Standing Committees on Community Affairs
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Dear Committee Members,
Background
My name is , I am 27 years old and I am a disabled woman with complex mental health conditions from Adelaide. I am a university student, disability advocate, visual artist and I volunteer in local community groups. I love being creative, being in nature and helping my community, like teaching others how to paint or sew.
I currently need support from other people 24/7, to ensure my safety and to help me participate in my community. Like many others who experience psychosocial disability, my support needs fluctuate for a variety of factors. My disabilities are often not obvious to outsiders, as I am able to communicate eloquently, but they still impact every part of my life. I rely on others for prompting for basic tasks, I am easily fatigued and I struggle to understand myself and what I need. Even with constant support, I am a safety risk to myself.
I depend on my NDIS supports to safely leave the house, to build my capacity to care for myself and to ensure that my mother, who is my sole carer, does not get burnt out while supporting me. Regular, consistent support workers who understand how to support me allow me to live my life, and regularly therapy helps me build my skills and find ways to adapt my life to my needs. I currently have a NDIS plan that is suitable for my needs, but in the past, inadequate NDIS supports have been a risk to my safety, leading to multiple hospitalisations and worsening of my mental health disabilities.
My Thoughts on National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS
for Future Generations) Bill 2026
I oppose the proposed National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 in its current form, as I think this Bill will risk the safety and welfare of disabled people. I am terrified for the impact this Bill will have on myself and my community, and I think this Bill could cause unintentional harm for myself and others. I ask that this government withdraw this Bill, and create another bill informed by the experiences of disabled people that address the concerns of the community.
Access and planning measures
Functional Capacity
I am concerned that the definition of functional capacity stated in the Bill ignores the day to day reality of disability. I think that any assessment of functional capacity must consider a person’s day to day living including the assistance that a person normally requires across a broad cross section of their life, and must specifically consider the impact of environmental and social factors. All rules must consider all the factors in a person’s life that affect a person’s need for NDIS supports, as these factors drastically change people’s experiences of disability. Multiple disabilities must be considered at once without needing to choose a primary disability, as different disabilities often interact in intertwined, complex ways that are impossible to separate.
My doctor and therapists agree that my disabilities are severe and complex, however in the past, this was not recognised as I wasn’t able to communicate the extent of my disabilities and I didn’t realise how much I relied on my mum’s tireless support. My disability is not isolated to my body, my support needs change drastically depending on my environment and the people around me. With my regular support workers, I have made significant progress in keeping myself safe, but too many unfamiliar support workers led to crisis requiring intervention from emergency services. I can not say what parts of my experience are because of my autism and what parts are due to my mental health conditions, like any human I am complex and do not fit neatly into discrete categories. Some aspects of my mental health disabilities are because of the neglect and discrimination I have experienced because of my autism. Some aspects of my autism are made worse by my mental health conditions. I can not receive adequate, safe supports if I am only understood in discrete, medicalised categories without considering environmental and social factors.
Minister’s Powers
I think that giving the Minister the power to reduce funding for a specified group of supports, even if the funding is reasonable and necessary, will have unintended consequences. I think that this goes against the idea of individualised funding and risks harming people unintentionally. There are areas of wasted money in the NDIS system that should be specifically targeted through careful co-design. Reducing necessary funding across the board without making considerations on a case by case basis risks causing harm to the people who are already struggling the most. For some people a slight reduction in funding will be catastrophic.
For me, a reduction in funding without careful consideration for my plan, my current circumstances and my environment would be dangerous. I will have to carefully consider what I can live without, possibly stop my plans to return to the workforce and my volunteering. I will likely become even more socially isolated. I have spent weeks where I have been unable to leave the house due to a lack of adequate support worker hours, and I have spent countless hours in emergency departments because I did not receive the funding for the therapy I require or for someone to help me navigate complex systems. I am scared that too big a cut to my funding could led back to those times, and led to a significantly increased risk to my safety. I also worry that a cut to my funding would lead to carer burnout for my my mum.
Appropriate Treatment
Needing to undertake all treatment options without considering an individual’s circumstances, and the alternative support requirements, ignores the reality of many disabilities and will disadvantage those who are already struggling the most in our society, such as those who live remotely and those who in poverty. Many medical facilities are not accessible for the disability community. What counts as appropriate treatment could change between practitioners, and even if a disability will improve with treatment, a person may still have a significant disability. Sometimes alternative disability supports outside the NDIS may look suitable on paper but may be completely unsuitable for an individual. It should be up to an individual and their professionals to decide if another support is more suitable. I think these sections of the Bill should not be included in the NDIS act.
My disability has fluctuated widely across my life, and looking at the permanence of my disability through a medical treatment lens ignores the functional impact of my disability and the complexity of people. I am unable to undertake treatment of one of my mental health conditions because of another one of my mental health conditions, and without heavily structured disability supports, I am unable to access any forms of healthcare. Current NDIS supports already poorly understand the nuance of my experiences with psychosocial disability, and I am scared that a stranger will look
through my records and make assumptions about whether my disabilities can be improved without understanding my individual situation. On paper, I should be able to access mental health supports through the health system, but in practice the health system does not have services suitable for Autistic people, and I often experience discrimination that worsens my mental health disabilities.
Fraud measures
Registration of providers must be made accessible to providers of all sizes when these rules are in practice. The reporting methods must be made more accessible, as the current process is overwhelming and often ineffective even when harm is occurring.
Some of my worst experiences of NDIS services have been with registered providers who, on paper, have done nothing legally wrong. Large registered providers often have their voices listened to more than disabled people, but they still cause harm. I have multiple providers I would like to make complaints about, but the complex nature of the current complaints process has made it too difficult for me to bother with. I am concerned that registration of providers is not enough to not reduce abuse and exploitation, I think that more recommendations from the Disability Royal Commission need to be followed for this to be truly effective. I also think that there needs to be increased collaboration between the disability community and the NDIS to reduce fraud, as we often know what providers are acting wrongly, but many times we are unable to do anything about it within the current system and rules. Processes to reduce fraud and harm must be collaborative with the disability community.
Governance arrangements
Automation of administrative action
I do not think that the automation of actions related to decisions and duties should be allowed. As the saying goes “if you’ve met one Autistic person, you’ve met one Autistic person,” – everyone with disability is unique with unique support requirements, and attempts to standardise processes will unintentionally harm people with needs that don’t fit the norm. While people are also biased, there is significantly more oversight than automation. There are other ways to improve efficiency and consistency of NDIS decisions through structure, staff training and through careful co-design with the disability community.
New framework planning
Needs assessment report
I believe that any needs assessment reports must be complete by qualified and currently practicing allied health providers who have robust knowledge of a person’s condition. By simply using staff, who may not understand the true impact of a person’s
condition, someone’s support needs are likely to be underestimated, especially for people like me who have disabilities that impact communication and social interaction.
I struggle to understand and communicate what I need to others, which has led to an underestimation of my support needs for the majority of my life. I don’t realise how much my mum helps me, I am just learning how to tell others when I am overwhelmed and I misinterpret questions. For example, when asked about if I can cook, I will simply say yes as I can prepare meals, however I forget or am unsure how to communicate that I am unable to prepare meals on a regular basis and I need to be supervised on days that I am struggling to concentrate. Allied health workers with a deep understanding of Autism are able to explain questions to me in a way that I understand and that reflect my true support needs.
What is missing from the Bill?
Disability Royal Commission
This Bill’s focus on reducing money means that important amendments recommended in the Disability Royal Commission that would help prevent abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with disability have not been included. For example, recommendation 11.13 from the Disability Royal Commission says that community visitor schemes should be formally recognised, but I have been unable to spot anything in the Bill about this.
The Disability Royal Commission uncovered multiple problems wrong with our current disability services in Australia, and offers us clear recommendations that should be followed. I think that part of securing the NDIS for future generations should include ensuring rates of abuse, neglect and exploitation of disabled people are significantly reduced. Future generations of disabled people should never have to experience some of the things I have been through.
My final thoughts
For me, proper support allows not just me, but my whole community to thrive. It allows me to participate in ways that I have been denied in the past, and it allows my community to benefit from my participation. The Bill in it’s current form risks unintentionally harming people by focussing almost exclusively on cost and ignoring the complexity of disability. This Bill will impact all of Australia, not just NDIS participants.
A sustainable NDIS must be one that is sustainable for the disability community as well.