National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 301 - Supplementary Submission
Submission regarding the National Disability Insurance Scheme
Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
I make this submission in my personal capacity as the mother and primary carer of my adult son, who is an NDIS participant with significant lifelong disability support needs.
I respectfully ask that the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 not be passed in its current form.
My concern is that, unless very strong safeguards are included, the Bill may reduce rights, restrict choice and control, narrow access to necessary supports, and place vulnerable participants and exhausted families at serious risk.
The NDIS was created to support people with disability to live safely, with dignity, independence, and appropriate support. It must not become a system that removes flexibility, limits individualised decision-making, or shifts the practical burden back onto ageing and burnt-out family carers.
My son requires substantial daily support. Any reduction, restriction, or delay in his NDIS supports would have serious consequences for his safety, health, wellbeing, independence, and quality of life. It would also place an intolerable burden on me as his mother and carer.
I am approaching 60 years of age. I have carried the responsibility of caring for my son for many years while trying to navigate a system that is often complex, slow, and distressing for families already under pressure. When supports are reduced or made harder to access, the impact is not merely administrative. It is human. It falls directly on the person with disability and on the family member trying to keep them safe.
I am particularly concerned that these reforms may take Australia backwards towards a more controlled and less person-centred system. People with disability must not be pushed into arrangements where families have reduced visibility, reduced input, and reduced ability to advocate for their safety and wellbeing.
This issue is deeply personal to me. My sister, who had a disability, died in respite care. I therefore understand, in the most painful way, the importance of proper safeguards, accountability, family involvement, and genuine choice and control.
The NDIS must remain centred on the rights, dignity, safety, and individual needs of people with disability. It must also recognise the essential role of family carers, many of whom are ageing, exhausted, and already carrying more than any person should reasonably be expected to carry.
I ask the Committee to ensure that any changes to the NDIS:
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 301 - Supplementary Submission
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protect the rights of people with disability;
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preserve genuine choice and control;
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do not reduce necessary disability supports;
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do not shift greater burdens onto unpaid family carers;
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include strong safeguards, transparency, and review rights; and
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recognise the real-world consequences for participants with complex lifelong needs.
The NDIS should be strengthened, not weakened. It should be made fairer, safer, more transparent, and more responsive to the people and families who depend upon it.
For these reasons, I respectfully request that the Bill not be passed in its current form.