Submission: National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for
Future Generations) Bill 2026.
Mpower welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future
Generations) Bill 2026. As an organisation committed to supporting the wellbeing, inclusion, and development of our community, we have a strong interest in ensuring that policy settings reflect the needs and experiences of local people. Mpower offers Plan Management to over 700 participants with 3 highly qualified staff, based in south west Victoria and we respectfully offer the following observations and recommendations to assist the Committee in its deliberations. This submission responds to three major concerns within the amendment.
This submission draws on our experience delivering and supporting community services, engaging with residents, and responding to emerging social and economic challenges within our region. Mpower has more than 50 years of trusted experience. We have solid systems, deep community understanding, and a reputation built over decades. Mpower provides Plan Management services that are consistent, transparent and dependable. We feel our team offer more than just Plan Management we offer connection, clarity and genuine care.
Transitioning to a panel arrangement for plan managers. Amendments made by this part would reduce the size of the plan management market by limiting registered plan management providers to only those with a deed of arrangement in place with the Agency - Plan management panel Consolidate the plan management market to a smaller panel
Mpower have concerns regarding moving Plan Management to a panel arrangement. Mpower participants have told us that they most value the personalised service offered by Mpower. This may take the form of a friendly phone call, a meeting in a quiet space at one of the three Mpower offices in southwest Victoria or sitting around a kitchen table in a family home. This personalised service enables the opportunity to build relationships and trust in a way that an email never can. Regular feedback reflects that Mpower participants see Mpower Plan Managers as real humans who are there to support them, not a faceless person behind a computer. It is common for a participant to feel overwhelmed by their NDIS plan and find it difficult to clarify and express their concerns over the phone. In these situations, the Plan Management officer will prioritise time to meet the participant, talk through the plan and answer questions, gently guided by the participant. The result is that participants feel informed, reassured and supported. That’s the difference local support can make.
The risk of moving to the panel brings little opportunity for personalised service. At Mpower our experience has highlighted the value of a local and personalised service for participants offering genuine connecting for participants navigating their NDIS funding. Our plan managers offer face to face onboarding, ongoing communication regarding monitoring of expenditure take up to five calls per day from participants, local area coordinators and service
coordinators regarding information around the plan and spending. The plan Managers personalised service also directs participants and stakeholders to accurate information and NDIS updates to provide supportive information. Being accessible to support participants in plan usage is also a fundamental part of our role and even more so within the changing scope of the NDIS.
Recently Mpower Plan Management experienced a significant growth in new participants at a time when another more localised Plan Management provider closed to merge with a national provider. Participants were recommended to move to a large, nationwide service. We have received feedback from participants who have withdrawn services from the large providers to engage our service. Larger national services can struggle to provide personalised support, particularly in regional areas where there is a significant lack of local knowledge. Participants have spoken about the frustration of needing guidance on plan usage and receiving automatic replies stating that their enquiry would be responded to within 5 business days. Reduced access to local plan management services may cause significant distress for participants who rely on face-to-face support and cannot effectively engage via phone or email alone.
Based on our experiences we recommend that NDIS Plan management continues to allow for smaller and localised Plan Management providers. Whilst ideally Mpower Plan Management would remain unchanged, we would also support a joined up local approach.
Participants who access plan management services would continue to have choice over their plan management provider but would be required to select one of the providers of the panel.
Based on our experience offering Plan Management at Mpower we feel that the choice and control of participants will be significantly compromised by forcing participants to either move to a new provider or limit choice due to availability of limited suppliers/panels. Mpower is a proven advocate for the rights of people with disabilities and has been a community provider for more than 50 years. Client and consumer voice is at the centre of all that we do. We believe that choice and control are fundamental principles of the NDIS and limiting participants to large panels risks reducing genuine choice and undermines the individualised approach that sits at the heart of the NDIS.
We strongly believe that any reforms should enhance, not restrict, the ability of participants to choose their Plan Management provider, particularly in regional communities where service options may already be limited.
We believe the solution should ensure that participants should retain the right to choose a plan manager that best meets their needs, preferences and communication style. This can be achieved by ensuring local Plan Management is prioritised in these reforms and that qualified, highly valued staff who have extensive NDIS and local knowledge together with established relationships with participants are retained
Ban providers of Plan Management from offering any other supports under the NDIS
We recognise the importance of keeping NDIS service provision and Plan Management separate because it helps ensure choice, transparency, accountability, and independence for participants. Mpower support any recommendations to ensure NDIS participants receive NDIS Plan Management Service that avoids conflict of interest, protects choice and control, provides independent financial oversight and transparency. At Mpower we have implemented significant strategies to mitigate any conflicts and ensure transparency to safeguard our participants. We have proven that safeguarding is achievable. Mpower Plan Management operates independently from our NDIS service delivery programs, with separate operational systems, processes, and access controls in place. Plan Management is managed through a dedicated system that is separate from those used by other NDIS services, with its own client database. Access to Plan Management information is restricted to authorised Plan Management staff only, ensuring participant information is protected and cannot be accessed by staff who do not require it to perform their role.
In addition, services delivered by Mpower to participants whose plans are managed by Mpower are subject to the same claims and payment processes as those of external providers. All invoices are submitted to the Plan Management team for assessment and processing and are scrutinised against participant plans, budgets and NDIS requirements in the same manner as invoices received from external organisations. No preferential treatment is given to Mpower-delivered services, providing an important safeguard that supports transparency, accountability and independent financial oversight.
Mpower Plan Management operates completely independently from the NDIS service provisions, with the same consent and information-sharing requirements applied to Mpower services as to any external provider.
Mpower Plan Management participants benefit from accessing trusted services from an organisation they already know and have confidence in. At Mpower, Plan Managers do not coordinate supports, make service recommendations, or influence participants’ choice of providers.
Our existing governance arrangements demonstrate that effective safeguarding and conflict of interest mitigation are achievable. It remains unclear why additional separation requirements would apply to Plan Management when other roles such as Support Coordination may have greater influence over participant service decisions
We recommend a continued adherence to guidelines with stronger oversight and reporting mechanisms, workforce development and participant empowerment. We believe this can be achieved through our current arrangement at Mpower.
In conclusion we support changes that safeguard the rights of people with disability and enable a Plan Management service that is accessible, high in local knowledge and ensures choice and control.