National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 3175
Date: 8th July, 2026
Submission re: the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for
Future Generations) Bill 2026
My name is Elizabeth Lea and I am a speech pathologist supporting people who communicate using Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). I support NDIS participants to learn to use communication apps, software, electronic communication devices and other Assistive Technology. Many of my clients use eye gaze technology to communicate, so when they look at a message on their screen, the message is spoken aloud. The goals my clients work towards are life-changing and it is a privilege to support them.
I cannot do this work without adequate support from the NDIS and I oppose the proposed amendment to the bill whereby the Minister could reduce funding for specified groups of supports. There has been no increase to speech pathology fees in seven years and travel costs are now capped at 50% of the previous amount for plan-managed clients. It is hard not to see this as gender-related – the speech pathology workforce is 97% female,1 many of us work part time and caring professions seem largely undervalued. The expectation to keep doing more with less and accept what amounts to a pay cut is untenable.
The most vulnerable people I support require services in their homes. Some live far from me and have no closer service that can provide what they need. We have tried clinic visits and the effort of travelling is so fatiguing for clients that they are asleep when they arrive. Other clients are affected by anxiety and other conditions that impact their safety and the safety of those around them. I have been in the position of requiring police to attend my home-based clinic before and I do not want participants to be forced into this service model because it is the only way they can access services.
One of the things I love about my business is supporting clients to communicate via AAC in the places that are meaningful for them. If a client wants to improve their communication to make friends, I support them to use their communication device in places where there are opportunities to meet people, like an all abilities disco. If a person wants to improve communication to become more independent, we might meet at a supermarket so they can learn how to access messages in their eye gaze device while dealing with the time pressure of communicating at the checkout. Being out where participants want to be means that my support is more targeted and effective. It might even require less sessions in total compared to the time it takes to acquire a skill in a clinic environment and then generalise it to use in other places. The proposal to reduce community-based supports will remove specialised support in the places where it is most needed and may increase the length of time taken to achieve a person’s social communication goals if they can only practice skills in clinic environments.
1 Nancarrow, S., McGill, N., Baldac, S., Lewis, T., Moran, A., Harris, N., … Mulcair, G. (2023). Diversity in the Australian speech-language pathology workforce: Addressing Sustainable Development Goals 3, 4, 8, and 10. InternationalJournalofSpeech-Language Pathology, 25(1), 119–124. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2023.2165149
Elizabeth Lea
Speech Pathologist MSpPath CPSP
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 3175
Without appropriate renumeration and fully funded travel costs, speech pathologists cannot continue their important work. If speech pathology fees and travel costs are not increased, speech pathologists will be forced to:
-
Support people in their local area only or work outside of their scope of practice as there is no one else to provide support
-
Stop seeing participants with complex behaviour who cannot safely attend a clinic environment
-
Stop seeing participants who cannot travel due to fatigue and mobility issues
-
Stop seeing clients who require accessible facilities (e.g. adult change facilities, shower and hoist) that are not feasible in home-based clinic rooms
-
Stop providing mealtime assessments in the places where people feel comfortable eating and drinking – in their homes, day services, food courts etc
NDIS participants should retain the ability to choose the therapist most closely aligned to delivering the supports they need, regardless of geographical location. The closest speech pathologist may be experienced in supporting children to acquire speech sounds but less familiar with how to teach non-speaking adults to communicate via an eye gaze device. Although speech pathologists are highly skilled across different areas, we all narrow down on our areas of interest by investing heavily in professional development –which we often self-fund. The inference that a participant should utilise their closest speechie to minimise travel costs is akin to thinking that a lawyer writing a will could defend someone in a criminal trial.
There is a shortage of speech pathologists with the skill set required to provide AAC support, so my work covers a significant geographical area. Often, there is no one else who can provide support in a participant’s local area. Anyone trying to access speech pathology services will tell you that they have their name down on multiple lists and waitlists are long, if not closed. If the current pricing arrangements and limits are not addressed, more and more speech pathologists will leave the sector. Speech pathologists with the skill sets needed by the most vulnerable participants are close to giving up.
I urge the Federal Government to urgently amend this pricing decision and to work more meaningfully with providers to understand the cost, complexity and care required to deliver Allied Health services through the NDIS.
Yours sincerely,
Elizabeth Lea
Speech Pathologist
Owner of The Communication Toolbox, a speech pathology private practice