Submission 3179 — Name Withheld — NDIS Future Generations Bill

Submission to the Senate Inquiry on

NDIS Supports, Funding Adequacy, and

Participant Outcomes

1. Introduction I am making this submission to outline the critical importance of NDIS supports in enabling my safety, health, community participation, and basic daily functioning. I also wish to highlight the systemic consequences that would occur if capacity-building supports and social/community access supports were reduced or removed.

This submission is based on my lived experience as a participant with significant functional impairment requiring ongoing support across all domains of daily living.

The NDIS is not an optional support system in my case. It is the framework that enables me to live safely, maintain basic functioning, and participate in society in any meaningful way.

1A. Accessibility of Participation in this Submission

I also wish to note that my ability to contribute to this Senate Inquiry is entirely dependent on the availability of NDIS support funding. I do not have the functional capacity to independently read, write, or type at a level that would allow me to produce a coherent written submission without assistance.

This submission has only been possible because I have allocated approximately four hours of my funded community support hours to work with a support worker to help me articulate and record my views in written form.

Without this funded support, I would not be able to communicate my experiences or participate in this inquiry process in any meaningful way. This highlights a broader issue: access to democratic and civic participation for people with high support needs is directly dependent on adequate funding being maintained. If supports are reduced, voices like mine would effectively be excluded from policy processes that directly impact our lives.

2. Functional Impact and Support Requirements

I require extensive support across all activities of daily living. I am heavily reliant on support workers and informal supports for basic functioning, including personal care, hygiene, meals, routines, and community access.

Without these supports, I am unable to independently:

• manage hygiene and personal care
• prepare food or maintain nutrition consistently
• leave my home safely
• navigate community environments
• maintain routines or daily structure
• manage emotional regulation without support
• attend appointments or engage with services I also experience compounding physical health conditions, including skin conditions that require assistance with hygiene and care. These cannot currently be managed effectively without support.

While informal supports assist where possible, they are insufficient to meet my ongoing needs.

3. Importance of Capacity-Building Supports Capacity-building supports such as occupational therapy, psychology, and support coordination are essential for stabilisation and maintaining functioning. However, these supports are not always consistently funded together, requiring prioritisation between services.

These supports assist with:

• emotional regulation and mental health stability
• skill development and maintenance
• daily structure and routine building
• functional independence strategies
• risk management and safety planning Without capacity-building supports, there is a significant risk of functional decline, increased dependence, and reduced safety.

4. Impact of Removing Capacity-Building and

Community Supports

If capacity-building supports were removed, or if I had never had access to them, the likely outcome would be significant deterioration in all areas of functioning.

If social and community participation supports were reduced or removed:

• I would remain at home full-time
• my mental health would significantly deteriorate
• my physical health and hygiene would decline
• my safety risk would increase
• I would lose all meaningful community participation There is a documented link between periods of reduced support availability and deterioration in my mental health, including emergency department presentations when supports have been unavailable for extended periods.

In practical terms, community access supports also assist with completing essential daily tasks, meaning their removal would have a flow-on effect into basic daily living supports as well.

5. Community Access Supports and Safety Community access supports are essential for both participation and safety.

For my disability type, external environments can be highly overwhelming and sensory intensive. Support workers assist with:

• selecting appropriate environments for access
• reducing exposure to overwhelming sensory input
• planning what items are required before leaving home
• supporting safe decision-making in real time
• assisting with transport and scheduling
• helping manage emotional regulation during community participation
• ensuring appropriate clothing and preparation for weather
• booking and attending community programs Without this support, I would be unable to safely access the community at all.

Community participation also enables economic engagement, including spending in local businesses and participation in services, contributing to broader community activity.

6. Family Carers and Informal Support Burden

Family carers already provide extensive unpaid care that exceeds typical expectations of support roles. This includes daily supervision, coordination, emotional support, and practical assistance.

Carers are under increasing strain due to:

• rising cost of living pressures
• transport and petrol costs
• emotional and physical burnout
• lack of adequate respite If supports are reduced, family carers would be required to increase their involvement significantly, likely impacting their ability to maintain employment and wellbeing.

Without adequate formal supports, the burden shifts disproportionately onto families, which is not sustainable.

7. Workforce Quality, Training, and System Reform There is a need for significant improvement in disability support workforce training, qualifications, and professional standards.

Support workers should be trained in:

• advocacy and participant rights

• trauma-informed care and mental health support

• emotional regulation support and recognising overwhelm

• administration, scheduling, and organisation

• initiative, autonomy, and problem-solving

• communication with participants and families

• practical life skills (cooking, cleaning, IT, admin)

• ethical conduct and professional boundaries

• cultural competency and disability awareness Support workers should also be capable of:

• managing scheduling and prioritising tasks

• showing initiative before being directed

• gently prompting next steps and structuring activities

• reducing reliance on family carers for coordination Currently, families often must micro-manage services due to inconsistent training and capability.

8. Practical Skills and Autonomy-Based Support Support workers should also be trained in practical autonomy-building skills, including:

• cooking and meal preparation

• following recipes and breaking tasks into steps

• cleaning and household maintenance (beyond surface-level cleaning)

• basic IT and digital skills

• administration and organisational support They must also be able to:

• recognise when a participant is overwhelmed

• adjust activities appropriately

• support emotional regulation during tasks

• encourage independence without causing distress Without these skills, participants remain over-reliant on informal supports.

9. Emergency Training and Professional Standards Advanced first aid training should be mandatory for all support workers.

Workers must also be trained in:

• emergency response and escalation procedures
• de-escalation and crisis management
• recognising medical emergencies
• ethical decision-making and duty of care Longer onboarding, supervised training periods, and scenario-based assessments should be standard.

10. Education and Employment Pathways for People with Disability

People with disability should have increased access to education in:

• reading and writing
• numeracy and budgeting
• cooking and cleaning skills
• daily life management skills

There should also be funding for assistive equipment to support independence in daily living tasks.

Employment pathways must be improved through:

• higher quality supported work placements
• employers trained in disability inclusion
• meaningful rather than tokenistic job opportunities
• longer paid on-the-job training periods (6–8 months)
• structured skill development during employment This would improve long-term employment outcomes and independence.

11. System Design: Recruitment, Assessment, and

Training

Support worker recruitment should include:

• structured trial periods
• real-world problem-solving assessments
• evaluation of communication and initiative
• scenario-based testing Interview processes should include behavioural questions such as how candidates have previously handled difficult situations and resolved problems.

Training should also include:

• written and visual scenario-based learning
• anonymised real-world case studies
• prioritisation training across competing needs (client, family, system)

12. Core Impact Statement The NDIS supports allow me to live a life that is safe, stable, and meaningfully connected to society. Without these supports, I would experience severe and immediate deterioration in mental health, physical health, safety, and daily functioning, and would be unable to participate in the community or manage basic daily living tasks.

These supports are not optional or supplementary — they are essential human rights based supports required for survival, dignity, and inclusion.

Without them, I would not be able to sustain life in the community.

13. Conclusion The NDIS is both a social support system and an economic framework that enables participation, reduces long-term crisis costs, and supports families and carers.

Cuts to capacity-building and community supports would not reduce system demand — they would increase long-term costs across healthcare, emergency services, and social systems, while significantly reducing quality of life and safety for participants.

A sustainable NDIS requires:

• needs-based (not diagnosis-based) access
• adequately trained and qualified workforce
• strong support for family carers
• investment in capacity building and community participation
• and recognition of disability support as essential infrastructure Name withheld [Contact details provided separately and not for publication]

The author consents to publication of this submission with name and contact details withheld