National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 3193
Hello,
I am writing to express my concerns at some of the changes proposed in the NATIONAL
DISABILITY INSURANCE SCHEME AMENDMENT (SECURING THE NDIS FOR FUTURE
GENERATIONS) BILL 2026.
About me:
I am an Early Intervention Teacher and Early Childhood Special Educator and have worked with children and young people with Disabilities for the past 37 years mostly in community-based settings.
I have worked as an Early Intervention Teacher, family worker and more recently as a Local Area Coordinator during the rollout of the NDIS in Northern Sydney. For the past 5 years I have worked as an independent NDIS Support Coordinator in Northern Sydney.
Since the NDIS roll-out, it is not an exaggeration to say that I have seen lives changed and I am deeply committed to ensuring its future. Some of the changes I have seen have included people moving into independent living for the first time, getting a driving licence for the first time, being able to go out in their community because they now have support to do so and developing their capacity to have a voice in their own lives and in their own communities.
Like everyone else I am concerned about fraud. However, this does not represent the value of the Scheme and the Participants who use the Scheme, or even for that matter most people who support Participants in the Scheme.
I was aghast at the way the Minister linked the NDIS with fraud in his Speech to the Press Club and denigrated the value of the Scheme in the eyes of the Press and Australian Community. I believe this was deliberate and designed to reframe the NDIS as a broken scheme that was characterised by fraud, overspending and painted the supports offered as luxuries the community could no longer afford.
I am deeply concerned about the number of people who will lose access to the Scheme should this Bill go through in its current form. I have helped hundreds of Participants to get their plans from the NDIS, and I have not met one person who shouldn’t be on the Scheme. The Scheme is already extremely rigorous in terms of access, and most Participants have already proven repeatedly that they have a long term, permanent and stable disability that won’t change throughout their lifetime.
I am currently helping Participants who have already lost funding from their Assistance with Social and Community Participation funding in January of this year. This has led to real suffering and risk of harm for these Participants and their families. For one, who has early onset Dementia, her support was reduced to one hour a day for 5 days, yet 5 months later she cannot remember to eat or drink, is wandering the streets of her community’ is confused and expressing a desire to end her life and her partner and
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 3193
children are experiencing significant distress due to the insufficient supports she was given. This even though all her Assessments and Reports indicated she needed a minimum of 5 hours support a day.
What will happen to her under the new Legislation? It appears that Social and Community Participation funding will be reduced across the Board regardless of a person’s individual needs or disability.
It is being portrayed as a luxury our community cannot afford. For most people on the NDIS this is the funding that enables them to reduce their isolation and participate in their communities. It enables them to live an “ordinary life”, to do the things that we all value and take for granted.
I am very concerned about the suffering this Legislation will cause.
Many of the Participants I support have severe Anxiety and Depression. They are frequently at risk of suicide and despair. The supports they receive give them hope despite the barriers they face to acceptance and participation in their communities. I am fearful for their health and well-being should they lose their supports as this Bill seems to indicate.
When the NDIS was rolled out, the states dismantled their Departments of Ageing and Disability. The mainstream and community support no longer exist to provide the safety net necessary for people with disabilities. This safety net is a minimum level of support and is not luxury but an obligation on the part of everyone to support the vulnerable because Disability can happen to any one of us at any time.
I believe this Bill has been introduced in too much haste with little time for Consultation with the community it most directly affects. Very few people have even had time to read the Bill and consider the implications of it for their lives and their family’s lives. There are few supports in the community for those who will be taken off the Scheme. It will lead to suffering and further injury and harm that in the longer term will not benefit our community.
I urge the Senate to consider carefully how this Bill needs to be amended to protect the people it is designed to serve.
Thankyou for your careful consideration of this Bill.