National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 3207
My name is of , VIC. I’m a birth and postnatal doula anda birth educator. I’m also the mother of two young adult children, and my older child, my daughter L (they/them pronouns) aged 25, is an NDIS participant.
My family and I strongly oppose the changes proposed in the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 and we ask that the Government withdraw this Bill, or at very least, modify the most harmful aspects of it, based on the needs and lived experience of disabled people and their families and carers.. We are very concerned about how some of the proposed changes to the NDIS will affect our daughter’s life.
My daughter L is autistic (ASD Level 2) and has benefited greatly from their participation in the NDIS. Firstly, L’s NDIS funding has allowed them to live more independently and more safely, particularly during periods of intense burnout L often suffers due to their disability. For example, L’s NDIS-funded support workers provide prompting and assistance that allow L to complete important tasks, such as cooking wholesome meals, doing their laundry, managing and attending appointments and going out into the community for much-needed social engagement.
Before L became an NDIS participant, the lack of support workers meant that L would often go without meals, even when they had food in the house, because their severe autistic burnout meant they were unable to get out of bed to prepare something to eat. Similarly, L lived in a disorderly room without access to clean clothes and regularly missed important medical and other appointments. They led a much more isolated life as going out into the community alone was overwhelming. All of this had a significant impact on their physical and mental wellbeing.
If the amendments to the NDIS prevented L from getting the support they need, we fear that they will return to their pre-NDIS condition of being mostly housebound and unable to care for themself independently. Reduction in funding in general, and specifically the proposed 50 per cent cut to social and community participation, would also rob L’s life of social connection and dignity.
Secondly, L’s NDIS support means they’ve been able to access occupational therapy for the first time. Their OT is assisting L to develop skills to prevent/minimise burnout and to cope with the overwhelm they experience due to sensory overload. One of the main goals of this therapy is to help L to re-enter the workforce.
Prior to NDIS support, L needed to leave their job due to worsening of their symptoms and we’re very worried that the proposed changes to the NDIS could mean the loss of OT support so that L will not be able to find or keep a job. L would very much like to work and the inability to do so robs them of dignity and keeps them in frequent financial stress, especially with the increasing cost of living.
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 3207
Thirdly, we are concerned about the proposed stricter legal definition of functional capacity. In L’s case, their functional capacity is greatly dependent on their personal and environmental circumstances and thus can fluctuate greatly. If this were not taken into consideration when assessing L’s functional capacity, for example during a plan review, then significant support areas would be missed and L would potentially be denied supports they need to thrive.
We understand the need to look carefully at ways to make the NDIS sustainable for current and future participants. But the proposed funding cuts are the largest ever to a social service in a single budget and there are very real, very vulnerable people who will suffer from these cuts. There is enormous risk in rushing through legislation that can have such a profound impact on the lives of so many disabled people and those who love them.
My daughter L’s disability is permanent. It will not just go away after a few years of funding and access to support. But the reduction or full-scale removal of these supports will be severely detrimental to my child’s safety and dignity. There are too many lives at stake to consider such radical changes to the NDIS and we strongly request more time and greater attention be paid to the voices of those who will be affected by the proposed amendment.