National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 3268
Dear Committee members,
I am writing to you as a Mental Health Endorsed Occupational Therapist and member of Occupational Therapy Australia with approximately 15 years of experience working across disability, mental health and community settings. I am also a carer for a NDIS participant, which gives me a dual perspective on the scheme, both as a clinician and as someone directly impacted by its decisions.
In recent years, I have had to reduce my employment to part-time work in private practice to balance caring responsibilities while still contributing meaningfully to my profession. This has deepened my understanding of how essential NDIS supports are not only for participants, but also for the families, carers and to the workforce that sustain the scheme.
I am writing to you with several concerns regarding parts of the Bill that would:
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Reduce access to capacity building supports, including occupational therapy
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Reduce or restrict social and community participation supports
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Restrict plan reassessments, limiting participants’ ability to have their changing needs recognised
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Enable future funding reductions across groups of supports, rather than individualised, needs-based decisions
These changes risk shifting the NDIS away from its founding principles of individualised, reasonable and necessary supports and have shifted the rhetoric of choice and control to once again leave the disability community and their allies feeling powerless, misunderstood and unheard. Not only has the narrative shifted once again in the wrong direction, but by taking these actions, the burden is once again being placed on participants and their supports. The Bill appears to place the responsibility for cost-containment back onto participants, families, carers, and providers rather than addressing the systemic and foundational issues that continue to drive demand for the scheme. I fear that in progressing with these proposed changes, we will only see an increase in deterioration of functioning for these participants, more pressure on foundational supports/broader service system and an increase in severity of mental health decline across our population. If the focus is on cost cutting, these changes will not be successful, as inevitability these outcomes will result in longer term costs to the government. This is not a sustainable or ethical approach. It shifts the burden away from government systems and back onto the individuals least equipped to absorb it.
The focus should instead be placed on strengthening early intervention pathways, community mental health services, mainstream disability supports, preventative and early-stage scaffolding and maintaining the safety and integrity of the scheme to support participants in a meaningful and ethical way. At present, the Bill proposes to limit the very supports that keep people stable, safe, and connected.
As a Mental Health Endorsed OT, I work with participants whose needs are complex and often fluctuate, which has already posed some challenges for people when accessing the scheme. Many rely on consistent capacity building supports to maintain stability and independence. For example, one young adult I support has made significant progress in emotional regulation, daily living skills, and community engagement through regular OT intervention and collaboration
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 3268
across supports. Without these supports, they would be at risk of regression, social withdrawal, and increased reliance on crisis services.
As a carer, I see the same risks in my own home. If capacity building supports were reduced, the person I care for would lose vital opportunities for skill development, connection and wellbeing. My ability to remain in the workforce would also be further compromised. If this is my experience, I can surmise that a reduction in supports across the scheme may have impacts of destabilising the workforce, increasing burnout, and impacting retention; all of which undermine the scheme’s sustainability as a whole.
The Bill does not reflect the realities of disability, mental health, or the weight of caring responsibilities. It risks creating a system where people must deteriorate before they are deemed “eligible enough” to receive help. This deeply concerns me and feels morally wrong.
As such, I am asking Parliament to:
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Amend the Bill to ensure there are no reductions to participants’ access to occupational therapy, capacity building supports, or social and community participation supports.
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Protect the right to timely plan reassessments, so participants can have their needs recognised as they change (which as human beings, they commonly do!).
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Ensure funding decisions remain individualised, not applied across groups in ways that disadvantage people with complex or fluctuating needs.
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Address the systemic issues driving demand, rather than shifting the burden onto participants and their supports.
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Strengthen foundational supports so people can access help early, preventing deterioration and reducing long-term reliance on the NDIS.
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Adopt Occupational Therapy Australia’s recommendations in full.
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Support the ‘No OT, No NDIS’ campaign, recognising that occupational therapy is essential to achieving the Scheme’s goals of independence, participation, and wellbeing.
The NDIS must remain a system that supports people to thrive not one that limits their potential or places additional strain on families, carers, and the workforce that sustains the scheme.
I hope that this submission contributes to some meaningful changes to the decision making within the scheme.
Warm regards,