National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 329
My name is I have worked in the disability industry for over 13 years, but more importantly, I have a very close family member who is on the NDIS and relies on these supports to remain independent in her home and to be a valued member of her local community. The new bill that you are proposing is unrealistic and, in my opinion, will cause more harm than good. The idea of not taking a person’s individual environment into consideration is impractical. Disability is not one-size-fits-all. Every person is unique, and their environment and circumstances should absolutely be taken into account. Regional towns do not have access to the same services as metropolitan areas, and even when services are available there are often extremely long waitlists. Someone who has strong informal supports will naturally need less funded support than someone who has none, and it would make far more sense to base decisions around those realities. The government is once again forcing people to try medications and treatments. Has any consideration been given to the financial strain that the whole country is currently under? We are asking people who are often living only on a pension to pay for multiple treatments and medications just to prove they deserve minimal support to maintain their quality of life. The NDIS was supposed to support choice and control — not force people to choose between eating, keeping a roof over their head, or paying for treatments to prove they have a lifelong disability that qualified medical professionals have already diagnosed. This approach also calls into question the integrity and expertise of the medical professionals we are expected to trust. Only taking into consideration a person’s primary disability is also deeply concerning, especially when many disabilities lead to secondary conditions and additional challenges. Expecting people to choose between multiple disabilities in the hope of receiving some level of funding is unacceptable. All this new bill is doing is contradicting the purpose of the NDIS and forcing participants to make impossible choices, but not for the right reasons. Have you not watched the news? Did the Mosman Park murder-suicide not teach us anything? It was mentioned multiple times how the NDIS had let that family down. This bill is only reinforcing those fears and giving others the feeling that they are being abandoned and unsupported. While the government may believe these changes will save money and protect the long-term viability of the scheme, all it is really doing is robbing Peter to pay Paul. These changes will place even more pressure on mainstream services that are already stretched beyond capacity, including a healthcare system that is already struggling. While I agree that some changes need to be made to support the financial viability of the NDIS, I strongly disagree that these proposed changes are the answer.