National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 3347
Submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs
Inquiry into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future
Generations) Bill 2026
About the Contributor and Lived Experience
I am a parent of seven-year-old twin boys who are both diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Level 2. Both of my sons currently access essential National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) funding to receive crucial therapies and interventions, including Speech Therapy, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Psychology, and social participation supports through swimming.
Our family relies heavily on these services to navigate daily life. These therapies assist my sons in learning to regulate their emotions, developing fine motor skills (such as writing), and building daily living and hygiene skills. They also significantly boost their overall confidence and communication abilities. Managing the care of twins with significant neurodevelopmental needs is incredibly challenging; these services provide our family with a vital framework of support, preventing us from floundering under the weight of severe stress and mental health challenges.
Impact of School Transitions and Changing Functional Capacity
The demands of starting and attending primary school have seen my sons’ functional needs change and increase significantly. School is a constant challenge for both boys, and they struggle heavily with the daily environment. To prevent school avoidance, a reality we feel is constantly on our doorstep, we have had to increase their psychology sessions.
Our sons do not cope well with transitions or unexpected changes in their routine, which frequently results in behavioural escalations that impact both their well-being and their school peers. The flexibility to respond to these shifting needs quickly has been life-changing:
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Last term, when one of our sons faced a suspension, we were able to immediately access psychology support to guide him through the crisis.
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This term, when our other son began struggling severely, we successfully secured a psychologist for him within two weeks.
This stability and rapid access to care are entirely dependent on our current funding flexibility and the trust our boys have built with their existing multidisciplinary team.
Concerns Regarding the Bill’s Proposed Changes
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Funding Flexibility and Plan Reassessments The Bill’s focus on tightening budget allocations and changing how plans are managed creates immense worry for our family. The needs of growing children, especially twins entering the school system, are fluid, not static. If the process for plan reassessments becomes more rigid or if funding cannot be flexibly redirected to crisis points (such as managing a school suspension or a sudden spike in behavioural escalations), our boys’ stability will collapse. We require a system that allows us to pivot funding to the therapy that is most urgently required at any given moment.
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Administrative Burden and Functional Capacity Assessments The mental load of managing a disability household is already exhausting. The proposal to introduce more rigid, centralised, or frequent functional capacity assessments introduces a level of administrative complexity that threatens to overwhelm us. When parents are already paddling frantically just to keep their family afloat, adding heavy paperwork and bureaucratic hurdles to prove a child’s permanent impairment will cause severe burnout and negatively impact parental mental health.
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Access to Disability-Related Supports and Continuity of Care Social participation, like our boys’ swimming supports, is not a luxury; it is a foundational therapy that builds motor skills, safety, and community connection. We are deeply concerned that stricter definitions of “disability-related supports” might see these vital community-based therapies cut. Furthermore, forcing
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 3347
families to change established providers or limiting choice and control breaks the continuity of care. My sons require strict routine and deep trust to engage with therapy; forcing them to adapt to new systems or unfamiliar faces triggers the exact behavioural escalations we are working so hard to prevent.
Financial Reality and Interdependence on Other Service Systems
Without access to NDIS funding, our family simply cannot afford these therapies out of pocket. In the current economic climate, with the cost of living under immense pressure, paying for a full multidisciplinary team for twin children is completely unachievable.
If the proposed amendments result in children with ASD Level 2 being reduced in priority or removed from the scheme under the assumption that other service systems (like the mainstream school system or state health systems) will pick up the slack, it will create a catastrophic failure down the track. Mainstream schools are already stretched and unable to provide the intensive, individualised therapeutic intervention my children need to remain in the classroom.
If this support is lost:
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Many children will find themselves unable to attend school at all.
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Parents will be forced to give up employment to provide full-time care, removing productive workers from the economy and increasing welfare reliance.
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The long-term cost to the state in mental health crises, unemployment, and adult dependency will vastly outweigh the current cost of early intervention.
Conclusion
Early intervention through the NDIS is precisely what allows my seven-year-old boys to get through each school day and stand a genuine chance at a positive future. I urge the Senate Committee to ensure that any amendments to the NDIS Bill safeguard choice, control, and funding flexibility for families navigating the complex realities of raising neurodivergent children. Please protect the supports that allow our children to grow into adults who can thrive and contribute meaningfully to Australian society.
Sincerely
Lisa Dow
Winmalee 2777