Submission to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee
Re: National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment Bill
My name is , I am 24 years old, and I am an NDIS participant living with multiple complex disabilities. I am writing this submission because I am deeply concerned about the proposed changes to the NDIS. While I understand that the Scheme must remain sustainable, I do not believe this should come at the expense of the lives, safety and independence of people with disability.
My disabilities affect almost every part of my daily life. I cannot prepare my own meals, shower independently, or push my wheelchair for more than a few minutes. I cannot safely access the community without support, and on some days I cannot even get out of bed without assistance. When those days happen, I require support with every aspect of daily living.
The NDIS provides me with support workers for 13 to 15 hours each day to assist with these essential tasks. It also funds the assistive technology that allows me to live safely, including my hospital bed, wheelchair, hoist and the maintenance of that equipment. The Scheme also funds my catheter supplies, continence nursing care and specialist allied health services such as physiotherapy and occupational therapy. Without these supports, I would not be living independently today. Before I was accepted into the NDIS, I spent three months living in hospital because it was not physically safe for me to return home. I could not transfer independently, shower, prepare food or even push my own wheelchair. At just 22 years old, I was told I might have to move into a government-funded nursing home because there was no safe alternative.
Hearing those words was devastating. I felt like my future was being taken away before I had even had the chance to live it. I knew that living in a nursing home at such a young age would take away my independence, isolate me from people my own age and have a significant impact on my mental health.
Then my NDIS application was approved.
That decision changed my life.
Instead of entering a nursing home, I was able to return home and regain my independence. I was able to go back to school and I am now preparing to graduate Year 12. I have been able to attend specialist medical appointments, giving me access to treatments that have improved my quality of life. I finally received the equipment I needed to live safely, and I have also been able to volunteer and advocate for other people with disability. These are opportunities I would never have had without the NDIS.
My greatest concern with this Bill is the number of people who may lose access to the NDIS or lose the supports they rely on. I worry that people with significant disabilities will once again find themselves in hospital for extended periods or forced into nursing homes because they have nowhere else to go. I am also deeply concerned about any reduction to community access supports. Community access is not about recreation alone. It is how many of us attend medical appointments, collect medications from the pharmacy, buy groceries, spend time with family, attend important events such as funerals and remain connected to our communities. Without these supports, many disabled Australians would become isolated and unable to access essential parts of everyday life.
I want the Senate to understand that this Bill is not simply about funding. It is about whether people like me can continue to live safely, independently and with dignity. For many of us, these supports are life-sustaining. Removing them does not make our disabilities disappear; it simply shifts the cost to hospitals, aged care facilities, families and emergency services, while taking away our freedom. I ask you not to pass this Bill in its current form. Instead, I ask you to work with people with disability, our families and disability organisations to find better ways to ensure the long-term sustainability of the NDIS without placing our lives and futures at risk.
People with disability should not be the first place governments look when trying to reduce spending. We deserve to be part of the solution, not the sacrifice. Thank you for taking the time to read my submission and consider the impact these proposed changes will have on people like me.
If my NDIS supports were taken away or significantly reduced, I know exactly what would happen. I would be admitted to hospital because I could not safely live alone. I have no family who are able to provide the level of care I require, which means I am completely reliant on my funded supports to meet my basic daily needs.
I do not believe I would ever be able to return home. Without the NDIS, I would likely spend my life moving between hospital and residential care because there would be no safe alternative. Everything I have worked so hard to achieve like returning to school, graduating Year 12, accessing medical treatment, advocating for others, volunteering, and living independently, would be taken away.
I ask you to think about what this Bill means for people like me. It is not just about changing legislation or reducing government spending. It is about whether disabled Australians are given the opportunity to live with dignity, independence and hope, or whether we are forced back into hospitals and institutions because the supports we rely on no longer exist. Please reject this Bill in its current form. Work with people with disability to find better ways to strengthen the NDIS without putting our lives, safety and future at risk.
The NDIS gave me my freedom back. Please don’t take it away, not from me, and not from the thousands of Australians whose lives depend on it.
Kind regards,