National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 3474
My name is and I am a parent of , a 26 year old woman who has Downsyndrome. She has been an NDIS participant since 2018. I have also worked previously as a Support Coordinator for NDIS participants but had to leave my job both in order to focus on ’s needs and due to the mental health impacts of the work. I have seen, personally and professionally, how important the NDIS is for the lives of people with disability. I have also seen how stressful it is to navigate and get the support people need to live an ordinary life.
The promises of the NDIS at its inception have not been realised for all participants. I agree that some reform is needed however I disagree strongly with the proposed changes in this bill. In particular, the slashing of 50% of social and recreational funding for all participants will be a disaster for my daughter and the vast majority of participants. is almost ready to move out of our family home to live as independently as possible. This cut will leave her stranded in her home, isolated from her friends and family and at risk of serious mental health concerns. It will have a similar impact on other people with Down syndrome. My husband and I have cared for and supported to the best of our ability but long beyond what we did for her three older brothers.
We are also concerned about mandatory registration of support workers as our team is from a provider who is not registered with NDIS. We don’t believe that mandatory registration is the way to solve the issues participants are having with a lack of care and/or abuse. We have self managed ’s plan from the beginning and highly value the ability to choose her supports from a wide pool of workers and being able to identify and engage with those she works best with. is able to communicate clearly when she is happy with her supports or not and it’s imperative that she has this choice and control.
Having the right of appeal removed is another major concern with what is proposed in this bill. We have had to have two of ’s plans reviewed at both the ATT and ART and both times were offered the supports that her therapists advised that she required. NDIS staff have already admitted that they don’t read these expert reports before building plans - what protection will we have from inappropriate levels of funding if this right is taken away?
was recently assaulted when she was out in the community, due to her vulnerability to predatory people. Dealing with the aftermath has been extremely difficult for my husband and I and our fear that this could occur again if doesn’t have adequate supports in the community is real.
I appeal to the committee to listen to the voices of people with disability, their families and supporters who have expressed concern and fear regarding the implementation of this bill as is. I’m aware that peak bodies representing people with disability and the NDIS’s own Independent Advisory Council are being ignored by the NDIS and the NDIS ministers Mark Butler and Jenny Mccallister.
Thank you for reading my submission and taking it into account as you review this proposed bill.
Kind regards,