PWDA Template: Submission to the
National Disability Insurance
Scheme Amendment (Securing the
NDIS for Future Generations) Bill
2026
Attention: Committee Secretary, Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs
Submitted by email: community.affairs.sen@aph.gov.au
Date: 28th June 2026
I welcome the opportunity to make a submission to the Senate Standing Committee
on Community Affairs about the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment
(Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026.
I am an NDIS Participant
I want to outline the harm this Amendment Bill will cause if it passes Parliament. This
Bill is too far-reaching to pass as it stands. I believe the Bill requires further scrutiny
and amendment before it proceeds.
Parliamentary Scrutiny and Transparency
The consultation period for the Amendment Bill is two weeks, which is insufficient to
allow for appropriate consultation, considering accessibility and communication
needs. The Australian Government Guide to Policy Impact Analysis says
consultation should occur for a minimum of 30 days where possible.
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The short timeline impacts me because none of the core disability advocates have
been consulted. Did the people drafting this bill even speak to DPOs or National
Disability Peak Bodies? If they had they would realize how it will adversely impact
people like me.
Recommendation: Amend the consultation period for a best practice minimum of 30
days.
Key decisions left to ministerial instruments, not law
The issue: The Bill allows Ministers to change who gets NDIS support (Schedule 1
Parts 8 and 9) and how much funding people receive (Schedule 1 Part 4; Schedule
- by signing an instrument, without going back to Parliament. The rules that will determine critical eligibility thresholds (Schedule 1 Parts 1, 8 and 9) have not yet
been written.
How this affects participants: The decisions that shape the lives of participants,
whether they qualify for the NDIS and what supports they can access, could be
changed without parliamentary debate or public scrutiny. Participants may not know
supports or eligibility rules have changed until their plan is affected.
I am lucky because I can access news media and I understand what these changes
mean. I am worried about how this will affect me going forward. I have Multiple
Sclerosis and cannot cook meals due to heavy fatigue and cognitive issues. With
these cuts, I can no longer trust that I will even be able to lodge a review. Am I just
expected to rot away now in a corner silently? I have worked my whole adult life until
my diagnosis. A significant portion of that work was within the public sector. I have
volunteered and contributed to my community. I was a lifetime Labor supporter. But
now I am discarded like a piece of trash, where the government is hoping that I will
be mentioned in a future report as “left the NDIS” - the opportunistic euphemism that
is now the catchphrase for culling numbers. Dealing with MS is already emotionally
traumatic, but these recently announced changes have been a catalyst for huge
amounts of stress in the disability sector. There is no need to rush this legislation
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through. Why did the government commission the NDIS review for $18.1 million in
2023 if they are now ignoring the key findings of “Co-design – Nothing About Us
Without Us”. They are doing the exact opposite of what the review recommended
and fast tracking this legislation without ANY consultation.
Recommendation: Require that all decisions affecting NDIS eligibility and funding
levels be made through primary legislation subject to full parliamentary scrutiny, with
mandatory advance notice to affected participants before any changes take effect.
Existing participants face narrower criteria and fewer rights to challenge decisions
The issue: The Bill changes the rules for existing NDIS participants and makes it
harder to challenge some decisions about supports and funding. It also restricts
when you can request a reassessment, removes review rights for automatic plan
renewals, and makes funding reductions unreviewable (Schedule 1 Parts 1 and 8).
Combined with restrictions on reassessment requests (Part 2), automatic plan
renewals without review rights (Part 5), and unreviewable funding reductions (Part
4), existing participants face narrower criteria with significantly fewer avenues to
challenge decisions about their supports.
How this affects participants: This does not protect participants already on the
NDIS, who could be reassessed under stricter rules. If someone’s funding is reduced
or their plan renewed automatically, they may have limited or no ability to challenge
that decision. This could make it harder for people to get extra support when their
circumstances or disability change.
The NDIS review system has been broken for years. One year I just had to wait out
my plan because, despite lodging 2 reviews, I never heard back. I was thankful that I
was simply requesting a small amount of physiotherapy per month and not
something critical to my daily existence (like meals for instance).
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The NDIA has already shown that it cannot make fair assessments or even read
medical reports. Now you want to take away any rights that I have as a participant to
question decisions? Someone is clearly profiting internally from the push towards an
algorithm that already killed people with the ROBODEBT scandal. But here it is
again, and all rights to appeal decisions are being removed. Are we in Nazi
Germany? This is not the Australian way. I have a right to have decisions about my
support funding reviewed by a human being who is trained to an appropriate level.
Not a hallucinating AI robot. Multiple Sclerosis is a degenerative disease and
requires human eyeballs to make decisions. I am under the care of several
specialists. AI algorithms are useless at making informed medical decisions. Anyone
in the AI sector will tell you this.
Recommendation: Require a “no harm” safeguard ensuring no current participant
loses access to supports unless equivalent supports are in place, with independent
review rights before any exit decision and access to unscheduled reassessments
preserved.
Unreviewable ministerial power to cut funding across all support categories
The Minister can reduce funding for any support or group of supports by a specified
percentage through an instrument that cannot be challenged (Schedule 1 Part 4).
This applies across all budget categories. Unspent funds will no longer carry over at
plan renewal (Schedule 1 Part 5).
How this affects participants: A participant’s community participation, capacity
building or assistive technology funding could be cut without warning and without any
right to appeal. Participants who save unspent funds across plan periods for high
cost items will lose that ability entirely.
I don’t remember getting to choose the Minister for Disability. “Ministerial power” has
all the hallmarks of a fascist regime.
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The NDIS changed my life when it was introduced. Prior to receiving social and
community participation funding, I was completely isolated and spent the majority of
my time stuck at home. I use this funding to visit family in Sydney, meet my friends
for coffee and attend medical appointments. If this is cut, I won’t be able to see my
aging Uncle, I will be totally isolated, my depression and anxiety will ramp up and I
will be considering what so many others are now considering.
I use Capacity Building funding for physiotherapy, chiropractic and psychology. My
spinal lesions cause severe back spasms which make it impossible for me to move
without both physio and chiro support. I also have brain lesions which cause anxiety
and depression, and having an unpredictable degenerative disease means
psychology sessions keep me on track and alive. This therapy funding means I can
build my online business and look forward to paying taxes. It helps me participate in
life. Without it I am bedridden.
I need Assistive Technology to live day to day. I use it all the time, I have medical
cooling for sleeping, cooking, showering and cleaning. I cannot regulate my body
temperature, without AT I cannot sleep. I cannot go outside, I cannot prepare meals,
I cannot live. Some of this equipment is so expensive I have to use multiple plans to
get it. If you don’t allow us to roll over unspent funds, that is the end of living for most
of us.
Recommendation: Require that unspent funds carry over at plan renewal for
participants saving for high-cost items and require independent review rights before
any funding reduction takes effect.
Requirement to exhaust treatment options before eligibility
The issue: A person with disability will need to exhaust treatment options before
they can be eligible for the Scheme (Schedule 1 Part 8). There will also be a removal
of whole-of-person assessment, replaced by single eligible impairment consideration
(Schedule 1 Part 3). The note that previously acknowledged environmental factors
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and other ineligible impairments could affect support needs will be removed
(Schedule 1 Part 3).
How this affects participants: People with disability will need to prove their
impairment cannot be treated before they access the NDIS. Once in the scheme,
their supports will only be assessed against a single eligible impairment rather than
their whole experience. A person’s individual circumstances will not be considered,
including ability to pay for treatment, where they live or whether treatment is actually
available to them.
This is a farce. The NDIA asked me at my last plan “what day and time did you get
the disability and what day and time will you be over it?” The NDIS already do not
understand how permanent disability works. You cannot get on it without being
permanently disabled. Now they are going to insist that I can get treatment for MS. I
have monthly injection treatment. It’s the only thing standing between me and a
death sentence. But this is not a cure. People die every day from MS. And this
treatment does absolutely NOTHING for my existing nervous system damage.
If you pass this legislation I promise you that NDIA will use this treatment as an
excuse to cut me off. This whole Bill is simply an excuse to cut more people off and
buy votes. You can legislate anything, including killing people if no one steps up.
Recommendation: Do not proceed with a requirement to exhaust “appropriate
treatment” options – there are no safeguarding measures around participant harm
due to side effects or complications, a participant’s financial ability to pay, or their
geographic capacity to access treatments.
Unvalidated functional capacity assessment tool risks misidentifying need
The issue: The Bill shifts assessment from whole-of-person consideration to a single
eligible impairment (Schedule 1 Part 3). Read together with the eligibility thresholds
in Parts 8 and 9, the tool used to conduct functional capacity assessments must be
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capable of sufficiently identifying whether a person meets the threshold for that
single impairment.
The named assessment tool is the Instrument for Classification and Assessment of
Support Needs (I-CAN). I-CAN requires validation to ensure it will sufficiently identify
the needs of all people with disability, including those whose needs may be
fluctuating or episodic and may not be captured through a point-in-time assessment,
and to ensure it is culturally appropriate for First Peoples with disability.
How this affects participants: If the assessment tool does not accurately capture
the full extent of a person’s disability, including needs that fluctuate or vary over time,
a participant may be found ineligible or have their supports undercounted, with no
guarantee the result reflects their actual experience.
Multiple Sclerosis is so fluctuating it is impossible to predict. I have had over 20 brain
and spinal MRIs, because I have over 10 brain lesions and 7 spinal cord lesions.
Next week I am having another MRI. I have symptoms that are suggestive of more
lesions. But even without new lesions, I have permanent damage that requires
support in my day to day living. The current training of NDIA staff does not allow for
this. Instead of fixing this shortfall, the current government wants to increase it.
I have seen 3 neurologists over the years, including Australia’s leading MS authority
- Professor Heard. They have all confirmed that the disease has left me with damage to my nervous system that is ongoing, unpredictable and will require greater support
as it progresses. If they can’t tell me what I will need going forward how on earth can
a standardised assessment tool? It cannot. Some days I can do a full day sitting up,
but most days I need to spend half of it in a horizontal position. Some days I can
drive, some days I cannot. I cannot drive to Sydney and back from my home on the
Central Coast. I cannot clean my house unless it’s spread over 3 days. I cannot
balance on uneven surfaces. Some days (usually for weeks on end) I start to forget
appointments, important documents, things on the stove. Then suddenly I can
remember everything again. Most days I cannot prepare dinner. Sometimes I cannot
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swallow. I am in constant agony. My back spasms and if I don’t see a physio and a
chiro, I cannot move. I cannot spend time in temperatures exceeding 30 degrees.
This is as of today. Tomorrow I may be blind. I may not be able to walk. I may not be
able to talk. How is a computer assessment tool going to accurately predict my
disability needs?
Recommendation: Do not proceed with I-CAN as the functional capacity
assessment tool unless it has been demonstrably validated to identify the needs of
all people with disability, including those with episodic or fluctuating disability, and
demonstrated to be culturally appropriate for First Peoples with disability.
Supports cut before replacement system is ready
The issue: From 1 October 2026, the government has announced funding for social,
civic and community participation supports will be cut by 50 per cent and capacity
building daily activities by 10 per cent for all participants, reductions that will be
implemented through the ministerial instrument power in Schedule 1 Part 4. The
Foundational Supports system intended to fill that gap has no confirmed
implementation date and is not yet operational.
How this affects participants: Supports that help participants connect with their
community, build skills and maintain independence may be cut before anything
exists to replace them, leaving carers and families with greater responsibilities and
no additional support. These supports are often what help people stay visible,
connected and safe.
I desperately wish to contribute to society. Despite having MS for the last 10 years, I
still want to maintain friendships, see my family and keep my online business. Before
I qualified for the NDIS, I was so isolated that I had become deeply suicidal. Social
and Community funding have helped me overcome anxiety and depression from my
MS. It has given me my life back. If you take this away, I will no longer be able to see
my aging family. They will likely die before I see them again because they are 1.5 hrs
away and neither of us can drive to the other without my social funding. I will once
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again be restricted to my home. I won’t be able to go shopping, I won’t be able to go
and visit friends, I won’t be able to see art in galleries, or go to the beach. These
seem like such simple things to the able bodied and I pray that none of you ever take
them for granted because disability can happen to anyone at any time. It might look
like “support workers are on their phones” but my support workers NEVER are. They
are my life line. As for grouping disabled people together and calling this “social
participation” – are we going back to institutions? I am so offended on behalf of the
disability community. We deserve dignity.
Recommendation: Require that no reductions to community participation or
capacity building supports take effect until Foundational Supports are fully
operational, adequately funded and demonstrably able to meet the needs of those
who will lose NDIS supports.
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