Submission Regarding the NDIS Amendment Bill

My name is redacted, I am 44, and reside on the Gold Coast. I am a single Mother of 2.

I urge Parliament not to pass the NDIS Amendment Bill in its current form.

The proposed changes risk reducing the rights, autonomy, choice and control of people with disability—principles that are foundational to the NDIS and Australia’s obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Autonomy is not a luxury for people with disability; it is essential to dignity, safety, wellbeing, and participation in society. Any legislative changes that limit a participant’s ability to make decisions about their own supports undermine the very purpose of the NDIS.

My connection to the disability community began long before my own diagnosis. My mother worked first as a teacher aide and later as a school nurse, and through her work I grew up closely connected to children, families, and adults living with disability. I witnessed firsthand how hard people with disability and their families had to fight simply to receive basic accommodations, understanding, and inclusion within their communities.

Those experiences shaped my values and my commitment to advocacy. Throughout my life I have tried to continue my mother’s legacy by educating others, supporting people with disability, and encouraging greater inclusion, understanding, and progress within our communities.

At the age of 43, I was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder Level 2 and ADHD. I also live with severe social anxiety, Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD), and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Unfortunately, the impact of living for decades with these conditions undiagnosed and unsupported has also contributed to the development of several chronic health conditions.

My diagnosis provided answers, but it also identified pathways for meaningful improvement. The professional who completed my assessment and initial NDIS submission recommended specific supports that could significantly improve my ability to participate safely and actively in the community, increase my independence, and ultimately enable me to pursue further education and part-time employment.

Despite these recommendations, many of the supports identified by the assessing professional were not included in my initial funding package. These decisions were made without meaningful consultation with me, despite the fact that I am the person most affected by the outcome. This experience has left me concerned about a system that increasingly appears to move away from individualised support and participant

Concerns Regarding Changes Impacting People With Disabilities

choice, and toward decisions being made about people with disability rather than with them.

My experience is not unique. Many participants are finding that expert recommendations are being disregarded, supports are being reduced or denied, and opportunities for genuine consultation are limited. This creates uncertainty, undermines trust in the system, and places additional barriers in the path of people who are already working hard to build independent and meaningful lives.

I am deeply concerned about the impact these changes may have on people living with psychosocial disabilities, neurodevelopmental disabilities, and complex support needs. Many participants are already experiencing significant distress and uncertainty due to concerns about funding reductions and access to essential supports. The fear of losing vital assistance is having a profound impact on mental health, wellbeing, and future planning.

I am also concerned about the effect these changes will have on families and informal carers. When formal supports are reduced, the burden does not disappear—it is transferred to loved ones. This increases the risk of carer burnout, financial hardship, declining physical and mental health, relationship strain, and reduced quality of life for both carers and participants.

Of particular concern is the reduction or removal of funding for specialised psychotherapy and disability-related therapeutic supports. While Medicare may provide a limited number of psychology sessions through Mental Health Care Plans and Chronic Disease Management plans, these allocations are often insufficient for people with complex, lifelong, and disability-related conditions.

For many participants, specialised therapeutic supports funded through the NDIS are not optional extras. They are essential interventions that help people maintain stability, build capacity, manage distress, improve social participation, and prevent deterioration. These supports are often delivered by professionals with expertise in autism, ADHD, trauma, psychosocial disability, and other forms of neurodivergence.

Without access to these supports, people face increased risks of mental health crises, self-harm, social isolation, loss of independence, and avoidable hospitalisation. The likely result is not a reduction in public expenditure, but rather a transfer of costs to already overstretched public health and mental health systems that are neither designed nor adequately resourced to provide long-term disability support.

I am aware of growing anxiety within the disability community regarding future support availability. Some people are expressing profound fears about becoming burdens on their families if their supports are reduced or withdrawn. While individual

• circumstances vary, these fears demonstrate the very real psychological impact that uncertainty and loss of support can have on vulnerable members of our community.

The NDIS was created to provide people with disability the support they need to live meaningful, self-directed lives. Reforms should strengthen participant rights, increase transparency, and improve access to necessary supports—not reduce autonomy, limit choice, or create additional barriers.

The true measure of any NDIS reform should not be how much funding it saves, but whether it improves the lives, independence, dignity, safety, and participation of people with disability.

I respectfully ask Parliament to reject the NDIS Amendment Bill in its current form and undertake genuine consultation with people with disability, carers, advocates, clinicians, and service providers before proceeding with further reform.

People with disability deserve certainty, dignity, and the ability to make decisions about their own lives. These principles must remain at the centre of all NDIS reform.

Please do not pass the NDIS Amendment Bill in its current form. It removes rights, reduces choice and control, and risks causing significant harm to people with disability, their families, and their carers. We deserve a system that works with us, not one that makes decisions about us without us.