My Submission About the NDS Bill 2026

To the Senate Committee,

My name is and I am an NDIS participant.

I wanted to make this submission because decisions about the NDIS affect my life every day.

I have a permanent and severe disability that will never improve. My disability is lifelong.

The NDIS helps me live more independently, safely and with dignity. It allows me to live in my own home, be part of my community and have more choice and control over my life.

Without support, life becomes much harder.

One of the hardest things for me is constantly having to prove my disability and basic needs over and over again, even though my disability will never get better.

I have to keep supplying reports and evidence to explain things that have not changed.

I have to prove why I need support to stay safe and live my life.

That is stressful.

It is exhausting.

And sometimes it feels demeaning and dehumanising.

It can feel like people are asking me to prove my worth or justify basic things that help me live safely and with dignity.

Having to repeatedly explain permanent disability affects confidence, mental health and independence.

I worry that changes to the NDS could make this harder.

Another thing that frustrates me is hearing that the NDIS costs too much and that changes need to happen because it is becoming too expensive.

My disability has not changed.

My support needs have not changed.

What has changed is the cost of providing supports.

Sometimes it feels like costs increase the moment an NDIS participant number is attached to something.

I understand there are problems in the system.

I think fraud, waste and poor providers should be dealt with.

But people with disability should not feel blamed for rising costs when our support needs have stayed the same.

One of my biggest concerns is Community Access funding.

Community Access is not just about “going out”.

For me, it helps me be part of society.

It helps me look for employment opportunities so I can contribute to my community and have purpose.

It helps me attend family gatherings and stay connected to the people I care about.

It helps me get out into the community and participate in ordinary life.

Without Community Access, I would become isolated.

And when people become isolated, disability becomes harder.

Mental health becomes harder.

Confidence becomes harder.

Independence becomes harder.

It is not good for people to become cut off from family, community and opportunities.

Community Access helps stop that from happening.

It helps me have a life, not just exist.

I also want people making decisions to understand that independence only works when supports work together.

Housing.

Support workers.

Accessibility

Technology

Reliable services.

When one thing breaks down, everything becomes harder.

People with disability should not have to live in fear of losing support or constantly fighting to prove obvious needs again and again.

Please remember there are real people behind these decisions.

People like me.

I would like people making decisions about the NDIS to listen to people with disability and understand what life is actually like.

Please protect the supports that help people live independently, stay connected and contribute to their communities.

Thank you for listening.