NDIA Accountability Project

Occupational therapy supports for individuals with intellectual disabilities

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National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026

Submission 3778

To Whom It May Concern,

Who I Am

I am a Senior Clinician with nearly two decades of experience in disability and health, having worked extensively across public sector roles throughout Australia, with a primary focus on regional and rural communities. I hold a Masters degree, specialising in neurological conditions and rehabilitation. My career has been dedicated to working closely with individuals with significant intellectual, cognitive, and communication impairments. With this depth of expertise, I provide evidence-based assessments, interventions, and recommendations to support people with disabilities and their families.

My concerns relate directly to several aspects of the proposed National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDS for Future Generations) Bill 2026:

  • Proposed Funding Cuts: The Bill proposes a 10% reduction to capacity building daily activity supports and a 50% reduction to social, civic, and community participation supports from 1 October 2026. These supports are essential for building skills, maintaining routines, and ensuring community connection for people with disabilities.
  • Increased Use of Automation and Standardised Tools: The Bill allows for greater use of automated decision-making and standardised assessment tools, reducing the role of professional judgement and risking inappropriate or inadequate support for those with complex needs.
  • Expanded Ministerial Powers: The Bill gives the Minister broad authority to limit or reduce categories of supports, which could lead to system-wide cuts not based on individual needs.
  • Restrictions on Reassessment and Review: Limiting unscheduled plan reassessments to “exceptional circumstances” fails to recognise the fluctuating and evolving needs of people with disabilities.
  • Risk of Narrowing Access: The Bill may raise eligibility thresholds, particularly impacting children, people with psychosocial disabilities, and those with complex or fluctuating conditions.

Examples from My Practice

Throughout my career, I have witnessed the critical role that occupational therapy and capacity building supports (from all disciplines) play in the lives of people with profound disabilities. For many of my clients, therapy from any discipline is not a luxury—it is essential to maintain their current level of function, prevent premature decline, and, in some cases, prevent early death. It helps them be part of the communities they live in, steady of being segregated. Equipment provision and implementation require ongoing therapy to ensure safety and effectiveness. Reducing these supports will not only diminish independence but will also increase long-term costs due to preventable complications and hospitalisations.

The bureaucratic systems already in place cause excessive delays and inefficiencies, wasting precious funding and compounding the struggles faced by individuals and their

National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026

Submission 3778

families. Further restrictions and cuts will only exacerbate these issues, leading to more wastage and poorer outcomes.

What I Want Parliament to Do

I urge Parliament to:

  • Pause and genuinely consider feedback from participants, especially those who cannot advocate for themselves due to communication or cognitive impairments.
  • Reverse the proposed reductions to capacity building and participation supports, recognising their vital role in upholding the rights, dignity, and long-term outcomes of people with disabilities.
  • Ensure all assessments and funding decisions are made by appropriately qualified allied health professionals, not automated systems or standardised tools alone.
  • Retain practical pathways for reassessment and review to ensure supports remain responsive to changing needs.
  • Limit broad ministerial powers that could reduce transparency and undermine individualised, clinically informed decision-making.
  • Support sustainable pricing and workforce integrity to maintain access to high-quality, evidence-based therapy services, especially in regional and rural areas.

Final Message

Please do not rush through decisions for the sake of expediency or media attention. The lives and wellbeing of some of the most vulnerable Australians are at stake. This legislation, as currently proposed, risks destroying the supports that people with disabilities and their families rely on to survive and thrive. I implore you to pause, listen, and act with care and responsibility.

I urge you to support the recommendations of Occupational Therapy Australia, and all the other Professional Bodies who are advocating for the rights of those people with disabilities who can’t speak for themselves.

I also extend an offer to you to contact me, if you ever want to communicate with the incredible people and their families that I support – who are living with profound disability, to get real-world feedback about the impact of all the changes to NDIS, and the reality of the proposed changes the government is trying to put through. These people are struggling to get through each day, and don’t have the resources to turn up at ministers offices, or proactively search for “consultation groups” or fill in the numerous surveys that have been released in the last 18 months. But they would appreciate the opportunity to communicate directly with those people making these decisions on their behalf in government.

I thank you for your time if you have taken the time to read my submission.