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

Submission 3781

Introduction

I am writing to make a submission as the mother and primary carer of a 8-year-old child with high-support needs autism and intellectual disability. Our family relies heavily on the NDIS for our families wellbeing as well as access to essential allied health therapies, support workers, and early intervention. While I support protecting the integrity of the scheme against fraud, I am deeply concerned that the provisions within this Bill will inadvertently penalise and disadvantage vulnerable families like ours.

1. Functional Capacity Assessments vs. Diagnosis-Based Eligibility

The Bill proposes shifting eligibility criteria toward a functional capacity model, using assessment tools that have not yet been made public. For a high-support needs autistic child, “functional capacity” can fluctuate wildly based on sensory environments, routine changes, and stress. A rigid, one-off assessment risks misrepresenting my child’s true daily support needs.

• For example, my daughters ability and capacity to access her community, including essential appointments changes constantly. She may be able to attend an appointment on one day but her capacity on another day is very different. No computerised assessment tool is going to pick that up.

2. Restrictions on Unscheduled Reassessments

The restrictions on unscheduled plan reviews heavily disadvantage developing children. Autistic children’s needs do not change on a predictable, fixed schedule. If my child experiences a behavioral crisis, a school transition challenge, or a sudden regression, we need the flexibility to adjust their plan immediately. Forcing families to wait for fixed renewals risks pushing families into crisis.

3. Reduced Flexibility and Increased Caregiver Burnout

The new operational frameworks—including rigid funding parameters and stricter 90-day claiming limits—threaten our choice and control. As a carer managing a high-support child, my capacity is already stretched thin. Adding more administrative burdens and the constant threat of having funds restricted or reassessed between 2028 and 2030 induces extreme anxiety and takes time away from direct caregiving.

• Having home based supports has become an essential lifeline for my family for our wellbeing. The potential threat of having this reduced or stripped away is a distressing prospect for us.

4. Broad Ministerial Powers and Across-the-Board Funding Cuts

I am deeply alarmed by the proposed Schedule 1, Part 4 of the Bill, which grants the Commonwealth Minister new, sweeping powers to make determinations that reduce funding for entire groups of supports.

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

Submission 3781

• Erosion of Individualised Funding: The NDIS was built on the core principle of individualised choice, control, and funding mapped to a person’s unique functional needs. Giving a Minister the power to enact broad, top-down percentage cuts to entire funding buckets (like capacity building or social and community participation) completely undermines this.

• Impact on High-Support Autism: For a child with high-support needs autism, capacity building daily activities and community access are not optional “luxuries”—they are vital safety nets. If a Minister decides behind closed doors to reduce capacity-building funding by a blanket percentage to meet budget targets, my child’s individual therapy and support hours will be slashed regardless of what their actual clinical evidence demands.

• Lack of Appeals and Accountability: These blunt budget controls allow funding reductions to occur without a plan-by-plan review of individual circumstances, offering families virtually no avenue to challenge or appeal the decision based on their child’s safety and well-being.

“If the Minister uses these new powers to cut support worker budgets for example, my child will lose the 1-on-1 support worker who keeps them safe in public spaces. Without this specific bucket of funding, our family will be forced into social isolation, and my child will regress behaviorally.”