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

Submission 4044

Submission to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee Inquiry into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track) Bill

To the Committee Secretariat, I am writing to make a personal submission to strongly discourage and oppose the proposed cuts and amendments outlined in the current NDIS Bill. As a 30-year-old woman living with a complex neurodivergence and severe physical conditions in rural Victoria, I am terrified of what these legislative changes will mean for my survival, my safety, and my basic quality of life. The proposed amendments replace individualized, human-centric support with rigid bureaucracy. Below, I discuss exactly how these changes will devastate and impact my life, alongside the broader systemic crises they will trigger for women, hospitals, and domestic violence services across Australia.

1. The Impact of Specific Bill Changes on My Diagnoses The proposed legislative shift toward streamlined, automated assessment templates and restricted support lists fail to account for multi-systemic, complex diagnoses. My conditions do not exist in separate boxes; they actively compound one another daily: Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS) and Slipped Rib Syndrome: I live with severe genetic connective tissue defects, joint instability, and a torn meniscus. My lower ribs frequently slide out of place, directly pinching my intercostal nerves. This causes agonizing, sudden physical pain that leaves me unable to safely perform basic housework, prepare meals, or walk my dog independently. The proposed limits on what the NDIS deems “allowable support” threaten to strip away the essential core physical assistance I need just to maintain a basic level of safety inside my home.AuDHD (Autism and ADHD): My neurodivergent brain experiences severe sensory gating deficits. Unlike a neurotypical system, my brain lacks a natural filter; it absorbs absolutely every piece of environmental, social, and physical data at maximum volume. This creates constant executive dysfunction and cognitive overload. The proposed changes—introducing rigid, confusing loops and strip away individual flexibility—will directly trigger intense, involuntary autistic meltdowns due to systemic frustration and Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (cPTSD). I am a survivor of severe domestic abuse and historical trauma, which leaves my nervous system in a permanent state of hyper-vigilance. My body treats stress as an active physical threat, dumping cortisol into my system that directly triggers painful, chronic gastrointestinal inflammation (gastritis) and severe muscle tension that worsens my slipping ribs. Due to permeant gastrointestinal issues I also regularly suffer from repeated server constipation that has previously required 3 hospital admissions due to server malabsorption / dehydration and impaction. The stress of navigating a highly punitive, restrictive NDIS framework acts as a direct psychological trigger, destabilizing my mental health also, I fear my current application will be rejected soon which will exacerbate my suicidal ideation. I feel currently trapped financially, physically, and emotionally. The only thing that had kept me optimistic was my hope for NDIS support. That I may get a life away from abuse and finally be able to live a life somewhat independently and with dignity. I was a law student before my illness took over completely. I have a mind that could give back to this country, and I want to urge people to understand that disability does not discriminate. One day you could think you’re fine, the next your whole world is different and you CANNOT HELP YOURSELF. It’s a horrific thing to experience.

2. The Geographic Bias: The Unfair “Treatment Threshold” The amendment requiring participants to prove they have “exhausted all reasonable treatment options” before accessing or retaining NDIS funding is deeply discriminatory, particularly against regional and low-income Australians:

• The Reality of Rural Access: I live in rural Mildura. We do not have local hEDS specialists, and the public waitlist for a basic Occupational Therapy (OT) assessment is up to two years. Private assessments cost upwards of $400 to $800, which is completely impossible to afford on a Disability Support Pension (DSP) when my private rent already consumes 70% of my income.
• The Cost Barrier: Expecting a disabled person to pay out-of-pocket for expensive, specialized treatments to “prove” their permanence—when they are already struggling to afford food—is a cruel paradox. If the NDIA mandates treatments that are geographically or financially inaccessible, regional participants will be systematically cut from the scheme, leading to an imminent collapse of their daily care.

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

Submission 4044

Systemic Impacts: Women, Domestic Violence, and Hospital Overcrowding

The proposed cuts will not save the government money; they will simply shift a catastrophic financial and operational burden onto other already failing state systems:

• Increased Risk of Domestic Violence and Coercive Control: Statistically, women are at a significantly higher risk of developing chronic, invisible autoimmune and connective tissue illnesses. When the NDIS cuts access to independent core supports (like cleaning, cooking, and transport), physically disabled women are forced to become entirely dependent on family members or partners for survival. For women in volatile or abusive households, this structural dependency removes their only escape hatch. It traps them in environments with abusers, directly driving up domestic violence rates and putting women’s lives at immediate risk.

• Clogging the Public Hospital System: When proactive, preventative NDIS care (such as specialized allied health, core home support, and assistive technology) is removed, disabled individuals cannot manage their health at home. My slipping ribs and chronic flares will inevitably lead to acute medical crises. Cutting home supports means thousands of participants will suffer preventable health collapses, flooding emergency departments and clogging public hospital wards that are already under unprecedented strain. Due to not currently having any NDIS funding, I have been admitted to hospital on 3 separate occasions due to my rib condition and not having the funding or support to access the correct treatment in Melbourne. So, in retrospect it very much will cost the Government more.

• Shattering the Path to Recovery: Navigating complex trauma and maintaining long-term sobriety requires absolute environmental stability and reliable, safe support. Forcing vulnerable participants into severe financial and housing distress destabilizes their entire psychological foundation. This directly undermines their substance recovery and places an immense, expensive burden back onto state-funded mental health and crisis services. This Bill, in its current form, treats human beings with complex, lifelong disabilities as financial liabilities to be managed through reduction and restriction. If these amendments are passed, they will not get the NDIS “back on track.” Instead, they will systematically isolate truth-tellers, strip away the independence of vulnerable women, clog our public hospitals, and trap disabled individuals in cycles of abuse and poverty. I deeply urge the Committee to reject these punitive amendments and protect the original, legislative promise of the NDIS: to provide choice, control, and dignified independent living for all Australians with a disability.