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

Submission 4105

I am writing to oppose the planned changes to the NDIS. I am a parent and carer of an adult son who has Autism. The changes will have an enormous negative impact on my son and I. The huge cut from Social and Community funds will have a devastating affect on his life. He requires a Support Worker to attend medical appointments, obtain scripts, get haircuts, fulfil his grocery shopping weekly and also for exercise. Once a week he goes out to a bistro for lunch and checks out parks and museums. He NEEDS that support. He relies on that support! He doesn’t want Mum taking him out (like a child). I have a chronic health condition which makes it difficult. My pain and my mobility often stops me from taking him out. I feel with the cuts, the disabled will be hidden away and forgotten. Just like they were in the past.

My son has already lost so much, please don’t take this support away from him. During covid, I was very afraid for him. He felt imprisoned. He was depressed. He wanted to end his life. I most certainly don’t want to be there again. If funds are taken away, this will happen. He is a person, not a number. A computer shouldn’t be in charge of changing plans. Lives were lost with Robo Debt. More lives will be lost when the NDIS becomes driven with AI. The NDIS should remain person centred. With the changes to the NDIS, just in the last year or two, my son’s life has changed and not in a good way. We are managing, but it affects him greatly. These new proposed changes will certainly make his life harder and in turn, my life also.

With the 3 monthly block funding put into his latest plan.. we haven’t been able to hold on to an OT. Good OT’s are very hard to find, keeping them is even harder. After having the same OT for 3 years, she felt she was inadequate to help my son anymore. We’ve had many false starts with other OTs, but due to the block funding they wouldn’t stay connected with us. We have managed to ‘bank’ these funds now, but with the changes coming, we don’t know what will be affected. Not knowing is not good for our mental health. Continual changes are not good for our mental health.

Please centre your time and work on making the NDIS better for everyone who relies on it. Please close the loopholes that cost the government thousands. Please focus on the providers who do the wrong thing. Please do not take supports for people who can’t live decent lives without them. I am pleading on you to do the right thing and don’t take supports away from the disabled. They don’t have a choice, but YOU DO! Mother/ carer/ nominee.