01/06/26

To Mark Butler and the Federal Labour Government,

Withdraw the recent bill proposing major horrific cuts and changes to the NDIS. Consult with disability advocacy groups and implement their recommendations. You’ll be doing everyone a favour, including yourselves. If you need quick money, tax billionaires and gas, spend less on AUKUS. Even members of your own party agree, such as Peter Kahlil. It’s as plain as day that with the donations you want to keep receiving, Labour is corrupt. I am disgusted. Please see my top demands at the bottom, though there are many more issues with your cuts and changes I would be happy to discuss with you. Withdraw the cuts, increase supports, fix the system, listen to disabled people.

I have been disabled my whole life, and am getting more and more unwell each year as my needs continue to be unmet, and I’m trying to survive against poverty and discrimination.

When I used to work, I worked (part time for short periods until I was too disabled again to continue) in architecture designing accessible public housing, then in community arts with disabled artists, and then was drawn to community access support work. I see how life changing good NDIS support is, and how it means people meet goals and need less support.

Writing this is severely hurting and flaring up my hands. So it’s unpolished, but that doesn’t mean I am not knowledgeable and passionate. And no, speech to text does not work with my autistic accent and ADHD brain. I am incredibly unwell and burnt out right now. I save my spoons for a shower every few days, eating raw veg or cereal, sleeping, managing symptoms with ineffective band aid solutions, trying not to be homeless again, answering enough calls not to be cut off centrelink and fighting these NDIS changes. That’s it. My room, you’re doing everyone a favour, including yourselves. If you need quick money, tax billionaires and gas, spend less on AUKUS. Even members of your own party agree, such as Peter Kahlil. It’s as plain as day that with the donations you want to keep receiving, Labour is corrupt. I am disgusted. Please see my top demands at the bottom, though there are many more issues with your cuts and changes I would be happy to discuss with you. Withdraw the cuts, increase supports, fix the system, listen to disabled people.

I have been disabled my whole life, and am getting more and more unwell each year as my needs continue to be unmet, and I’m trying to survive against poverty and discrimination.

When I used to work, I worked (part time for short periods until I was too disabled again to continue) in architecture designing accessible public housing, then in community arts with disabled artists, and then was drawn to community access support work. I see how life changing good NDIS support is, and how it means people meet goals and need less support.

Writing this is severely hurting and flaring up my hands. So it’s unpolished, but that doesn’t mean I am not knowledgeable and passionate. And no, speech to text does not work with my autistic accent and ADHD brain. I am incredibly unwell and burnt out right now. I save my spoons for a shower every few days, eating raw veg or cereal, sleeping, managing symptoms with ineffective band aid solutions, trying not to be homeless again, answering enough calls not to be cut off centrelink and fighting these NDIS changes. That’s it. My room, you’re doing everyone a favour, including yourselves. If you need quick money, tax billionaires and gas, spend less on AUKUS. Even members of your own party agree, such as Peter Kahlil. It’s as plain as day that with the donations you want to keep receiving, Labour is corrupt. I am disgusted. Please see my top demands at the bottom, though there are many more issues with your cuts and changes I would be happy to discuss with you. Withdraw the cuts, increase supports, fix the system, listen to disabled people.

I have been disabled my whole life, and am getting more and more unwell each year as my needs continue to be unmet, and I’m trying to survive against poverty and discrimination.

When I used to work, I worked (part time for short periods until I was too disabled again to continue) in architecture designing accessible public housing, then in community arts with disabled artists, and then was drawn to community access support work. I see how life changing good NDIS support is, and how it means people meet goals and need less support.

Writing this is severely hurting and flaring up my hands. So it’s unpolished, but that doesn’t mean I am not knowledgeable and passionate. And no, speech to text does not work with my autistic accent and ADHD brain. I am incredibly unwell and burnt out right now. I save my spoons for a shower every few days, eating raw veg or cereal, sleeping, managing symptoms with ineffective band aid solutions, trying not to be homeless again, answering enough calls not to be cut off centrelink and fighting these NDIS changes. That’s it. My room, you’re doing everyone a favour, including yourselves. If you need quick money, tax billionaires and gas, spend less on AUKUS. Even members of your own party agree, such as Peter Kahlil. It’s as plain as day that with the donations you want to keep receiving, Labour is corrupt. I am disgusted. Please see my top demands at the bottom, though there are many more issues with your cuts and changes I would be happy to discuss with you. Withdraw the cuts, increase supports, fix the system, listen to disabled people.

Disability

enquiring about voluntary assisted dying. The community would suffer without disabled people, even if currently we are mostly forced to stay at home.

My Experience

The NDIS was a great idea thanks to Whitlam, started by labour, thanks Gillard. Medical costs are high, and the disability support pension is incredibly low and difficult to access. Lately we’ve had. misinformed major changes for autistic children, cuts to sex work, equine therapy, art therapy. Recently the government spent a lot to test messaging to frame the NDIS negatively, the media primed us with articles criticising disabled people for being driven to get a haircut and then announced the biggest cuts with the excuse of fraud and sustainability. This is not going to stop fraud and this is going to be less sustainable for Australia’s finances overall, let alone for people’s lives.

As someone with lived experience accessing the NDIS, trust me when I tell you there is plenty of space for savings in that inefficient system. Supports are not fun to receive if you don’t need them, money goes to businesses.

Fraud concerns are also rooted in the harmful trend of hidden disabilities not being believed. Only 25 prosecutions of fraud, all provider or provider collusion cases. Medicare has similar leakage, let alone ATO fraud.

• In the national 12 days of action, day 1 was ‘share your story’, but I, like many, was scared of discrimination I’ve experienced when sharing. But this is important, and wonderfully so much of this ableist NDIS mess can be improved with public awareness (and then action).
• It’s been hundreds of hours of work, let alone costs, to get NDIS funding, but it isn’t much and I feel like I’ve been just staying afloat. I’m hoping to qualify for better support, so that I can heal and manage my health better. That would save the government money. And I could get back to being a good little contributing capalist cog. I actually miss it.
• These cuts really scared me practically, but I also felt incredibly disrespected and misrepresented. I am terrified about the costs these cuts will have on our beautiful, resilient disability community and our whole country.

Disability

• Almost 1 in 5 Australians are disabled. Only around 14% of these people can access NDIS support. First nations people are overrepresented and yet face more systemic and cultural barriers to support.
• Most people will experience disability at some point due to perhaps
  • illness
  • injury
  • ageing
  • burnout
  • trauma
  • poverty
• Disabled people are not separate from society.
• Before hyper-individualist capitalism, communities survived collectively.

• People contributed differently depending on capacity and strengths.

People naturally want to contribute when they are supported and safe enough to do so.

• Disabled often contribute:
  • creativity
  • care
  • adaptability
  • problem solving
  • unique perspectives
• But disabled people do not need to be inspirational or productive to deserve rights.

Human rights are not earned through usefulness.

Poverty, Ableism and Isolation

• Disability and poverty are deeply connected.

• Disabled people are far more likely to experience:

  • poverty
  • abuse
  • housing insecurity
  • unemployment
  • social isolation
  • suicide/poor mental health

• These factors themselves can also create or worsen disability.

• A lot of the worst outcomes people associate as disability symptoms are actually avoidable outcomes of ableism and neglect.

• While most disabilities are hidden, we tend to think of ableism only relating to obvious disabilities. Sometimes it looks like assuming someone can’t do something, and sometimes it looks like assuming that they can. There are many types like:

• medical (it’s just anxiety, meditate)

• institutional (write neatly or lines after class)

• systemic (fill out these confusing forms to appeal this decision)

• Cultural (limited representation beyond villians)

• Ambivalent (if it’s too loud they should leave)

• interpersonal, (he should’ve read between the lines)

• benevolent (oh you’re an inspiration)

• Hostile (beep)

• Intersectionality matters too.

  • First Nations disabled people
  • migrant disabled people
  • queer and trans disabled people
  • AFAB disabled people.

Stricter eligibility and functional assessments

• Dangerous for:

  • dynamic disabilities
  • ND
  • chronic illness
  • psychosocial disability. Better alternative

• Trauma-informed assessments designed with disabled people.

Reducing participant numbers

• Governments say people will access “foundational supports.”
• Many of those supports barely exist yet, let alone regionally.

Better alternative

• Don’t.
• Build community supports before cutting access. Everywhere, not just in the cities.

Restricting supports

• Social and community participation are treated like luxuries. This is often the only way people get out of the house or appointments, or to work.
• But connection prevents:
  • crisis
  • hospitalisation
  • isolation
  • suicide. You either pay earlier through support or later through crisis. Crisis is more expensive.

Increased surveillance and anti-fraud systems

• Fraud should be addressed.
• Pressuring participants to switch to large providers who can afford to be registered (6% of providers)
• 50million on lawyers to fight claims last year.
• Governments are spending enormous amounts on:
  • compliance
  • reassessments
  • bureaucracy instead of direct support.

Better alternative

• Fix your system, properly regulate providers instead. Have a list I can provide.
• Improve whistleblower protections

5. Reassessments, reduced flexibility and cutting support coordination

• The NDIA is proposing cuts to many support coordination roles.
• For many people, support coordinators are the only reason they can:
  • navigate the system
  • organise services
  • attend appointments
  • avoid complete overwhelm.

Better alternative

• Humane systems based on trust, accessibility and long-term stability.

Our 5 Demands

No cuts to participant access or support budgets. Particularly not to support coordinations who are the doorway to accessing support or to community access that is the only light in the life of many.

Meaningful consultation with disabled people. “Nothing about us without us.”

Even economically, cutting support is short-sighted.

• Adequate support can prevent: - homelessness - hospitalisation - incarceration - unemployment - psychiatric crisis.

• The savings from support are often invisible because they are the disasters that never happened.

• With support, many disabled people can: - study - work - volunteer - create - care for others - participate in community.

• Society loses enormous talent when disabled people are trapped in survival mode.

• But again: - disabled people do not need to be geniuses, productive or inspirational to deserve dignity. Question

• “True or false: most NDIS fraud comes from disabled people pretending to be disabled.“Answer:

• False.

• Most large-scale fraud relates to providers and organised exploitation.Question

• “What major spending increase was announced the week before proposed 35bil dollar NDIS cuts?“Answer:

• $53 billion in increased military spending.Q Is there anyone making massive profits from our resources who could pay a little tax and fund this? A: Gas and ultra richQ Which are some of my’s favourite fun places to learn? Jordan John Steele You cant ask that Yellow Lady Bugs

20 Steps to Nanette

Carly Findlay

Q What are yours?

Closing

Lets build a society based on dignity, care and community.

• Disabled people are not disposable.
• We deserve more than survival, though many won’t even be afforded that.
• Withdraw the cuts, increase supports, fix the system, listen to disabled people

Thank you