Submission to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill
2026 Submitted by:
Sydney, NSW
01/6/2026
I am a paediatric Occupational Therapist and founder of a small private practice sole trader business that has been supporting children and their families across Northern Sydney for the past 11 years. I have been providing Paediatric OT services for 25 years.
I support the need for a sustainable and accountable NDIS. However, I am concerned that several aspects of the proposed Bill do not strengthen the principles of equality, dignity, participation and autonomy for people with disabilities.
In a society that is slowly becoming more inclusive and accepting of a range of disabilities and neurodiversity, together with the recent shift to include and promote neuroaffirming practises across health and education sectors and in the wider workforce, I do not support the Bill amendments as they do not align with these practises and will very likely leave many living with disabilities to be further isolated and without a voice to enable their essential supports.
My concerns are primarily focussed around the change in the assessment process for individuals and a loss of individualised planning with the client at the centre of their choices for support. Additionally amendments to the bill do not involve allied health expertise at the forefront of decision making.
No one child or family regardless of their diagnosis is the same. No child exists in isolation. Nor does disability exist in isolation. Therefore one standardised assessment for all, is not a a viable option to enable our society to continue to move towards inclusion and acceptance of disability.
The children I work with exist within a complex thread of environments, roles, tasks and relationships. Comprehensive and individualised assessment that is evidence based is the essential first step in the pathway to determine an accurate support plan for every individual. I am concerned that increased reliance on standardised assessments, automated decision-making processes and narrower definitions of disability may fail to capture the real-world needs of many of the children and families that I work with. Many of my clients are unable to access standardised assessments due to their complex communication and sensory needs and therefore require professional allied health expertise to assess and determine the best options for their support.
On a personal level, I am deeply concerned about the 50 per cent reduction to social, civic and community participation supports. My nephew is 14 years old. He has Epilepsy, ASD and ADHD. He needs 24 hour supervision. His parents have, for a very long time been operating above the expected level of parenting required for his chronological age, to ensure his safety and promote his inclusion and independence where possible. As a young teenager, access to community participation support workers, that are not his parents, is crucial to the development of his sense of self and building his independence and personal capacities. His parents can not do anymore and developmentally for his age this is not appropriate. It saddens me that the proposed decision making models will not take into account his individual profile and his parents may yet again be expected to do more when they are already at crisis point.
As a small paediatric practice, I am also concerned about the ongoing sustainability of the allied health workforce. Children cannot benefit from supports that do not exist. Across Australia, families already face long wait times to access occupational therapy and other allied health services. Any future reforms should ensure pricing, workforce planning and service models support the retention of experienced therapists, particularly in paediatrics, regional communities and areas where workforce shortages already exist.
I have read the Submission made by OTsi - The Occupational Therapy Society for Hidden and Invisible Disability and I support their recommendations and discussions around the Bill amendments.
I encourage the Committee to ensure that any reforms preserve the core principles that have made the NDIS successful for many children and families:
- Individualised and person-centred assessment processes and planning
- Recognition of the expertise of treating clinicians
- Early intervention and prevention
- Meaningful consultation with people with disability, families and allied health professionals
- Transparent and accountable decision-making processes Thank you for the opportunity to provide this submission.