National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 484
To whom it may concern,
I am an NDIS participant in regional SA. I have been bedridden by my severe disability for 11yrs and counting, and using the NDIS for the past 6yrs.
I strongly oppose the NDIS Future Generations Bill 2026 for many reasons, and implore you to pause the Bill and allow the disability community to be involved in the work to find a way forward to make the NDIS better. We all need to slow this down and work on it together. I am too unwell and disabled to be able to address all of the issues I see in the Bill, especially within the extremely short and ableist timeframe the government has given us for submissions.
So I will address only one issue of the MANY
The new plan renewal changes, where a plan will be renewed without rolling over any unused funds. A repercussion of this that needs to be seriously and urgently considered is that there will be many participants who may still have mid/high cost AT or home modifications funding in their plan that has not been able to be utilised within their plan dates, at no fault of their own.
The plan renewal changes suggest that participants will lose that crucial funding if/when their plan is renewed. That would have highly detrimental impacts on the participant, putting their well being and functional capacity at risk.
The funding was proven to meet r&n criteria. This process often takes 6-12 months to prepare the application, in my experience (depending on the complexity and how my disability impacts my ability to jump through the application hoops), hundreds to thousands of dollars of report writing, trialling and other work required to prepare the application. If the plan is renewed without the chance to use this funding, all of the costs, energy, and time involved in getting it into the plan in the first place are completely wasted. For the participant to have to go through the process all over again, costing the NDIA double the amount it cost them in the first place. Not to mention the cost and time of the NDIA staff who were involved in reviewing the application having to be repeated. This also puts the participant at risk of further deterioration in their functional capacity (higher support needs) if they have to go through the application process all over again and wait for the funding to be reinstated in their plan.
There are many reasons why the AT and home modifications funding could not be used within the timeframe planned. Due to builders, OTs or AT vendor delays - all outside of the participants’ control. Or due to personal reasons, such as by the time the application is approved in the participant’s plan, perhaps they are experiencing new ongoing health issues, loss or other life crises that delay their ability to utilise the funding.
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 484
I ask that any AT or home modification approved but not yet delivered by the date of a plan renewal/replacement be automatically carried into the new plan at the approved amount.
I have personally experienced ongoing delays outside of my control, delaying me from using my mid-cost AT funding in my plan and was absolutely terrified of losing the funding when my plan dates end. It is really stressful and has a great impact on my health. We shouldn’t be put into this situation and should be guaranteed that this funding will be rolled over into the next plan.
Please ammend this Bill and take time to work with the disability community to create a better NDIS for everyone, including the government budget.
I consent to this submission being published as anonymous.