Submission 508
OFFICIAL
State and Territory Disability Ministers
Submission to the Senate Standing Community Affairs Legislation
Committee: National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing
the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
June 2026
OFFICIAL 1
Submission 508
OFFICIAL
The submission is not exhaustive; state and territory governments have focused our response on major reforms outlined in Schedule 1 of the Bill, noting a reference to other Parts of Schedules.
State and Territory Disability Ministers (Disability Ministers) provide this submission as co governors of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS/the Scheme). We have a responsibility to ensure the Scheme remains effective, participant-centred, and financially sustainable.
Our recommendations reflect this shared commitment, consistent with the agreements reached at National Cabinet in January 2026.
The NDIS is one of Australia’s most significant social reforms. It replaced a fragmented, inequitable system with a person focused model that empowers people with disability to exercise choice and control over their supports.
The Independent Review of the NDIS (NDIS Review) and the Royal Commission into the Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability made clear that the NDIS is under strain and there is significant room to restore the original intent of the Scheme. This NDIS is increasingly at risk of drifting from its original purpose – evidenced by rapid cost growth, market distortion, and rising fraud and exploitation. Governments must work together to secure the Scheme for future generations while ensuring the NDIS is there for the Australians it was set up to serve.
All jurisdictions share a collective responsibility for Scheme sustainability and growth management. Securing the NDIS for future generations requires effective co-governance, government systems that talk to each other, and delivery on existing commitments. Whilst reform is necessary, it must be proportionate, carefully sequenced and designed to protect participants from harm. The NDIS must continue to provide life-changing support for people with significant and permanent disability.
The Commonwealth is moving very rapidly to reform the NDIS. Disability Ministers have concerns with some core provisions of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 (the Bill), including its potential impacts on people with disability and our established co-governance arrangements.
While elements of the proposed reforms have the potential to deliver improved outcomes, the Bill in its current form risks undermining the original intent of the NDIS. The pace of reform – focused heavily on expenditure constraint, without a clearly defined broader ecosystem and with limited consultation – creates a significant risk of fragmented service delivery.
Without a careful, coordinated approach that aligns these changes with broader improvements across the disability support system, there is a significant risk that people with disability will end up in hospitals or other settings that are inappropriate and unable to meet their needs, or have no access to services at all.
OFFICIAL 2
Submission 508
OFFICIAL
States and territories are not in a position, and have made no agreement, to deliver like-for-like services to people who are exited from the NDIS.
State and territory Disability Ministers have identified the following key concerns;
-
The proposed changes go beyond and contrast with recommendations of previous reviews including the NDIS review, Productivity Commission and the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority (IHACPA).
-
They are inconsistent with commitments by all governments at National Cabinet in January 2026, including the Heads of Agreement on Health and Disability and in the National Agreement on Foundational Supports.
-
Collectively, these reforms risk shifting the Scheme away from its participant first design, fundamentally altering the balance between safeguards, individualised supports, and fiscal control.
-
The Bill centralises decision-making with the Commonwealth Minister, weakening established co-governance arrangements and prioritising rapid expenditure reduction.
-
Significant projected participant exits by 2031 are not accompanied by clearly defined alternative supports, creating risk of unmet need and cost-shifting to state and territory systems (including health, education, and justice), which are not equipped for increased demand and cannot deliver like-for-like services with the NDIS.
-
Concerningly, Disability Ministers have not been meaningfully consulted in the development of these reforms, signalling a broader shift away from shared governance despite the Scheme’s joint funding responsibilities.
-
Disability Ministers also wish to advocate for meaningful engagement and consultation with the disability community on the proposed reforms. This is fundamental to delivering long lasting and transformational change for people with disability and ensuring that there are no unintended consequences with the implementation of these reforms.
These concerns are shared across the disability sector. Disability Ministers note the significant issues raised in stakeholder submissions and endorse the recommendations of the NDIS Reform Advisory Committee.
We urge the Committee to carefully consider whether the Bill, in its current form, provides sufficient clarity, safeguards and assurance that people with disability will be able to access the supports they need.
Disability Ministers remain committed to working constructively with the Commonwealth to strengthen this legislation and secure the long-term integrity, sustainability and participant focus of the NDIS.
OFFICIAL 3
Submission 508
OFFICIAL
We have a shared responsibility to ensure a strong, fair and sustainable NDIS State and territory Disability Ministers remain committed to working with the Commonwealth and the disability community to create a sustainable NDIS. For many within our community, the NDIS has been transformative. It is the central pillar of the disability service system. It is important that we work together to get this right, so that we can make sure the NDIS is able to provide meaningful support for people now, and into the future.
The changes being proposed will set the direction of the Scheme for years to come – they will impact who can access the Scheme, what supports they receive, and how the scheme operates. Securing the future of the NDIS can only be achieved through genuine partnership between governments and with the disability community.
The Bill increases the Commonwealth’s power to make critical decisions about the Scheme. The NDIS is a shared Scheme; the success of the Scheme relies on collaboration with state and territory governments, who have a joint responsibility to shape the policy direction of the NDIS. The National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (NDIS Act) establishes a legislative responsibility for First Ministers and Disability Ministers as co-governors of the Scheme. As both co-funders and co-governors, states and territories are concerned that this Bill erodes collaboration, shared decision-making and shared accountability for the Scheme.
The Bill concentrates decision-making power with the Commonwealth Minister for the NDIS, by using legislative instruments to set key features of the Scheme. This will enable the Commonwealth Minister to make enduring changes without sufficient safeguards, scrutiny or agreement from co-governors. The shift to NDIS pricing being made by Ministerial Determination is also not in line with the NDIS Review or IHACPA recommendations to establish independent pricing functions. Such matters should be drafted as Category A Rules and require agreement of state and territory governments.
The benefits of a consultative approach to legislative change and the effectiveness and efficiency of the negotiating process to date should give the Commonwealth confidence in the Category A Rules.
No. Recommendation
1 Amend the Bill so that significant legislative instruments with major policy or fiscal consequences for the Scheme require the agreement of all states and territories via the process required for making Category A Rules under s 209 of the NDIS Act. At a minimum, amend the following items in the Bill to require rules or determinations made for the purpose of those provisions to be Category A Rules:
-
Schedule 1 item 34 (new s 34A) (determination of the reduction of funding for a specified group of supports)
-
Schedule 1 item 68 (reasonable and necessary supports)
OFFICIAL 4
Submission 508
OFFICIAL
- Schedule 1 item 92 (new s 25A(4) (rules determining the circumstances in which a person is taken to have undertaken all appropriate treatment for an impairment or impairments)
2 The NDIS Act should stipulate a Category A rulemaking power for prescribing alternative supports (by reference to impairments and service systems).
3 a) The NDIS Act should:i. restrict the NDIA’s ability to incorporate official documents into rules governing the participant pathway and pricing of supports. ii. remove Ministerial Determinations as appropriate legislative instruments to prescribe NDIA documents that can later be incorporated into the rules.
b) The Commonwealth Government should provide an indication of the future arrangements for NDIS pricing and release the 2024 Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority report on NDIS Pricing Reform.
The Bill gives the Commonwealth power to unilaterally make transitional rules that would modify or change the Act.
Schedule 5 item 1 of the Bill confers powers on the Minister for the NDIS to make transitional rules to alter the effect of existing legislation through a legislative instrument, without needing to consult states and territories or progress through parliament.
The use of transitional rules should be genuinely transitional in nature and not relied upon for those reforms that have an extended implementation period within which states and territories could otherwise develop Category A rules.
Changes to the NDIS Act should always be transparent and made in partnership with Disability Ministers.
No. Recommendation
4 Amend Schedule 5 item 1 to require consultation with states and territories prior to any use of this power.
All Disability Ministers must have a clear role in decision making on Scheme reform
The NDIS Act (section 12) outlines that the Commonwealth Minister for the NDIS must consult with states and territories, through Disability Ministers, on policy matters relevant to the NDIS. This commitment that was reaffirmed in the Heads of Agreement signed by First Ministers at National Cabinet in January 2026.
These reforms affect major policy and fiscal settings in the Scheme – meaning Disability Ministers should be consulted on the detail of the measures carefully during their development and legislative drafting.
OFFICIAL 5
Submission 508
OFFICIAL
We acknowledge that change needs to occur quickly to restore the Scheme to its original intent. However, it is critical that we do not let the push for expediency be the driving force behind these reforms. Going forward, Disability Ministers are seeking genuine and meaningful consultation on the reforms.
No. Recommendation
5 Amend section 12 of the Act to set out a process for consultation with Disability Ministers on significant policy and fiscal reforms to the operation and governance of the Scheme.
This should require that the Commonwealth Minister write to state and territory Disability Ministers outlining the intent of the reform and proposed approach for discussion amongst disability officials. This information should be provided a minimum of 14 days prior to it entering the public domain (i.e. prior to introduction into Parliament).
Reforms to the NDIS must not lose sight of the people the NDIS was set up to serve The NDIS was designed as a national early intervention insurance scheme for Australians in the event of significant disability, providing eligible people with individualised, tailored supports, certainty of funding based on need, and genuine choice and control over how their needs were met. The Australian government has said it is working to restore the NDIS to its original intent. The changes in this Bill risk undermining the original intent of the Scheme.
The Bill’s proposed new definition of ‘functional capacity’ and the requirement for support needs to be directly related to eligible impairments (Schedule 1, parts 1 and 3 of the NDIS Bill) risk narrowing the basis on which support needs are assessed by giving less weight to the social, environmental, socioeconomic, geographical and personal circumstances that shape a person’s functioning in practice.
While the scheme’s sustainability is an important objective, reforms must not prioritise expenditure reduction over participant safety, wellbeing, and life outcomes.
No. Recommendation
6 Any NDIS rules or legislative instruments made having regard to financial sustainability should be accompanied by an impact assessment on participants, families and carers, including impacts on safety, economic participation, regional and remote, home and living, and demand on mainstream and state-funded systems. 7 The NDIS Act should retain the effect of clauses 32K and 32L, so that decision makers continue to consider the range of factors that may affect a participant’s need for NDIS supports, including the person’s broader circumstances rather than only specific impairments in isolation. 8 The NDIS Act should retain access to independent merits review for all decisions that materially affect NDIS participants.
OFFICIAL 6
Submission 508
OFFICIAL
Expected levels of family and informal supports must be reasonable
The Bill codifies a level of care and support by parents and informal carers that far exceeds the Commonwealth Productivity Commission’s original assessments in 2014 and 2017 of what would be reasonable and appropriate to expect parents to provide, especially to young children with disability.
As significantly higher expectations are placed on parents and carers, the Bill repeals the principles under section 31 that require the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) to develop and build family capacity through participant plans. New subsection 34(1K)) also requires the NDIA to consider whether supports provided by families, carers, employers, local services, and members of the community are more desirable than funded supports. However, any requirement to consider whether an informal support is available to a participant is removed.
No. Recommendation
9 a) The NDIS Act and Rules should specify that appropriate parentalresponsibility for children includes low intervention support overnight and for a reasonable period during a week.
b) The Bill should include clear and specific assumptions about the level of support that is reasonable for an ageing carer to provide.
Greater safeguards are needed in relation to proposed unilateral Ministerial changes to, and caps on, participant budgets
The proposed changes would allow the Minister, via a determination, to make broad changes to participant budgets, including by reducing funding for categories of supports (proposed section 34A) and setting caps, limits or ratios for supports (proposed subsections 33(2EA) and 33(2EB)). This is a significant power with limited safeguards, and there is insufficient clarity about how these changes would operate in practice, including whether they would apply across the scheme or whether some participants would be exempt.
If budget settings are changed too broadly, or quickly, additional pressures may be placed on families and carers and destabilise provider markets. This could have a disproportionate impact in regional areas and thin markets, and lead to service gaps. For example, a participant in Supported Independent Living (SIL) who relies on social and community participation to attend a day program may face reduced effective support if broad funding changes are applied without regard to their existing living arrangements and specialised provider needs. This may then have implications for provider sustainability.
Further, participants use Social, Community and Civic Participation budgets to reduce direct support needs and support ongoing access to social and economic participation in society. Reduction in funding may risk social isolation of people with disability and the underemployment or
OFFICIAL 7
Submission 508
OFFICIAL
unemployment of people with disability and their family and informal carers. This is inconsistent with the original intention of the NDIS and the broader economic benefits the Productivity Commission envisioned would offset its cost. Although the Commonwealth has forecast substantial savings, states and territories have not yet been provided with the detailed or meaningful cohort, pathway and impact information needed to understand who may leave the Scheme, experience reduced supports, or rely more heavily on other systems. This may unreasonably shift responsibility onto families and informal carers where they exist, as well as state services including health, mental health, housing, education, child protection, justice and crisis services. Women will likely disproportionately experience a reduction in workforce participation and potential increase in unpaid care.
No. Recommendation
10 a) Per Recommendation 1, amend Schedule 1 item 34 (new s 34A)(determination of the reduction of funding for a specified group of supports) to require determinations made for the purpose of those provisions to be Category A Rules.
b) Amend section 34A to require that the Minister prescribe limits and thresholds on Support Determinations to preserve a participants existing economic participation levels and home and living arrangements.
c) For the Commonwealth Government to undertake genuine consultation with, and sincerely consider and respond to feedback from, people with disability that use these supports, and their families and carers, prior to implementation of these specific changes through the passage of the Bill.
We need to work together on building the disability service system outside the NDIS As part of agreeing the Heads of Agreement on Health and Disability and the National Agreement on Foundational Supports, the Commonwealth and state and territory governments agreed to the first phase of Foundational Supports through Thriving Kids, with eligibility for future cohorts to be negotiated through further bilateral agreements. The major policy and fiscal changes proposed by the Bill go beyond the scope of these agreements and may result in NDIS access and planning changes outpacing the development and implementation of Foundational Supports. This sequencing risks creating new service gaps, placing preventable pressure on other disability services, universal systems and state-based services. This will exacerbate difficulties people with disability have accessing the services they need.
No. Recommendation
-
Any proposed change to limit eligibility or access to the NDIS or planning
arrangements should be aligned with the development of any potential new foundational supports, beyond Thriving Kids, to mitigate the risk of service gaps.