National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 509 - Supplementary Submission
From: Sent: Sunday, 24 May 2026 2:38 PM
To: Community Affairs, Committee (SEN)
Subject: NDIS Amendment Bill 2026
Dear Committee Members,
I am writing as a mother and full-time carer of two children with significant disability-related needs.
My eldest child is autistic, non-speaking/minimally speaking, and requires substantial support across communication, self-care, emotional regulation, learning, social participation and daily life. My youngest child is also autistic and, although verbal, experiences severe anxiety, emotional dysregulation and significant functional challenges.
I am deeply concerned about the NDIS Amendment Bill 2026 and the impact it will have on families like mine if it is passed in its current form.
The NDIS was meant to provide individualised support based on functional need. My concern is that this Bill moves the Scheme further away from individualised assessment and towards broad powers to cut, cap, narrow, suspend or restrict supports.
I am particularly concerned about:
Section 34A, which may allow plan funding to be reduced by percentage cuts across whole support categories. Section 33(2EA), which may allow supports to be capped by cohort rather than actual individual need. Section 34(1)(aa), which narrows supports to needs “directly arising” from impairment, which could exclude complex and overlapping disability-related needs. Section 50A, where automatic renewal may mean unspent funds are lost, even when funds were unspent because of provider shortages, waitlists, illness, flares, family crisis or difficulty finding suitable providers. Section 48A, which may make reassessment harder, even when a participant’s needs change. Sections 40A and 30(1A), which raise serious concerns about suspension and revocation of access. Section 9B, which introduces a new eligibility test from 2028. Schedule 5, which appears to allow the Minister to change how the Act operates for 12 months without proper parliamentary scrutiny.
For families like mine, these are not abstract legal changes. They affect whether my children can communicate, regulate, participate safely, build independence and have a meaningful future.
A cohort cap cannot understand my child. A percentage cut cannot understand my child. A narrow “directly arising” test cannot capture the reality of complex disability, where communication, regulation, behaviour, learning, self-care, anxiety and participation are all connected.
If supports are reduced, capped or made harder to access, disability needs will not disappear. The cost will simply shift onto families, schools, hospitals, crisis services and unpaid carers. 1
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 509 - Supplementary Submission
It also risks taking us backwards — to a time when children and people with disability were isolated from community life and denied the chance to live happy, meaningful and connected lives.
Families like mine already live with constant fear about the future. Every parent of a child with significant disability carries the question: what happens when I am no longer here?
When governments reduce support, that fear grows. Parents are left carrying impossible responsibilities with fewer options, less help and no clear safety net. We have already seen tragic cases in Australia where families under extreme pressure reach crisis point. Reducing support will only increase the risk of more families being pushed to the edge.
The NDIS should prevent crisis — not create it.
I understand the need for sustainability and integrity in the Scheme. Fraud and waste should be addressed. But sustainability must not be achieved by weakening rights, reducing individualised support, or placing more pressure on families who are already at breaking point.
I respectfully ask that the Bill not proceed in its current form. At a minimum, it must be amended to protect individualised planning, proper reassessment rights, parliamentary oversight, safeguards against suspension or revocation, and legally enforceable protections for participants and families.
Please protect the Scheme by protecting the people it was created for.
Yours sincerely,
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