Reduced access to physiotherapy funding due to NDIS cuts (Individual advocacy)

Submission 512

Submission in opposition to

National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment

(Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026

Date: 1 June 2026

To Hon Jenny McAllister, the Hon Mark Butler, ministers for NDIS and health, the Hon

Emma McBride, minister for mental health and suicide prevention, and the Hon Rebecca

White in her capacity as minister for Indigenous Health and assistant minister for Women,

Climate Justice Union (CJU) is a member led organisation based in Western Australia,

working for those most affected by climate related disasters and climate change to be at the

forefront of our work and community efforts. We have learnt that climate justice is intricately

woven in with all forms of justice, and are guided by a Lived Experience Advisory Group, a

Disability Advisory Group, and by Indigenous Elders and Community. During extensive

community yarning sessions and working directly with people who have Lived Experience of

disability, many who are NDIS participants, we hear repeated, concrete harms resulting from

the way NDIS is being managed.

These include:

People being denied essential mobility and support funding;

People who are retraumatised by repeated eligibility fights;

Rising isolation;

Increasing risk of institutionalisation;

And increased (alarming rates of) distress and suicidality.

These reforms build on a system that is already being managed by the market, without

sufficient safeguards, and in ways that cause harm. They will disproportionately and

immediately harm people with complex, multisystemic, and/or dynamic disabilities. CJU

urges that the Government review the 50% cut to NDIS funding. We ask the Government to

halt these proposed reforms that narrow access, cut entitlements, and shift costs away from

the NDIS.

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Submission 512

The community we have worked and learned from includes (but not limited to) people with: Dynamic and fluctuating disabilities Physical disabilities Psychosocial disabilities

Neurodiversity

We also work alongside the wider community including carers, family members and allies. The work we do also encourages voices of those who live and work outside of the inner Perth City and metro areas, and those in other vulnerable groups: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, women and gender diverse folks, LGBTQI+ community, and Low income and working class individuals.

The concerns we have as an organisation and from our community are that these cuts will cause distress and increased isolation due to not being able to participate fully in community and everyday life. In the community, we have heard that some individuals have considered rationing what supports they will have access to, for example needing to choose between using their supports for attending appointments, or seeking help

with managing  activities of everyday  life at home, or personal care. One of our

members has reduced the number of showers they have assistance for to twice a

week, and  another  to once a  week. Another  of  our members has had  their

physiotherapy funding cut, when physical therapy is the only way for them to prevent further degeneration.

Those with complex, multisystemic, and/or dynamic disabilities already find it difficult to access adequate and appropriate support. This bill will reduce quality of life for all

people  with  disability, and  particularly those  with complex needs, by  narrowing

standards and standardising care.

Aside from the impact on personal and disability care, this bill primarily targets social and community participation. Social and community participation is not a luxury, it is a right. This does not mean getting coffee with a friend. It means being able to go

outside  your house and buying  your  weekly food  shop,  or  getting  to medical

appointments. It can also include looking for community and peer support. Much of the current narrative around the ways NDIS participants use their supports, for things such as haircuts, is misinformation and perpetuates further marginalisation. Time and time again we are hearing harmful and misinformed rhetoric such as “too many participants”, “People are rorting the system” “Plans are too big”. People are simply trying to have access to a full life.

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Submission 512

The cuts themselves and the misinformation surrounding NDIS lead to poor mental health incomes and suicidality for disabled people, in addition to the grave physical health outcomes for those who will receive less support.

It is important to draw attention to the impact these cuts have on the participants’ direct family or informal support systems in addition to the impact on participants themselves. There will be a flow through effect putting pressure on families and friends, which then causes further impact to the health system. One of our steering committee members brought forward that they felt like they were unable to live outside of their family home due to lack of support to live independently. These pressures of care have impacted one of their carers greatly and they are experiencing mental health concerns. We know that story is a fairly common one and it causes the participant to feel a sense of guilt which they shouldn’t have to hold that burden. The heal system will suffer with extra pressures on our overworked and under funded public hospitals, group homes and institutional settings which have been proven to not have the resources for community and can with/without intent cause harm. Long term cost cutting and lack of accountability affects all members of our community, and especially those most vulnerable.

We strongly oppose the 50% cut to social and community participation. We call for this part of the NDIS to remain a core and essential support. Any changes to entry criteria need to be initiated after collaboration and consultation with the disability community.

In conclusion, the cuts to NDIS funding to our community means being forced into homes and bed bound. They will result in the loss of connection, education, advocacy and creative work, increasing the pressure and risks of institutionalisation and crisis. The cuts will deepen gender, race, and class bias and support the message that disabled people’s lives and relationships are expendable.

We urge you to abandon the proposed cuts and instead uplift and support people with disabilities participation and value to the foundations of the NDIS.

From Connecting the Dots (Disability and Climate) and CJU members.

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