National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 519
Dear Committee,
I am the parent of a young woman with a severe intellectual disability. She is non-verbal, incontinent, and requires support in all areas of daily life. My daughter is now 23 years old, which means I have experience of both the NDIS and the pre-NDIS system. Throughout this time, our family has been a careful and responsible user of NDIS funding. We have always used that funding to support a safe, healthy, and meaningful life for our daughter, and we have maintained a clear audit trail by claiming each invoice individually.
I am writing to express my serious concerns about the proposed National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026. While I support reforms that strengthen the long-term sustainability of the NDIS, I am deeply concerned that the proposed changes will have unintended and harmful consequences for participants with severe intellectual disability.
I am concerned about the proposed 50% reduction in social and community participation funding from October 2026. For participants with severe intellectual disability, this funding is not discretionary; it is essential to their wellbeing, safety, and inclusion. Without appropriate support, many are simply unable to leave their homes. Social and community participation funding enables people to:
leave their house have a hair cut do their shopping for personal items have some outside time; a walk in the park attend day program attend social events like birthday parties a break from housemates with behavioural issues attend medical appointments visit relatives who are unable to travel
I am aware of one long-term SIL resident who can no longer visit her 99-year-old grandmother, who is no longer able to travel, because the resident’s community access funding has been reduced. This is a clear example of the real human cost of these funding decisions.
People with severe intellectual disability must not only retain funding for social and community participation but receive it at a level that reflects their actual needs. For people with complex communication, behavioural, or mobility issues 1:1 support is necessary to ensure their safety, safety of support workers and members of the public.
A reduction in social and community participation funding will also reduce the number of days our daughter can attend her day program. Although she is highly social, she relies on funded support to build and maintain social connections and to participate in the community in a meaningful way.
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 519
I respectfully urge the Committee to amend this proposal so that people with moderate, severe, or profound disability are excluded from these reductions. Access to 1:1 community participation support is essential for attending medical and dental appointments, maintaining family relationships, and participating safely in everyday life.
To remove social and community participation funding from people with severe disability is to confine them to their homes and deny them the dignity, inclusion, and basic quality of life that the NDIS was established to protect.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Yours sincerely,
Natalie Atherton
23/5/2026