Submission 531
Allegro Therapy is an allied health organisation providing services to people with disability across Western Australia, including metropolitan, regional, and remote communities. Our clinicians work directly with NDIS participants, families, schools, aged care providers, general practices, and community organisations.
We are deeply concerned about recent and proposed reductions to NDIS funding associated with:
Capacity Building supports Improved Daily Living supports Social and Community Participation Early intervention therapies Parent and caregiver capacity building Community-based developmental supports Group programs and peer participation supports
From direct clinical experience, these reductions are already resulting in poorer functional outcomes, increased family stress, greater social isolation, increased crisis presentations, and ultimately higher long-term costs to governments and communities.
This submission outlines the real-world impacts of these cuts and highlights why investment in capacity building and participation supports is essential for both individual outcomes and long-term sustainability of the NDIS.
- Capacity Building Supports Prevent Long-Term
Dependence
Capacity Building supports are not optional “extras.” They are the core mechanism through which people with disability develop independence, communication, regulation, mobility, social skills, emotional resilience, and community participation.
These supports include:
Physiotherapy
Occupational Therapy
Speech Pathology
Psychology Behaviour support Parent coaching Social skills development Functional capacity interventions Skill-building group programs Peer support programs
When these supports are reduced, delayed, or removed, participants often experience:
Submission 531
Functional regression Increased reliance on support workers Reduced school participation Increased behavioural escalation Increased mental health concerns Family burnout Loss of employment opportunities Increased hospital presentations Greater long-term support costs
The current policy direction risks shifting the NDIS from an investment-based scheme to a maintenance-based system that only responds once people are already in crisis.
- Social and Community Participation Supports Are
Essential, Not Recreational
We are increasingly concerned by the framing of social participation supports as “non-essential” or recreational in nature.
For many participants, these supports are the only structured pathway to:
Developing friendships Learning social communication Building emotional regulation skills Accessing community safely Reducing isolation Improving confidence and independence Developing vocational readiness Preventing mental health deterioration
Social participation supports are particularly critical for:
Autistic children and adults People with intellectual disability Participants with psychosocial disability Young people transitioning from school People in regional and remote areas with limited informal supports
Without these supports, participants often become increasingly isolated and reliant on high-cost crisis services.
- Impacts in Regional Western Australia The impacts of funding reductions are magnified in regional areas.
Submission 531
Across regional WA, there are already significant barriers including:
Workforce shortages Long therapy waitlists Limited specialist services High clinician travel costs Reduced access to group programs Limited public transport Reduced availability of community activities
Cuts to participation and capacity-building funding disproportionately affect regional participants because there are fewer alternative services available.
In many regional communities, NDIS-funded supports are effectively the only mechanism enabling social connection, therapy access, and developmental intervention.
Without these supports, participants are at significant risk of:
School disengagement Family breakdown Mental health decline Avoidable hospitalisation Entry into child protection or justice systems Premature residential care placement
These outcomes ultimately cost governments substantially more than preventative and capacity-building interventions.
- Early Intervention Reductions Will Create Lifelong Costs We are particularly concerned about reductions to therapy supports for children.
Early intervention is one of the strongest evidence-based investments available within disability and health systems.
Therapy supports during childhood improve:
Communication Motor development Emotional regulation Behaviour School participation Independence Family functioning
Submission 531
Reducing therapy access during critical developmental windows risks creating permanent functional impacts that require significantly higher support funding later in life.
Short-term cost containment measures may therefore increase future NDIS liabilities rather than reduce them.
- Families and Carers Are Reaching Crisis Point Many families already report:
Reduced funding in plans Increased scrutiny of therapy recommendations Delays in plan approvals Reduced access to group supports Uncertainty around “reasonable and necessary” interpretations Fear of requesting supports Increased administrative burden
The cumulative impact is substantial caregiver stress and burnout.
Informal supports cannot continue absorbing increasing levels of care without significant consequences to:
Family mental health Employment participation Financial stability Carer wellbeing Child safety
Reducing preventative supports simply transfers the burden to families, schools, hospitals, emergency departments, and other government systems.
- Economic and Social Participation Outcomes Will
Decline
Capacity-building and participation supports directly contribute to:
Employment readiness Independent living skills Education participation Reduced support dependence Community inclusion
Cuts to these supports undermine the broader policy goals of:
Submission 531
Economic participation Inclusion Independence Reduced welfare dependence Social cohesion
The NDIS was designed as a social and economic reform, not merely a crisis response program.
- Recommendations We respectfully recommend that the Senate Inquiry consider the following:
Recommendation 1
Maintain and strengthen funding for Capacity Building supports, particularly allied health interventions that improve long-term functional outcomes.
Recommendation 2
Recognise Social and Community Participation supports as essential disability supports that reduce isolation, improve mental health, and build independence.
Recommendation 3
Protect early intervention therapy funding for children and young people.
Recommendation 4
Introduce specific safeguards for regional and remote participants to ensure equitable access to developmental and participation supports.
Recommendation 5
Ensure participants are not disadvantaged by overly restrictive interpretations of “reasonable and necessary” supports.
Recommendation 6
Increase consultation with participants, families, clinicians, and community providers before implementing further funding restrictions.
Recommendation 7
Submission 531
Undertake long-term economic modelling that considers the downstream costs of reducing preventative and capacity-building supports.
Conclusion
The NDIS has transformed the lives of many Australians with disability by enabling independence, participation, and inclusion.
However, reductions to capacity-building and social participation supports risk reversing these gains.
From direct frontline experience, we are seeing increasing evidence that these cuts are:
reducing participant outcomes, increasing family distress, worsening inequity in regional communities, and shifting costs into more acute and expensive systems.
Investment in capacity building and participation is not a discretionary expense — it is fundamental to achieving the objectives of the NDIS and creating sustainable long term outcomes for people with disability, families, and the broader Australian community.