NDIS Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future
Generations) Bill 2026
Australian Association of Social Workers Supplementary Submission
July 2026
Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs – Legislation Committee
Inquiry into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future
Generations) Bill 2026
Dear Committee,
The Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) welcomes the opportunity to provide this supplementary submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs – Legislation Committee regarding the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 (the Bill). This submission builds on the AASW’s original submission (submission no. 553) and responds to the Committee’s Interim Report and the amendments agreed to by the House of Representatives.
The AASW is the national professional body representing more than 18,000 social workers throughout Australia. We remain strongly committed to strengthening the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and recognise its significant contribution to improving the quality of life, independence, wellbeing and community participation of people with disability. We also recognise the importance of ensuring the Scheme remains sustainable, accountable and capable of delivering high-quality supports for future generations.
Response to the Interim Report
The AASW appreciates the Committee’s continued consideration of the substantial evidence received throughout this inquiry and welcomes the additional scrutiny afforded through the extended reporting timeframe.
However, the AASW remains concerned that the Interim Report and its recommendations did not adequately reflect the breadth and weight of the evidence provided by the disability community, including people with disability, their families and carers, disability representative organisations, allied health professionals and other stakeholders. Nor did the Interim Report fully address the scale and significance of the concerns raised regarding the proposed reforms and their potential impacts on participants, providers and the broader disability support system.
While amendments subsequently agreed to by the House of Representatives have strengthened aspects of the Bill, these changes reinforce that stakeholder concerns warranted further consideration. In the AASW’s view, many of the substantive issues identified throughout the inquiry remain unresolved, including issues identified in our initial submission – particularly those relating to participant safeguards, reliance on future legislative instruments, access to supports and the cumulative impact of the reforms.
The AASW encourages the Committee to use the additional reporting period to continue its detailed scrutiny of this complex legislation, carefully consider the evidence received throughout the inquiry, and ensure its final report accurately reflects the concerns raised by the disability community. This includes giving further consideration to whether the proposed reforms will preserve the NDIS as a rights-based scheme centred on individual need, choice and control, while ensuring appropriate safeguards for participants throughout implementation.
Response to the agreed amendments
The AASW acknowledges the amendments agreed to by the House of Representatives. In particular, we welcome amendments that strengthen safeguards relating to automated decision-making, improve transparency and accountability within the Bill, and respond to a number of concerns raised throughout the inquiry process. These amendments demonstrate the value of parliamentary scrutiny and engagement with people with disability, representative organisations and the broader sector.
While these amendments represent positive improvements, they do not address the principal concerns identified in the AASW’s original submission.
Many of the Bill’s most significant reforms continue to rely on future legislative instruments and implementation arrangements that are yet to be developed. As a result, considerable uncertainty remains regarding how the reforms will operate in practice and their cumulative impact on participants, providers and the broader disability support system. Without this information, it remains difficult to determine whether the proposed reforms will appropriately safeguard participant rights, preserve access to necessary supports and maintain the NDIS as a genuinely rights-based scheme.
The AASW also remains concerned that there is limited certainty regarding how multidisciplinary professional judgement and allied health expertise will be recognised and incorporated within the new planning framework. Social workers play a critical role in assessing functional capacity, psychosocial complexity and the broader social and environmental factors that influence disability and support needs. As outlined in our original submission, ensuring this expertise is embedded throughout assessment, planning and decision making will be essential to delivering holistic, person-centred and evidence-informed outcomes for NDIS participants.
Further comments and recommendations
Social workers play a unique role within the NDIS by undertaking holistic assessments and interventions that recognise the interaction between disability and the psychosocial, environmental and systemic factors that influence a person’s functional capacity, participation and wellbeing. Professional judgement is essential to understanding the complexity of disability and cannot be adequately replaced by standardised assessment tools or automated decision-making processes alone.
Social workers also play a critical role in delivering capacity building and psychosocial supports, coordinating across service systems, managing complex risk, and supporting participants to achieve their goals, strengthen independence and remain connected to their communities. Preserving access to these supports is essential to achieving positive participant outcomes and supporting the long-term sustainability of the NDIS through early intervention, prevention and holistic, person-centred care.
The AASW therefore continues to support the recommendations outlined in our original submission. In particular, we encourage the Committee to ensure that:
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Social workers continue to play a central role in functional capacity assessment, planning and evidence- informed decision-making
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Professional judgement and practice-based evidence remain appropriately recognised alongside research evidence when determining reasonable and necessary supports
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Legislative safeguards preserve participant choice, review rights and meaningful human oversight of decision-making
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Reforms that may further restrict access to supports are not implemented until appropriate mainstream and foundational supports are demonstrably available, accessible and capable of meeting participant need
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Implementation and pricing arrangements support a sustainable social work workforce capable of delivering high-quality services to NDIS participants
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The development of future legislative instruments and implementation arrangements continues to involve meaningful consultation with NDIS participants, families and carers, the social work profession and other allied health stakeholders to ensure the reforms appropriately recognise the complexity of disability and participants’ support needs.
Conclusion
The AASW welcomes the improvements made through the agreed amendments and acknowledges the Government’s willingness to strengthen aspects of the Bill in response to stakeholder feedback. However, these changes still do not resolve the broader issues identified in our original submission, nor do they provide sufficient certainty regarding the practical operation and cumulative impact of the reforms.
The AASW encourages the Committee to ensure its final report fully reflects the evidence received throughout the inquiry, including the significant concerns raised by people with disability, carers and families, disability representative organisations, the allied health sector and other stakeholders.
The AASW also urges the Committee to use the additional reporting period to undertake further scrutiny of this complex legislation, continue to engage with the evidence and stakeholders, and carefully consider the potential impacts of the proposed reforms on participants, providers and the broader disability support system. This presents an important opportunity to recommend further legislative and implementation safeguards necessary to ensure the NDIS remains a rights-based scheme centred on individual need, choice and control. This includes recognising the complexity of disability, preserving participant access to holistic, evidence-informed supports, and ensuring the essential contribution of qualified social workers is recognised and embedded within assessment, planning and service delivery. Future reforms should reflect the lived experience and diverse needs of people with disability.
The AASW thanks the Committee for the opportunity to provide this supplementary submission and would welcome the opportunity to provide any further information.
Yours sincerely,
Sue O’Sullivan