Submission 568
FREEDOM SUPPORT
28th May 2026
Submission to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee
Inquiry into the NDIS Amendment Bill 2026
Submitted by:
David Freeman
General Manager & Registered Support Coordinator
Freedom Support Tasmania Pty Ltd
Tasmania, Australia
To the Committee,
I am writing this submission in my capacity as the General Manager of Freedom Support Tasmania Pty Ltd and as a registered NDIS Support Coordinator working directly alongside National Disability Insurance Scheme participants across Tasmania.
Freedom Support Tasmania is a provider delivering support coordination and disability support services to participants living in both metropolitan and regional communities throughout Tasmania. Through my role, I work daily with participants, families, carers, frontline support workers, allied health professionals, schools, housing providers, hospitals, community organisations and government agencies. I also regularly assist participants in navigating internal reviews, gathering evidence, engaging with the Administrative Review Tribunal, managing housing instability, accessing education supports, and preventing service breakdowns.
This submission is based not only on my professional experience as a NDIS provider and Support Coordinator, but also on the lived realities I witness every single day from people who rely upon the NDIS to live safely, independently and with dignity.
I acknowledge that the long-tenn sustainability and integrity of the National Disability Insurance Scheme is important. I also acknowledge that there must be safeguards in place to ensure public funding is used appropriately and that fraudulent or exploitative practices are addressed. However, I hold significant concerns regarding the proposed NDIS Amendment Bill 2026 and the broader refonn direction currently being pursued.
In my professional opinion, many of the proposed changes risk creating additional barriers, confusion, distress and disadvantage for participants who are already vulnerable. I am particularly concerned about the impact these refonns may have on participants with psychosocial disability, intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, complex trauma backgrounds, cognitive impainnents, and participants living in rural and regional communities.
One of the most significant concerns I hold is the increasing complexity of the NDIS system.
Over recent years, the Scheme has become progressively more difficult for participants and families to navigate independently. Many participants already struggle to understand: ❖ what supports they are entitled to, ❖ how to use their plans, ❖ how funding decisions are made, ❖ what evidence is required, ❖ how reassessments work, ❖ how to challenge decisions, ❖ and how to maintain continuity of supports.
For many participants, the NDIS has become highly legalistic and administrative in nature. Participants are increasingly expected to interpret legislation, operational guidelines and evidentiary standards that would be difficult even for professionals to fully understand.
YOUR PATH. YOU R Cl IOICE, OUR SUPPORT
Submission 568
FREEDOM SUPPORT
In my role as a Support Coordinator, I frequently work with participants and families who are overwhelmed, distressed and fearful about the future of their supports. Many already feel intimidated by the review process and struggle to advocate for themselves effectively. I am deeply concerned that additional legislative complexity and tighter funding restrictions will worsen this situation significantly.
I am also concerned that many of the proposed reforms appear to shift the Scheme further away from its original intent of supporting participants to achieve inclusion, independence and quality of life, and toward a more restrictive and compliance-driven framework.
In practice, many supports that may appear “minor” from an administrative or financial perspective are actually critical in preventing crisis situations.
For example, supports such as: ❖ regular community access, ❖ transport assistance, ❖ psychosocial support, ❖ support coordination, ❖ skill-building activities, ❖ assistance attending appointments, ❖ social engagement supports, ❖ and routine-based supports often play a major role in maintaining participant wellbeing, mental health, housing stability and community participation.
When these supports are reduced or removed, the consequences are often immediate and severe. I have personally seen participants experience: ❖ mental health deterioration, ❖ increased suicidal ideation, ❖ disengagement from education and employment, ❖ family breakdown, ❖ homelessness risk, ❖ hospitalisation, ❖ increased interactions with police, ❖ and complete social isolation following reductions or disruptions to supports.
The long-term cost to government systems when participants enter crisis often far exceeds the cost of maintaining preventative supports through the NDIS.
I am particularly concerned about the impact the reforms may have on participants with psychosocial disability and fluctuating conditions.
Many participants with psychosocial disability already experience significant difficulties gathering evidence, attending assessments, engaging with services and maintaining consistency in day-to-day functioning. Their disabilities may not always present in ways that are easily measurable through rigid assessment frameworks.
In my experience, these participants are often among the most vulnerable within the Scheme and require flexible, relationship-based and preventative support approaches. There is a real risk that increasingly rigid funding interpretations may fail to adequately recognise the lived realities of psychosocial disability.
I am also concerned about the increasing evidentiary burden being placed on participants and providers.
Support Coordinators, allied health professionals and support workers are increasingly being required to produce extensive documentation simply to justify supports that are clearly beneficial and preventative in nature.
YOUR PATH. YOUR CHOICE, OUR SUPPORT
Submission 568
FREEDOM SUPPORT
Participants are often required to repeatedly “prove” their disability, functional impainnents and support needs despite having pennanent or lifelong conditions.
This process can be retraumatising, emotionally exhausting and financially burdensome for participants and families.
Many families cannot afford repeated specialist reports, assessments and functional capacity evaluations. Regional participants also face significant wait times and limited access to specialists capable of providing the required evidence.
Tasmania already experiences major workforce shortages across disability and allied health sectors. Participants in regional areas often wait months simply to access assessments or services. Additional evidentiary requirements risk creating further inequity for participants based purely on where they live.
As a provider operating throughout Tasmania, I hold significant concerns regarding the impact these refonns may have on regional and rural service delivery.
Regional Tasmania already faces: ❖ workforce shortages, ❖ provider scarcity, ❖ travel barriers, ❖ high operational costs, ❖ long waitlists, ❖ limited specialist services, ❖ and difficulties recruiting and retaining skilled staff.
Many smaller providers are already operating under substantial financial and administrative pressure. Increased compliance obligations, increased auditing requirements, reduced pricing flexibility and ongoing uncertainty regarding refonns may place further strain on providers attempting to continue servicing regional communities.
If providers withdraw from regional areas due to unsustainable operating conditions, participants may be left with little or no access to supports at all.
This is particularly concerning given Tasmania’s unique geographic challenges and the already limited-service availability in many communities.
I also wish to address the critical importance of Support Coordination within the NDIS.
In my professional experience, Support Coordination is one of the most valuable and preventative support available under the Scheme.
Many participants are simply unable to independently: ❖ navigate service systems, ❖ coordinate multiple providers, ❖ manage housing matters, ❖ engage with schools, ❖ access mainstream supports, ❖ advocate during reviews, ❖ manage crisis situations, ❖ or understand complex NDIS processes.
Without Support Coordination, many participants would fall through gaps between systems and experience significantly poorer outcomes.
Support Coordinators frequently perform work well beyond simple “service linking.” We often become the central point helping participants maintain stability across multiple aspects of their lives.
YOUR PATH. YOUR CHOICE, OUR SUPPORT
Submission 568
FREEDOM SUPPORT
This can include: ❖ crisis intervention, ❖ safeguarding, ❖ housing advocacy, ❖ school engagement, ❖ hospital discharge coordination, ❖ risk management, ❖ family mediation, ❖ mental health support coordination, ❖ and assisting participants through highly distressing review and appeals processes.
Reducing access to Support Coordination or narrowing eligibility for this support may ultimately place greater pressure on hospitals, housing services, emergency systems and unpaid carers.
I am additionally concerned about the growing level of fear and uncertainty currently being experienced by participants and families regarding the future of the Scheme.
Over recent months, many participants I work with have expressed significant anxiety regarding: ❖ potential funding cuts, ❖ reassessments, ❖ loss of supports, ❖ changing eligibility rules, ❖ and uncertainty regarding future plan decisions.
For participants living with disability, predictability and stability are extremely important. Ongoing uncertainty regarding supports can itself contribute to deterioration in mental health and wellbeing.
The NDIS was intended to provide participants with greater choice, control and certainty regarding their future. Reforms should strengthen these principles rather than undermine them.
I also believe there needs to be far greater consultation with frontline workers, regional providers, participants and families before significant legislative changes are implemented.
Those working directly within the Scheme every day have practical knowledge regarding: ❖ what is working, ❖ where the gaps are, ❖ what participants genuinely need, ❖ and what unintended consequences reforms may create.
Many frontline workers currently feel their concerns are not being adequately heard during reform discussions.
In closing, I wish to emphasise that the NDIS has genuinely changed lives for the better.
I have personally witnessed participants: ❖ gain independence, ❖ secure stable housing, ❖ reconnect with community, ❖ improve mental wellbeing, ❖ develop daily living skills, ❖ engage with education and employment, ❖ reduce hospital admissions, ❖ and experience improved quality of life through appropriate supports.
The Scheme is not perfect and reforms are necessary. However, reforms must remain participant-focused, trauma-informed and grounded in the real-world experiences of people living with disability.
YOUR PATH. YOUR CHOICF, OUR SUPPORT
Submission 568
FREEDOM SUPPORT
Any changes to the NDIS must carefully consider the human impact behind policy decisions.
Participants are not simply numbers within a budget framework. They are individuals, families and communities whose lives are directly affected by these decisions.
I respectfully urge the Committee to carefully consider the likely impacts these reforms may have on vulnerable participants, regional communities, families, Frontline workers and service providers before proceeding with significant legislative changes.
Thank you for considering this submission.
Yours sincerely,
D:: re:man I General Manager / Case Coordinator