Community participation vital for people with Down syndrome, autism, and intellectual disability (Provider advocacy)

Submission 679

Bus Stop Films  | Senate Submission: NDIS Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026

SUBMISSION TO

Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee

Inquiry into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the

NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026

Submitted by:

Bus Stop Films

Tracey Corbin-Matchett OAM, Chief Executive Officer

Equality at Work Ambassador, Australian Human Rights Commission

Director, Disability Sports Australia

Member, Disability Council NSW

Member, Expert Advisory Panel, National Cultural Policy

Date: 29 May 2026

About Bus Stop Films

Bus  Stop  Films (BSF)  is  Australia’s  leading  disability-led  not-for-profit  social

enterprise. Founded in Sydney in 2009, BSF delivers life-changing social support and community-based arts programs, unlocking meaningful employment pathways in the screen industry for people with disability, including those who are Deaf, autistic,

or have  intellectual  disability. BSF now operates across 15 locations nationally,

employs over 90  staff, and supports more than 250 participants with  disability

weekly.

BSF's  programs,including  the  Accessible Filmmaking Program and Bus Stop

Employment,are  delivered  in  partnership  with  leading  cultural  and  creative

institutions. BSF is not an NDIS provider, however our policies and programs align to NDIA requirements and underpin the ethos and aims of the scheme. Our participants

use  their NDIS funding, including social,  civic and community participation and

capacity  building  supports,  to  access  BSF  programs.  Many  employment

opportunities are unlocked through our partnerships with screen industry leaders including Nine, Netflix and the ABC. BSF is the only disability employment service in Australia supporting the screen and media sector. Our work sits at the intersection of human development, arts, culture and employment,and it is the NDIS funding held by our participants that makes their attendance, and those opportunities, possible.

BSF’s programs  are  rolling and  ongoing,not  time-limited  interventions. Many

members  of our community have attended  for up  to 17  years.  This  is  not

dependency; it is testament to the critical and irreplaceable role these programs play

Submission 679

Bus Stop Films  | Senate Submission: NDIS Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026

in their social support networks. For many participants, BSF is where they made their closest friendships, where they found their sense of purpose, and where they first felt genuinely welcome and worthy in a world that has so often excluded them. To withdraw or reduce the NDIS funding that enables this participation is not a technical budget adjustment. It is the removal of a lifeline. We acknowledge and support the Government’s commitment to the long-term sustainability of the NDIS. We share the view that fraud must be eliminated and that the scheme must serve those with permanent and significant disability. However, we submit that a number of measures in this Bill will cause serious and immediate harm

to our community  before adequate replacement supports  exist, and  that the

consultation timeline,with submissions due 29 May 2026,is wholly insufficient given the scale and complexity of the proposed changes.

Who We Support: Our 2026 Community

The people this Bill will most affect are not statistics. They are vulnerable people who deserve support,support to build their literacy, their social skills and their job-ready skills. People who deserve to be valued, welcomed and encouraged. People who, with the right support, grow in confidence, connection and independence. They are at the heart of Bus Stop Films. All of our 2026 participants live with intellectual disability, Down syndrome, global developmental delay, or autism,many with dual diagnoses including hearing loss and cerebral palsy. All are aged 17 and over. Our

2026 cohort  disability data  illustrates the complexity and intersectionality of the

community the NDIS reform must protect:

• 33% identify as autistic

• 17.7% have intellectual disability

• 2.6% have ADHD

• 6% have Down syndrome

• 4.9% live with anxiety; others with brain injury, physical disability, or hidden disability

  Crucially, the majority of our community carry multiple intersecting diagnoses.

Among those with multiple diagnoses: 23.3% have autism, ADHD and intellectual disability; 22.1% have autism, ADHD and other conditions; and 8.1% have autism,

ADHD  and  hidden   disability.  This  intersectionality   is  precisely  why  blunt,

one-size-fits-all cuts to community participation budgets are so dangerous. A 50%

reduction  applied  uniformly  cannot  account  for  the  reality  that most  of our

participants have highly complex, layered support needs. These are people for whom the NDIS was designed. Many of them will lose access to Bus Stop Films entirely if SCCP budgets are halved. The question is not whether they have complex needs,they do. The question is whether this Government is prepared to withdraw the one mechanism that enables them to participate in their community.

The Vital Role of Community Participation: Down Syndrome, Life Expectancy

and the Cost of Isolation

Submission 679

Bus Stop Films  | Senate Submission: NDIS Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026

Bus Stop Films makes a specific submission regarding our participants with Down syndrome and the broader community of people with intellectual disability. This is not a peripheral concern. It goes to the heart of why social and community participation funding exists, and why cutting it is not a cost-saving measure,it is a cost-shifting measure with devastating human consequences.

Life expectancy has transformed through inclusion Down syndrome is a lifelong condition. People with Down syndrome require support for life,not for a period, not until they reach a milestone, but for the entirety of their lives. That is not a policy failure. It is the nature of the condition, and it is precisely what the NDIS was designed to recognise and fund. To cut those supports is to cut people off from the very thing that keeps them well, connected and alive longer. It is a question that demands a direct answer from this Government: if not the NDIS, then what? The average life expectancy of a person with Down syndrome has risen dramatically,from approximately 25 years in 1983 to around 60 years today (Centres

for  Disease  Control and  Prevention,  2026).  This  is  not  primarily a medical

achievement. It is a social one. The change has occurred because of medical care, early intervention, and sustained inclusion in education, work and community life. People with Down syndrome are living longer because they are engaged in their communities,and community participation funding is what makes that engagement possible. This is the context in which the Government proposes a 50% cut to social and community participation funding. The very supports that enabled this transformation in health and longevity outcomes are being cut. Research published in 2025 in

Disability and  Rehabilitation found  that community  participation  is a potentially

modifiable factor that can redress health inequities arising from lifestyle and social

determinants  for people  with  intellectual  disability,  including those  with Down

syndrome. Cutting participation budgets is not neutral. It does not simply pause progress. It actively reverses it,rolling back decades of hard-won gains in the health, longevity and quality of life of one of Australia’s most vulnerable communities. When connection is severed, isolation follows. When isolation follows, health declines. When health declines, costs to other systems,hospitals, mental health services, aged care,rise. The NDIS does not exist in a vacuum. What is cut here is paid for somewhere else, in a currency far more costly than dollars.

Isolation and loneliness: the real cost of cutting participation Down Syndrome Australia has stated plainly: for many people, participation is the difference between isolation and belonging. When people are connected, they are healthier, safer and more confident. When these supports are reduced, people may still be ‘supported’ on paper but excluded in reality. Bus Stop Films has witnessed this truth firsthand for 17 years. When participants come through our programs, they do not simply learn filmmaking. They build friendships. They communicate. They gain confidence. They develop routines and purpose. They stay connected to a world that, without this support, would simply close its doors to them. People with Down syndrome do not grow out of needing community. They need it for life. And the longer they have it, the longer they live,and the better those years are. When people with Down syndrome, autism, or intellectual

disability  lose  access  to  structured,  supported  community  participation,  the

Submission 679

Bus Stop Films  | Senate Submission: NDIS Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026

consequence is not a neutral reduction in scheme expenditure. The consequence is

isolation. Loneliness. Mental health decline. Regression  in  skills and functional

capacity  built painstakingly over years. And  for those with Down syndrome  in

particular, the potential reversal of the very health gains that community engagement

has  produced.  These  are  not  hypothetical  risks. They  are  the  predictable,

documented outcomes of removing participation from people who depend on it for their wellbeing and their lives. These are not theoretical risks. They are the lived reality that this community,and BSF staff who support them every week,already understand deeply. The Committee must understand them too.

Government's own  analysis  confirms  the  impact on Down  syndrome

community

Reporting  in May 2026  indicates  that the Government's own analysis shows

Australians with Down syndrome are among those who will suffer most from the

proposed NDIS cuts,a  finding  that has not been adequately addressed  in the

Government's  public  justification  for  the  Bill. Down Syndrome  Australia has

confirmed  they  are  ‘opposing’  the proposed  cuts  to  social and community

participation supports, describing them as ‘dangerous’ and noting they do not consider how participants currently use this funding,to visit the doctor, get to work, build relationships and live with dignity in their community. If the Government’s own modelling identifies the Down syndrome community as among the most severely affected, this is not a signal to proceed. It is a signal to pause, consult and redesign.

Issue 1: 50% Cut to Social, Civic and Community Participation Budgets

What the Bill proposes From 1 October 2026, the Bill enables a 50% reduction in SCCP budget allocations, described by the Government as a reset to 2023 spending levels. In practice this translates to an average reduction of approximately $7,000 per participant, from around $33,000 to $26,000 per year. Capacity building daily activity budgets will also be reduced by 10%.

Impact on Bus Stop Films participants

For Bus Stop Films participants, SCCP funding is the mechanism that makes

attendance  possible. BSF  is  not an NDIS  provider,however our  policies and

programs align to NDIA requirements and underpin the ethos and aims of the scheme. Our participants use their NDIS social, civic and community participation and capacity building budgets to access our programs, which are delivered in partnership with leading cultural and creative institutions. And what those programs deliver is far more than filmmaking. The Accessible Filmmaking Program is, at its core, a human development program. Filmmaking is the vehicle. The outcomes are social connectedness, strong social networks, improved literacy, and work-ready

skills,taking  direction, showing up on  time,  collaborating, communicating, and

persisting  through  challenge.  Participants  demonstrate measurable  growth  in

independence, social skills and personal development. A film on a screen is a side

Submission 679

Bus Stop Films  | Senate Submission: NDIS Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026

outcome. A person who is more connected, more capable and more confident is the real result. The data from our 2026 cohort makes the stakes concrete. Of 242 enrolled participants, 225 (93%) access the program through NDIS funding,primarily through

Social and Community Participation, Core Supports, and Capacity Building line

items. A notable cohort specifically nominate ‘Finding and Keeping a Job’ as their NDIS goal, meaning their plan managers have formally recognised the AFP as a

legitimate  vehicle  for employment-focused  capacity  building.  This  is a  direct,

documented  link between NDIS  funding  intent and  professional development

outcomes. The AFP creates a clear pathway to employment. NDIS funding enables enrolment in the 40-week program; participants build industry-ready skills on a real working set mentored by professional crew; they then access Bus Stop Employment, BSF’s

dedicated  disability  employment  service.  Since  November  2022, Bus  Stop

Employment has placed over 120 people with disability into paid screen industry roles, supported more than 420 full days and 265 half days of paid work, and generated over $200,000 in wages paid directly to people with disability. According to the Screen Diversity and Inclusion Network’s Everyone Counts 2.0 report (2025), only 8.2% of the Australian screen industry talent pool identifies as disabled,well below the 17.7% population benchmark. As Australia’s only disability employment service supporting the screen and media sector, BSF is directly addressing this gap.

NDIS funding  is the mechanism that makes  it possible, unlocking employment

opportunities through partnerships with Nine, Netflix, the ABC and leading brands and creative agencies. Critically, BSF’s programs are rolling. Many community members have attended for up to 17 years. This longevity is not incidental,it reflects the fact that for many participants, BSF is their primary social support network. It is where they belong. Cutting the NDIS funding that enables attendance does not simply reduce a line item. It severs a connection that, for some people, took years to build and may never be rebuilt. These funds specifically pay for:

• Support workers for those needing personal care, including feeding and toileting support, to attend workshops and activities with dignity and

respect,

• Transport support to enable participants to attend sites across metropolitan and regional locations

• The hours of 1:1 and group support that allow participants to build independence, social skills, communication and personal development over sustained time,with filmmaking as the medium through which these gains are made

• Work-ready skill development, literacy, motor skills development, taking direction, arriving on time, working in a team, managing tasks,that directly

  links to participants gaining real employment pathways in the screen

industry and beyond A 50% reduction in these budgets is not a minor adjustment. For many of our participants, it will mean the difference between attending a BSF program and not attending at all. The people most at risk are those with higher support needs,the very people the NDIS was designed to support.

Submission 679

Bus Stop Films  | Senate Submission: NDIS Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026

The Government has stated that ‘social and community participation and capacity building supports are not always improving community participation, inclusion or capacity for participants.’ We strongly contest the use of ‘not always’ as the basis for a blanket 50% cut applied to all participants, including those in programs with robust evidence of positive outcomes including employment, mental health and community

inclusion. The correct response  to  quality variation  is quality measurement,not

across-the-board reduction.

Issue 2: Changes to Eligibility

What the Bill proposes The Bill removes diagnosis-based access lists and moves to a functional capacity

assessment  model.  Eligibility  will be assessed  without  reference  to  assistive

technology, home  modifications,  support  workers, or environmental context. A

Technical Advisory Group  will develop new  eligibility  criteria, with changes not

expected until at least 2028.

Impact on BSF’s specific community

Autistic participants (33% of BSF’s 2026 cohort) Autistic people often mask in formal assessment settings, presenting with higher

functional  capacity than  they experience day-to-day. Standardised assessment

instruments consistently undercount the support needs of autistic adults. A move to algorithmic planning combined with functional-only assessment will systematically exclude autistic people who have genuine and significant support needs not visible to a standardised tool.

Participants with intellectual disability and Down syndrome (17.7% + 6% of BSF’s 2026 cohort)

People with  intellectual  disability and Down syndrome are among those most

vulnerable to being assessed as having lower support needs than they actually have, particularly in unfamiliar or stressful assessment environments. The removal of diagnostic access lists creates specific risk for this group. Down Syndrome Australia has confirmed their opposition to the proposed changes, warning that cutting or narrowing access to participation supports would undermine the purpose of the NDIS

and that  for many people, participation  is the difference between isolation and

belonging.

Concern: Algorithmic planning and accountability The Bill introduces a framework in which automated systems can form a state of

mind  about a  participant’s  support needs  without mandatory human  review.

Arts-based and employment-focused programs like those at BSF require planners who understand how disability intersects with creative and vocational activity. We call on the Committee to require that any automated planning tool be subject to human review on request, with that review conducted by a planner with relevant expertise,

and with  full appeal  rights preserved.  A further  risk under the new  eligibility

framework  is the evidence-based effectiveness requirement. The  Bill creates a

Submission 679

Bus Stop Films  | Senate Submission: NDIS Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026

hierarchy of evidence that prioritises peer-reviewed, published and generalisable research. Arts-based programs, while demonstrably effective for participants, do not

yet  have  the same  volume  of  clinical  literature as  medical  or  therapeutic

interventions. Bus Stop Films submits that our employment outcome data,120+ placements, 420+ days of paid work, $200,000+ in wages since 2022,constitutes precisely the kind of

documented,  measurable  evidence  the  framework  requires. We  call on  the

Committee to ensure that delegate decision-making recognises program-specific

employment  and  functional  outcomes  as  valid  evidence  of  reasonable and

necessary support, and does not default to declining funding simply because the broader arts-based evidence base is less voluminous than clinical fields. Finally, the Bill’s requirement that supports arise directly from an eligible impairment creates risk for programs that build transferable skills such as communication, literacy, teamwork and self-management. Delegates may characterise these as general life skills rather than disability-specific

supports.  Bus  Stop  Films  submits  that  this  characterisation  fundamentally

misunderstands our community. For our participants,people with Down syndrome, intellectual disability and autism,access to skill-building environments is only possible because of disability-specific support. The skills cannot be built without the support. The impairment and the support need are inseparable. We call on the Committee to recommend clear guidance to delegates that where a participant’s disability directly limits their capacity to access skill-building without support, that support meets the direct impairment link test.

Issue 3: Foundational Supports Are Not Ready

The Government’s stated intention is that NDIS budget reductions will be offset by a new Foundational Supports system. This is a worthy aspiration,it is not a functioning

system. Cuts  to  individual SCCP budgets begin October 2026. Foundational

Supports have not been designed, funded or operationalised at state and territory level. The Inclusive Communities Fund ($200 million over four years) is welcome, but:

• $200 million divided across all community organisations, arts groups, sports clubs and disability-led organisations nationally is a fraction of the individual plan budgets being cut

  • Its design criteria have not been determined; arts and screen

organisations may not qualify or may be structurally disadvantaged in fund applications

• Group-based community activities cannot replicate the individualised, employment-focused, relationship-based support that BSF provides

through NDIS plans

• For people with Down syndrome and intellectual disability in particular, the gap between reduced NDIS funding and non-existent foundational supports is not a policy gap,it is a human one: isolation, loneliness, and deteriorating health

Submission 679

Bus Stop Films  | Senate Submission: NDIS Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026

We call on the Committee to recommend that SCCP budget reductions not be implemented until Foundational Supports are operational and independently evaluated as sufficient to meet the needs of affected participants.

Issue 4: Mainstream Employment Services Cannot Substitute for NDIS-Funded

Support in the Screen Industry The Government may argue that employment training for people with disability is more appropriately funded through mainstream services such as Workforce Australia or JobAccess rather than through individual NDIS plans. Bus Stop Films submits that this argument fails entirely when applied to the screen and media sector,and that the evidence to prove it has been documented over more than two decades of systemic failure. In over 20 years of operation, JobAccess,the federal government’s flagship disability

employment  service,has supported  only a handful  of screen industry projects

nationally. The structural reason is straightforward: JobAccess requires a minimum of 13 continuous weeks of employment. The screen industry operates on a project-based, gig economy model. A typical film production runs three to six weeks of principal photography, with crew moving fluidly between projects and employers. The eligibility framework was designed for traditional ongoing employment and is structurally incompatible with how the screen industry works. No amendment to NDIS policy changes this underlying mismatch. The practical consequences are stark. BSF’s 2024 Driving Change Summit,which

brought   together  over  250  screen  industry  professionals  and   disability

advocates,found that only 19% of disabled job seekers in the screen sector were registered with any Disability Employment Service. Bus Stop Films was identified as the only organisation successfully placing people with disability in screen industry roles. 77% of industry professionals surveyed recognised BSF; 91% reported positive experiences. No other organisation came close. As one participant stated: “Bus Stop Employment is the main place where I find support in the screen sector… when I go to other disability employment services, they do a water catchment, but

they  won’t  have  the  connections and  the  understanding on  the  level  that

organisations like Bus Stop Employment does.” The screen industry is also structurally unable to absorb accessibility costs without

support. Screen Producers  Australia data shows  that 70%  of screen industry

employers are small to medium enterprises and 29% are sole traders. Only 1% are large businesses. These employers cannot carry the cost of supporting workers with disability without funded assistance,yet under the current JobAccess framework, they cannot access that assistance. Without NDIS funding enabling participants to access BSF’s programs, the pipeline to employment closes entirely. There is no alternative system waiting to replace it. Bus Stop Films has raised the JobAccess policy gap directly with the government, including through testimony at the Disability Royal Commission, submission to the

Revive  National  Cultural  Policy, and  direct  ministerial engagement  with  the

Employment  Minister. None  of  the 120+ placements generated by Bus Stop

Employment since 2022, and none of the $200,000+ in wages earned by people with disability in the screen industry, received a single dollar of JobAccess support. The NDIS has been doing the work that every other government employment system has

Submission 679

Bus Stop Films  | Senate Submission: NDIS Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026

failed to do. Cutting the NDIS funding that makes this possible does not redirect participants to another system. It removes them from the workforce entirely. We call on the Committee to explicitly reject any characterisation of NDIS employment-related supports as duplicative of mainstream services in the screen and media sector, and to recommend that the Government address the JobAccess policy gap as a parallel reform to, not a substitute for, the retention of NDIS community participation and capacity building funding.

Issue 5: Mandatory Provider Registration

BSF strongly supports improved safeguarding and the elimination of fraudulent providers. We note, however, that mandatory registration requirements can impose significant compliance costs on specialist community providers like BSF, which operate across multiple states with varied participant populations. We call on the

Committee  to ensure  that  registration requirements are proportionate to actual

safeguarding risk, that the compliance pathway for existing registered providers does not create service delivery gaps during transition, and that specialist providers working in arts, screen and employment contexts are not subject to frameworks designed primarily for high-intensity personal care.

Issue 6: Financial Sustainability as a Legal Test The Bill proposes to amend Section 3(1)(d) to provide that supports will be funded ‘so far as is consistent with the financial sustainability of the scheme.’ This language has never previously appeared in the Act. The NDIS was established as a compact that people with permanent and significant disability would receive the supports they need. Embedding financial sustainability as a qualifier is a profound change. The case for investing in community participation, arts-based employment pathways, and creative inclusion is not a cost problem,it is a cost reduction strategy. When people with Down syndrome, autism, and intellectual disability are engaged in their communities, their long-term health outcomes improve, reducing dependence on health, mental health, justice and social support systems. The financial sustainability of the NDIS depends partly on these supports working well, not on cutting them.

Issue 7: Reduced Review and Appeal Rights

BSF has supported participants who have had to navigate plan reviews and tribunal processes to secure the supports their clinical evidence clearly demonstrates they

need. We  strongly oppose any  provisions  that reduce the  practical  ability  of

participants to seek review of incorrect decisions. We call on the Committee to

recommend  explicit protections  for:  (i) the  right to internal review with genuine

human consideration;  (ii) the  right to external review before the Administrative

Review Tribunal; and (iii) the right to representation and advocacy support in review processes.

Issue 8: Inadequate Consultation

The Senate Committee inquiry opened on 14 May 2026 with submissions due 29 May 2026,a window of 15 days to respond to 113 pages of complex legislation. This

Submission 679

Bus Stop Films  | Senate Submission: NDIS Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026

is not adequate consultation. Arts-based, screen industry and creative disability providers have not been specifically consulted as a category in the Government’s reform process. We call on the Committee to recommend a dedicated consultation

process  with  screen  industry and  arts-based  disability  providers  before any

provisions affecting SCCP and capacity building budgets take effect.

Recommendations

Bus Stop Films makes the following recommendations to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee:

1. That the implementation of the 50% reduction to SCCP budgets be deferred until Foundational Supports are operational, independently

evaluated  and  demonstrated   to  be  adequate   for  affected

participants,with particular regard to the impact on people with Down syndrome, intellectual disability, and autism, who the Government’s own modelling identifies as most severely affected.

2.  That the Committee explicitly recognise the established link

   between community participation, life expectancy and health

outcomes for people with Down syndrome and intellectual disability, and that this evidence base be reflected in the final report.

3. That the new functional capacity assessment framework include explicit protections for autistic people, Deaf people, and people with intellectual disability,including the right to bring a support person to

assessments and  the  requirement  for assessors  with  relevant

disability expertise.

4. That any automated or algorithmic planning tool be subject to

mandatory human review on participant request, with full appeal rights preserved.

5. That the Inclusive Communities Fund explicitly include screen

industry, arts and creative industry participation as eligible activities, and that existing registered providers be able to access this fund

without  duplicating  compliance  already  undertaken  for  NDIS

registration.

6.         That  mandatory  provider  registration  requirements  be

proportionate  to safeguarding  risk,  with a  clear and workable

transition pathway for existing registered specialist providers. That

the  Committee  explicitly  reject  any  characterisation  of  NDIS

employment-related supports in the screen and media sector as

duplicative  of  mainstream  services,  and recommend  that  the

Government  address  the  JobAccess  policy  gap  for  creative

industries as a parallel reform.

7. That the Committee recommend an extended consultation period with dedicated engagement with arts-based and screen industry disability providers before any SCCP or capacity building budget changes take effect.

Conclusion

Submission 679

Bus Stop Films  | Senate Submission: NDIS Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026

Bus Stop Films has spent 17 years proving that when people with disability are given the right support to participate in their communities, they flourish. We are the only

disability employment  service  in  Australia  supporting  the  screen and media

sector,and there is no substitute waiting in the wings if our community loses the funding that enables them to be here. The Accessible Filmmaking Program is not, at its heart, solely a filmmaking program. It is a program that builds social connection, strong social networks, improved literacy, independence, and the work-ready skills that change lives. Our participants with Down syndrome, autism and intellectual disability are not passive recipients of care. They are people who turn up on time,

take  direction, work  in teams and grow. Many of them have done so  for 17

years,because for many, there is nowhere else like Bus Stop Films. There is no substitute. For some of our community members, BSF is the only support service they access. It is the only time in their week they leave home. It is where they are known, where they are valued, and where a world that so often excludes them finally opens its doors. The film on the screen is wonderful. The person who made it,more confident, more connected, more capable, more seen,is the point. The life expectancy of people with Down syndrome has more than doubled in a generation, not because of medicine alone, but because of community. Social and community participation funding is not a luxury line item. It is the infrastructure of

inclusion. To cut   it by 50% before any  alternative  exists  is  to dismantle that

infrastructure in full view of the harm it will cause. We urge the Committee to slow the implementation timeline, mandate genuine consultation with our community, and ensure that securing the NDIS for future generations does not come at the cost of the generation participating in it right now. Tracey Corbin-Matchett OAM would welcome the opportunity to appear before the Senate inquiry to speak to the lived experience of Bus Stop Films’ community and the direct impact these proposed changes would have on some of Australia’s most vulnerable people.

With Kindness,

Tracey Corbin-Matchett OAM

Chief Executive Officer, Bus Stop Films

May 2026