Submission 695
SUBMISSION TO THE NATIONAL DISABILITY INSURANCE SCHEME NEW
FRAMEWORK PLANNING CONSULTATION
Submitted by: Speech Pathologist
Date: 26/05/2026
Submission Deadline: 29/05/2026
Introduction
I write as a practising Speech Pathologist (SP) to express significant concern regarding the proposed changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) under the New NDIS Amendment Bill. I work directly with children and their families living with communication and swallowing disabilities, and I support families navigating the NDIS system daily. These proposed changes will have profound and lasting consequences for the people I serve.
- Impact on Children with Developmental Delay and Autism The proposed transition of children aged 0–8 with developmental delay and/or autism with low to moderate support needs out of the NDIS and into Foundational Supports from January 2028 is deeply concerning. Early intervention in speech pathology is time critical. The evidence base is unequivocal: communication intervention in the early years yields significantly better long-term outcomes. Removing individualised NDIS funding for this cohort before Foundational Supports are fully operational, adequately resourced, and accessible risks creating a dangerous service gap for some of the most vulnerable children in our community.
Allocating Thriving Kids service provision to large allied health companies also limits family’s choice and control – to find service providers that meet their child where they are at which smaller providers are often freer to do (outside of the constraints of large corporations focused on profits), especially in rural and regional areas.
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Premature Transition to New Framework Plans The decision to begin transitioning a cohort of participants over 16 to the new framework from mid-2026, with consultation materials only released in January 2026, does not allow sufficient time for families, participants, or service providers to understand the implications. Consultation periods must be meaningful. Releasing significant reform materials less than five months before implementation is not consistent with genuine co-design, and risks participants transitioning to new plans without fully understanding how their therapy supports – including speech therapy - will be defined, funded, and accessed under the new framework.
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Lack of Clarity Around Therapy Supports – and risk of mass funding cuts As of the time of writing, there remains no finalised guidance on how therapy supports including speech pathology - will be defined and funded under the new framework and
Submission 695
the new amendment threatens the possibility of mass therapy funding cuts without community consultation. SPs rely on clearly defined funding categories to write reports, justify goals, and plan treatment under NDIS plans. Ambiguity in this area directly delays participant access to services and creates uncertainty for providers attempting to support continuity of care.
Concerningly, the NDIS is looking to introduce legislation that allows the government to slash the funding of particular groups such as people with a certain diagnosis or within a certain age bracket. This means that speech pathologists and other allied health may not be able to carry out the amount or frequency of therapy that studies show are effective. It also means that people with complex disabilities are at risk of being treated as a homogenous group when in fact, the individual circumstances of each person need to be considered for treatments to be effective.
- Foundational Supports Must Be Adequately Resourced Before NDIS Exits Are
Enacted
The $10 billion committed across five years for Foundational Supports is welcome in principle. However, the rollout of these supports is yet to be confirmed, with full implementation stated to be by January 2028. Transitioning children out of the NDIS before this infrastructure is in place would leave families without support during a critical developmental window. I strongly urge that no child be transitioned out of the NDIS until Foundational Supports are demonstrably available, funded, and accessible in their region - including in regional and rural Victoria.
- People Have Died Any decisions around therapy for people with disability need to be personalised and considered in the context of their individual needs. The proposed NDIS Amendment Bill takes this away, and as such, more children are likely to die.
Noah Johnston died in December 2025 after his ventilator tube became dislodged overnight because the NDIA had not funded a registered nurse to be present. Koa Gibson was four years old. After her support was reduced to three hours of nursing per week, her mother’s request for emergency additional funding was declined. Koa died several days later.
These are not abstractions. These are the consequences of funding decisions. I ask the committee to consider those deaths as it evaluates an Amendment Bill designed to reduce funding further and restrict access more broadly.
- Impact on the Speech Pathology Workforce NDIS funding has been a primary mechanism by which many families access SP services in the community. Uncertainty around the future of this funding risks
Submission 695
destabilising the allied health workforce that has grown to meet participant need. Providers require planning certainty to retain staff, maintain service infrastructure, and continue to invest in quality care. Redirecting Thriving Kids to mass providers and significantly reducing the number of NDIS participants will have a massive impact on speech pathologists and other allied health providers – for which we need information to plan.
Recommendations
Please do not pass the NDIS Amendment Bill in its current form, without proper consultation with the disability community. It removes rights, reduces choice and control, and will harm people with disability in my community.
A Note from a Mum
I am the mother of a child with autism and another with significant communication needs. My children have made extraordinary progress through NDIS-funded speech pathology, but this progress has taken years of consistent, individualised, evidence based therapy. The proposed changes fill me with dread. I do not know whether children like mine will still be eligible for the NDIS or individualised and evidence based supports under the new framework and/or Thriving Kids. I do not know what Foundational Supports will look like, when they will be available, or whether they will be anything close to what my child received.
What I do know is that children with swallowing and communication challenges cannot wait. Development does not pause for a government review. I am asking decision makers to see children with a disability - not a budget line - and to ensure that whatever replaces the current system is in place, tested, and funded before children’s existing plans are taken away. Please do not make our families the collateral damage of a reform that is not yet ready.
Include people with disabilities in decisions about their life and care, which means not passing this Amendment Bill in its current form.
This submission is lodged in a personal and professional capacity. All views expressed reflect clinical experience and concern for participant outcomes.