National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 749 1 National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 156
Realising Every Dream Ltd Submission to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee Submitted by: Marie Gale, CEO, Realising Every Dream Ltd
- About Realising Every Dream (REDinc) REDinc is a community, for-purpose organisation based in regional NSW. Established by a group of committed parents in the early 1990s and incorporated in 1993, the organisation has always been driven by a clear purpose: to ensure people with disability are valued, included, and empowered to live meaningful lives as active members of their communities.
We are a registered provider with a proven reputation for excellence. Our most recent independent NDIS registration audit in February 2026 identified zero non-conformities, reinforcing the strength and quality of our services. Without exception, feedback from participants and families reflected deep trust, genuine appreciation, and high regard for the care and services we provide.
“Their communication is really good – their level of care, I see it in the staff and the way everything runs. I often go in unannounced, they’re always happy to see me and there’s always a good feeling, a warm environment – it’s genuine. They’re good at everything they do for all the participants, not just my [XX]. At events you can see it with everyone in the way they interact, it’s not just a put on – it is genuine.” — Family member, NDIS Audit 2026
We employ around 130 staff and provide a broad range of supports to approximately 400 people. As an ethical, community-based organisation, we are committed to upholding the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. We ensure NDIS funding is managed responsibly, transparently, and in line with participants’ goals and needs.
Like many small community and not-for-profit providers, we are the type of organisation the Government should be seeking to sustain within the sector.
Many of the people we support live with high and complex support needs, often with limited or no informal support networks. This is not a cohort that can reasonably be expected to navigate the system independently. As funding reductions continue and participant needs increasingly go unmet, organisations such as ours are left to subsidise essential supports simply because there is no alternative.
Like the majority of registered providers, we welcome genuine reform to the NDIS and have advocated for meaningful change for many years. There is broad recognition that the Scheme, in its current form, is unsustainable. While Minister Butler acknowledged at the National Press Club that the Scheme’s structural design is deeply flawed, we are concerned that the proposed amendments risk making the system more burdensome and punitive for both people with disability and providers operating with integrity on the front line. Once again, registered providers are being expected to absorb significant unfunded compliance costs.
(02) 6622 3400. hello@redinc.org.au . www.redinc.org.au
ABN: 42 209 074 594 ACN: 652 457 291 Level 2, 105 Molesworth Street. Lismore NSW 2480. PO Box 1684. Lismore NSW 2480
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 749 2 National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 156
The substantial fraud detection and operational costs now borne by the NDIA are not the result of participants or legitimate providers. The largely unregulated market environment has rewarded poor operators while placing enormous pressure on the registered sector.
When more than half of not-for-profit providers are operating at a loss and depleting cash reserves to remain viable, it is clear there are fundamental structural issues that must be addressed.
This submission addresses a few of our key concerns on behalf of the participants we represent. It focuses on those areas where we can speak with authority.
- Social, Civic and Community Participation - reduction to 2023 levels We provide a range of community participation supports which, for many people, represent their only meaningful connection with others outside purely transactional relationships with paid support workers. We are deeply concerned that efforts to reduce Scheme expenditure to 2023 levels will result in false savings, with costs ultimately transferred elsewhere across the disability and broader community sectors.
For people living in Supported Independent Living (SIL) arrangements, reductions in community participation funding are likely to result in individuals remaining at home for longer periods, creating additional staffing and wage pressures for SIL providers. Many SIL providers in our region are already operating under significant financial strain and have limited capacity to absorb additional unfunded support costs. This is not only a financial issue but also a workforce sustainability issue.
Similarly, where people live with family members, the impact of reduced supports will inevitably fall on families who are already under considerable pressure. The Disability Royal Commission identified many families and carers as being at or near breaking point. In the absence of adequate funding, families are left to absorb additional caring responsibilities themselves or redirect funding away from other essential supports where possible.
The long-term consequence is increased social isolation and disconnection from community life. People with disability lose opportunities to build friendships, maintain peer relationships, and participate meaningfully in their communities. There is substantial evidence demonstrating the negative impact social isolation has on health and wellbeing, particularly for people living with disability who already experience disproportionate levels of exclusion and loneliness.
The impact on families is equally significant. Increased caring demands further reduce families’ capacity to participate in paid employment, while contributing to escalating stress, exhaustion and financial hardship.
The strong demand for the activity groups and workshops we provide demonstrates the importance people place on connection, inclusion and shared experiences. For example, our youth and young adult gaming groups consistently attract high participation rates each week. Programs such as these provide valuable opportunities for people to develop friendships, build confidence, strengthen social skills and engage meaningfully with their peers.
(02) 6622 3400. hello@redinc.org.au . www.redinc.org.au
ABN: 42 209 074 594 ACN: 652 457 291 Level 2, 105 Molesworth Street. Lismore NSW 2480. PO Box 1684. Lismore NSW 2480
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 749 3 National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 156
Concerns regarding escalating costs within the sector must also acknowledge the rapid growth of the unregistered and largely unregulated support worker market. It is widely recognised that this area presents significant risks, including poor oversight, inconsistent quality standards and opportunities for exploitation. Perhaps those are the people on their mobile phones that the Minister referred to in his National Press Club speech.
In most cases, unqualified or inexperienced individuals charge rates comparable to established registered providers, despite carrying none of the governance, compliance, workforce or safeguarding obligations required of organisations such as ours.
We are also aware of increasing reports of abuse, coercion and exploitation involving vulnerable participants, particularly individuals seeking social connection and support.
Any genuine reform agenda must address these systemic risks while ensuring the long- term sustainability of ethical, community-based registered providers.
Registered providers have significant unfunded costs which the NDIA expects to be covered under the flawed and outdated Disability Support Worker Cost Model, including:
• Award obligations, • Annual CPI increases, • Superannuation, • Payment into the Portable Long Service Leave scheme, • Workers’ compensation premiums, • Professional indemnity and Public Liability Insurance, • Training and supervision ongoing costs, • Provision of workforce continuity, • Support for people with complex support needs, • Full or mid-term NDIS Registration Audit costs every 18 months, • Restrictive Practice Reporting to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission • Governance and financial audit requirements, • ACNC Annual Reporting.
Modelling on the proposed reductions shows that providing group activities and community supports will worsen an already unsustainable position for organisations.
The announcement by the Government to establish the Inclusive Communities Fund to rebuild capability among community organisations is welcomed and will hopefully offset some of the risks. However, consultation does not start until July 2026 on its design and cuts to plans for Social and Community Participation have already commenced and officially start from October 2026.
We recommend that the Bill ensure that the Inclusive Communities Fund is established prior to reducing Social and Community Participation funds for those participants who currently utilise all their funding.
(02) 6622 3400. hello@redinc.org.au . www.redinc.org.au
ABN: 42 209 074 594 ACN: 652 457 291 Level 2, 105 Molesworth Street. Lismore NSW 2480. PO Box 1684. Lismore NSW 2480
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 749 4 National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 156
Case Study “John” (name changed) is a young man with complex support needs and an active behaviour support plan designed to assist in managing periods of significant dysregulation and violent outbursts. Despite these challenges, he is able to participate successfully in some group-based community activities because of the structured supports surrounding him. This includes a dedicated and highly trained support team, access to an engaged behaviour support practitioner, and regular opportunities for staff debriefing, reflection and coordinated planning to ensure his support is delivered safely and effectively.
John lives at home with his mother, who is a single parent in paid employment, and his siblings. His mother has already reduced her working hours substantially to manage her caring responsibilities and cannot reasonably reduce them further without severe financial consequences for the family. Additionally, the mother personally pays for some supports for John because his current plan does not meet his complex needs.
While reductions to John’s NDIS funding may appear to generate short-term savings for the Scheme, the reality is that the cost burden does not disappear — it is simply transferred elsewhere. In practical terms, this may mean his mother is forced to leave the workforce entirely to provide increased care and supervision at home, while simultaneously attempting to support her family on significantly reduced income and carer-related payments. The broader social and economic consequences of this outcome must be considered when assessing the true impact of funding reductions for people with complex support needs.
Recommendations
2.1 Include in the Bill a mechanism to ensure that any compensating increases are established before reductions come into effect to ensure that safeguarding risks are avoided. A reduction in community participation hours for example will transfer the cost burden to the SIL provider. In our experience this will put many SIL placements at risk.
2.2 Require all sole trader support workers to be registered under a robust registration process that ensures minimum standards are met. This would assist in reducing fraud within the Scheme and lowering the substantial costs currently incurred by the NDIA for fraud detection and investigation, potentially delivering savings comparable to the proposed 30% reduction target without diminishing participant supports or further destabilising registered and not- for-profit providers.
2.3 Introduce differentiated pricing that recognises that not all people with a disability have the same degree of support need. o Provide complexity loadings instead of flat hourly rates o Link higher rates to demonstrated quality and safeguarding standards
2.4 Review as a matter of urgency the Disability Support Worker Cost Model and include compliance and registration costs as a separate component. The cost modelling should also be available to the public. The increasing lack of transparency every year has been alarming.
(02) 6622 3400. hello@redinc.org.au . www.redinc.org.au
ABN: 42 209 074 594 ACN: 652 457 291 Level 2, 105 Molesworth Street. Lismore NSW 2480. PO Box 1684. Lismore NSW 2480
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 749 5 National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 156
- Penalties and Regulatory Changes The Bill introduces significant new record keeping requirements and civil penalties. Additionally, failure to maintain records over a 7-year period could result in a debt being owed to the NDIA. There needs to be scope for administrative error, loss of data and other unintentional record loss otherwise this becomes unreasonably punitive.
This amendment adds further compliance and administration burden to organisations already having to absorb compliance costs passed on by the NDIA. The Agency’s own modelling has identified a 5% gap between cost of delivery and pricing and yet continues to expect organisations to absorb more administrative burden.
- The 90-day non-contact plan revocation. The proposal to revoke plans if no contact within 90 days discriminates against those who are the most vulnerable and at risk.
There must be safeguards for those with cognitive, psychosocial, or communication issues and those with no permanent address.
- Support Needs Assessment - contradiction and lack of procedural fairness There is a contradiction in the proposed legislation where it states that participant plans will be assessed based on individual support needs and functional capacity and the Minister’s proposed legislated ability to set funding caps, support intensity and worker ratios.
As it reads, the Minister will be able to override what a participant’s support assessment has identified as the necessary and reasonable support requirements. The individual assessment then becomes merely an administration process.
Complicated further by the lack of an appeal pathway. Given that it is proposed that there will be no mechanism for review or challenge of the Minister’s decision this will potentially put participants at serious risk.
Recommendation That the Independent Expert Review Oversight Committee already established under the NDIS remain in place and provide an appeals pathway for all participants
(02) 6622 3400. hello@redinc.org.au . www.redinc.org.au
ABN: 42 209 074 594 ACN: 652 457 291 Level 2, 105 Molesworth Street. Lismore NSW 2480. PO Box 1684. Lismore NSW 2480