Submission 830
1st June, 2026
Committee Secretary
Senate Standing Committees on Community Affairs
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Dear Committee Members,
RE: Inquiry into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Key message: For participants who receive 24/7 support, reductions in social, civic and community participation funding will result in real loss of opportunity, increased isolation, and poorer outcomes, with no capacity to offset these impacts within existing funding structures. This submission focuses specifically on Schedule 1, Part 4 – Support Determinations.
Introduction
Thank you for the opportunity to provide this submission. Mansfield Autism Statewide Services is an independent not for profit organisation, which supports young autistic people and their families. We are based in Mansfield in northeast Victoria and offer a state-wide service to the whole of Victoria. At Mansfield Autism, one of our services provides support to participants with complex needs, who require 24/7 support. This Supported Independent Living (SIL) funding provides continuous, high-level assistance with daily living activities in the home. We acknowledge the importance of ensuring the long-term sustainability of the NDIS and support the broader aims of this bill. However, we wish to highlight a significant unintended and adverse consequence of the proposed reforms for participants receiving 24/7 support. Schedule 1, Part 4 – Support Determinations This part of the Bill seeks to enable the Minister to make support determinations that reduce funding for specific groups of supports. The Government has indicated that Social, Civic and Community Participation supports will be among the first categories to be reduced under this new power. This amendment will have a disproportionate impact on certain groups of participants, including those that require 24/7 support.
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Impact on Participants Receiving 24/7 Support
Participants receiving 24/7 support typically receive this funding through two budgets:
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Supported Independent Living (SIL) (typically 18 hrs per day)
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Social, Civic and Community Participation (typically 6 hrs per day) SIL is in-home support. It does not cover community access, transport, or other activities outside the home (these can be covered by Social, Civic and Community Participation). SIL funding is not flexible enough to absorb a reduction in Social, Civic and Community Participation funding. Participants cannot use their SIL funding to reasonably offset the proposed loss of Social, Civic and Community Participation funding. This is because:
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SIL funding is calculated based on minimum staffing ratios and safety requirements;
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Providers must meet duty of care, compliance and workforce requirements that mean ratios cannot be reduced;
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Many participants do not have family or other informal supports. If they do, they often have limited capacity to provide this replacement support. The result of the reductions in Social, Civic and Community Participation funding is a direct and uncompensated loss of support that cannot be redistributed or replaced within the participant’s overall NDIS plan. This reduction in funding would quickly become a very real and significant safety issue, as participants who require high level 24/7 support will be left without support for a portion of their day.
Recommendations
Introduce explicit legislative safeguards to ensure that participants receiving 24/7 support are not disproportionately impacted by category-wide reductions. Specifically, exclude participants who receive 24/7 support from the proposed reduction to Social, Civic and Community Participation funding.
Conclusion
Schedule 1, Part 4 of the Bill introduces a powerful mechanism to control NDIS expenditure by reducing funding across support categories. While this may contribute to scheme sustainability, it also risks unintended and adverse consequences for participants with the highest support needs. For participants receiving 24/7 support, reductions in social, civic and community participation funding will result in real loss of opportunity, increased isolation, and
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poorer outcomes, with no capacity to offset these impacts within existing funding structures. Mansfield Autism strongly urges the Committee to consider targeted safeguards to ensure that reforms to improve sustainability do not come at the expense of inclusion, dignity and quality of life for the most vulnerable participants.
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