Submission 868
Parliamentary Submission – National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the
NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Prepared by:
Bachelor of Youth Work
Certificate IV in Alcohol and Other Drugs
Certificate IV in Dual Diagnosis
Graduate Certificate in Child and Adolescent Youth Mental Health
has over 14 years of experience working within the community services sector across disability, mental health, psychosocial support, child and family services, crisis intervention, safeguarding, and complex case management. currently works extensively with participants presenting with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Intellectual Disability, psychosocial disability, complex trauma, behavioural concerns, chronic mental illness, and high risk safeguarding concerns across the NDIS and mainstream systems.
Introduction
I am writing to provide a formal submission regarding the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026.
While reform and long-term sustainability of the NDIS are important goals, I hold serious concerns regarding the practical and human impact these amendments will have on participants with disabilities, their families, carers, and already overstretched mainstream systems.
The proposed reforms appear heavily focused on reducing expenditure and narrowing access rather than addressing the underlying systemic failures that have caused increasing pressure on the NDIS in the first place. In practice, many of these reforms risk reducing participant access to essential supports, increasing carer burnout, increasing hospital presentations, increasing homelessness and mental health crises, and shifting costs onto mainstream systems that are already critically under-resourced.
The NDIS was designed to support participation, independence, and inclusion. However, many of the proposed amendments risk moving participants backwards by creating additional barriers to support access, reducing flexibility, increasing administrative burden, and narrowing what is considered “reasonable and necessary” support.
Impact on Participants and Families
The practical reality for many participants and families is that the NDIS currently fills enormous gaps left by mainstream systems that are inaccessible, unavailable, underfunded, or inappropriate for people with disabilities.
Many participants accessing the NDIS are unable to obtain adequate support through:
Medicare,
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public mental health systems,
public allied health,
schools,
housing systems,
or community support services.
The proposed reforms fail to adequately address this reality.
Restricting access to supports or tightening eligibility criteria without first strengthening mainstream systems will leave many participants with:
reduced supports,
no supports,
or inappropriate supports.
This will significantly increase:
family breakdown,
carer burnout,
emergency department presentations,
psychiatric admissions,
homelessness,
child protection involvement,
school disengagement,
social isolation,
and long-term dependence on crisis systems.
Families are already exhausted and overwhelmed. Many parents and carers are effectively working full-time unpaid roles managing:
therapies,
appointments,
behavioural concerns,
emotional regulation,
school advocacy,
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transport,
and NDIS administration.
Reducing or limiting supports without replacing them with accessible mainstream alternatives will simply transfer the burden back onto unpaid carers, many of whom are already physically, emotionally, and financially overwhelmed.
Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities
There are significant concerns that aspects of the proposed reforms may indirectly discriminate against persons with disabilities by creating barriers that disproportionately affect individuals with:
psychosocial disability,
Autism Spectrum Disorder,
Intellectual Disability,
communication impairments,
executive functioning impairments,
trauma histories,
and cognitive disabilities.
Participants with disabilities frequently struggle with:
navigating systems,
understanding complex processes,
advocating for themselves,
managing reviews,
attending appointments,
and gathering evidence.
Increasing administrative complexity while reducing flexibility disproportionately disadvantages the very people the scheme was designed to support.
The reforms appear to place increasing emphasis on participants proving and justifying disability repeatedly, rather than recognising disability as permanent, lifelong, and functionally impactful.
Many participants already experience:
review fatigue,
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retraumatisation,
excessive evidence gathering,
and repeated reassessment processes.
Further tightening processes without adequate safeguards risks increasing distress, disengagement, and inequity.
Impact on Psychosocial Disability Participants
Participants with psychosocial disability will be disproportionately harmed by reductions in flexibility and supports.
Many psychosocial participants rely heavily on:
support coordination,
psychosocial recovery coaching,
support workers,
social supports,
capacity building,
and therapy access to remain stable in the community.
Without these supports, many participants experience:
psychiatric admissions,
homelessness,
police involvement,
crisis escalation,
disengagement from services,
and severe deterioration in functioning.
Psychosocial disability does not operate in predictable or linear ways. Participants frequently require flexibility, relationship-based support, and preventative intervention to avoid crisis escalation.
Reducing supports may appear financially beneficial short-term, however it will almost certainly create significantly higher long-term costs across:
hospitals,
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emergency departments,
justice systems,
homelessness systems,
child protection,
and acute mental health services.
Failure of Mainstream Systems
A major flaw in the proposed reforms is the assumption that mainstream systems are adequately resourced and accessible enough to absorb participants who lose or are denied NDIS supports.
This is not the reality currently experienced by participants and families.
In practice:
public mental health systems are overwhelmed,
community mental health services have extensive waitlists,
allied health access is unaffordable,
schools lack sufficient disability supports,
psychiatrists are inaccessible,
and Medicare is insufficient for chronic and complex disability needs.
Many participants are forced into the NDIS because mainstream systems are failing them.
If the Government genuinely wishes to “secure the NDIS for future generations,” then reform must occur across mainstream systems simultaneously rather than simply restricting disability supports.
Real Reform Recommendations
Real reform would involve strengthening mainstream systems so people with disabilities can access appropriate support without relying solely on the NDIS.
This should include:
Increasing Mental Health Care Plans from 10 sessions to at least 26 sessions annually for participants with chronic and complex mental health conditions and psychosocial disabilities.
Reducing gap fees and increasing bulk-billed psychology and counselling services so participants can realistically access treatment regardless of financial status.
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Significantly increasing access to bulk-billing psychiatrists within community settings, particularly for participants with chronic psychosocial disability and complex mental illness.
Increasing public and community-based Occupational Therapy and Speech Pathology services so participants can access intervention earlier without requiring NDIS escalation.
Increasing allied health availability within schools, including Occupational Therapists, Speech Pathologists, psychologists, and behavioural supports integrated into educational environments.
Expanding disability-inclusive social groups, mentoring programs, community participation programs, and neurodiversity-affirming social supports to reduce isolation and improve participation.
Increasing funding into preventative and early intervention supports rather than restricting access once participants have already deteriorated significantly.
Improving housing and community support systems to reduce homelessness risk for participants with disabilities.
Reducing administrative burden and review fatigue for participants with permanent disabilities.
Improving workforce capacity within allied health, disability support, and public mental health systems.
Support Coordination and Safeguarding
One of the most concerning trends within the reform process is the increasing scrutiny around Support Coordination and capacity-building supports.
Support Coordination is frequently misunderstood as administrative rather than preventative safeguarding intervention.
For many participants with:
Autism Spectrum Disorder,
Intellectual Disability,
psychosocial disability,
cognitive impairments,
or trauma-related conditions, Support Coordination is essential for:
preventing crises,
maintaining provider engagement,
implementing supports safely,
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reducing safeguarding risks,
preventing homelessness,
reducing hospitalisations,
coordinating care,
and maintaining family stability.
Reducing these supports will not remove need — it will simply transfer burden onto already failing crisis systems.
Conclusion
The NDIS absolutely requires sustainability and long-term reform. However, sustainability cannot be achieved simply by reducing participant access, restricting supports, or increasing barriers.
Sustainability is achieved by:
investing in preventative supports,
strengthening mainstream systems,
reducing long-term crisis costs,
supporting carers,
improving early intervention,
and ensuring people with disabilities can meaningfully participate in society.
The proposed reforms risk creating:
more crisis,
more burnout,
more hospitalisations,
more homelessness,
more family breakdown,
and greater long-term social and economic costs.
The disability community does not need less support. It needs systems that actually work together effectively.
Any reform intended to secure the future of the NDIS must prioritise:
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accessibility,
inclusion,
safeguarding,
human rights,
and genuine community participation for people with disabilities.