National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 879 A Manifesto for Dignity, Not Disposal To my fellow Australians - community, society, professionals, doctors, the Labor government, and every person who has watched and said nothing: We have heard the proposed changes to the NDIS. We have felt the shift in attitude. And we have noticed the silence. That silence is not neutral. It is an answer. You do not need to shout “we hate you” for us to understand. Quiet cuts to supports. A return to the language of “unsustainable burden.” The slow strangling of choice and control. And underneath it all, a longing whispered in policy papers and pub conversations: things were simpler before disabled people had rights. Let us name what that means. Institutions. Sheltered workshops. Places where abuse was not a failure of the system - it was the system. We see what you are reaching for. And we will not go back. We demand: Transparency. Tell us plainly: do you believe a disabled life is worth the same as a non-disabled life? Do not hide behind budgets and efficiency. Say what you mean. An end to institutional logic. No more funding models that concentrate disabled people in group homes, sheltered workshops, or segregated settings where abuse thrives. No more “streamlining” that means isolation. Real choice in life. Housing, employment, relationships, community - not as gifts, but as rights. If you will not provide these, stop pretending you respect us. Basic humanity. We are not a line item. We are your neighbours, siblings, parents, children. We always have been. This manifesto is not a plea. It is a warning. If you continue down this path - stripping supports while offering no alternative except neglect - you will have built a system worse than the institutions you pretend to have left behind. We are watching. And we will not be silent.