National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 926
Submission to the Senate Community Affairs Committee
NDIS Future Generations Bill 2026
I am writing as an extended family member of someone with a significant disability, someone I love deeply. I’m not their parent or their daily carer, but I see the weight their immediate family carries every single day. I see the exhaustion behind their smiles, the constant planning, the fear of what tomorrow might bring. And I see how much of their strength comes from knowing the NDIS is there to support the person they love.
The NDIS has been a lifeline not just for the person with disability, but for the whole family. It has allowed them to breathe, to rest, to trust that they don’t have to do everything alone. It has given them the space to be family, not just full‑time crisis managers. When the right supports are in place, you can feel the relief in the room. You can see the person with disability flourish, and you can see their family finally exhale.
These proposed reforms are already causing distress. I’ve watched the immediate family lose sleep, worrying about what will happen if trusted support workers are taken away, if funding is cut, if appeals become harder. They are terrified of going back to the days when they had to fight for every hour of support, when burnout was constant, when they felt utterly alone. The emotional toll is real. The fear is real. And it is heartbreaking to witness.
I urge the committee to:
Reject cuts to community participation funding because connection keeps people alive, and it also gives families the respite and hope they desperately need.
Guarantee meaningful appeal right because families should not have to beg or battle for the supports that keep their loved one safe.
Preserve genuine choice of providers because trusted carers become part of the family’s emotional safety net, and losing them can be devastating.
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 926
If this bill passes, the impact will ripple far beyond the individual. It will hit the families who are already stretched thin, who are already carrying more than most people will ever understand. It will bring back the fear, the isolation, the endless battles the feeling that the system sees their loved one as a cost, not a person.
I am asking you, from a place of deep love and deep worry, not to let that happen. The immediate family is already doing everything they can. They should not have to fight harder. They should not have to break to keep their loved one safe.
Kind regards,