Submission 4219

National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDis for Future Generations) Bill 2026

14 May 2026

to: Committee Secretary, Community Affairs Legislation Committee Re: Inquiry into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the Ndis for Future Generations) Bill 2026

dear committee members,

i am asking you to stop and truly consider what these proposed changes will mean – not in theory, but in real lives.

because for me, this is not about policy.

this is about whether i can keep my independence, my job, my health — and my place in the community.

What the NDIS has done for me

before the ndis, i had nothing.

no support. no access. no real opportunity to participate equally in society.

since joining the ndis in 2018, my life has changed in ways I cannot fully describe. It has allowed me to step out of isolation and into the world.

i am profoundly deaf. i use cochlear implants, but they do not make me “hearing.” They do not fix clarity. they do not remove communication barriers.

without support, i am constantly struggling to understand people. lipreading is exhausting and unreliable.

in through the ndis, i finally gained access to auslan and interpreters. For the first time in my life, i could communicate more freely, participate more fully, and belong.

that is what the ndis gave me: not just services — but dignity, connection, and independence.

i also live with a mobility disability. before the ndis, i lived every day with constant knee pain. it imited my movement, my independence, and my ability to function.

with physiotherapy funded by the ndis, that pain is manageable. i can move. i can live.

National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026

Submission 4219

What you are putting at risk

The proposed changes put all of this at risk.

If my supports are reduced or taken away:

• I may lose access to my cochlear implants – a cost of around $20,000 that I simply cannot afford
• I may lose ongoing physiotherapy and return to constant pain
• I may lose my balance, my mobility, and my safety
• I may be forced to give up work

Please understand this clearly:

Without these supports, my life will not just become harder—it will become smaller.

Willingly pushed backwards into isolation, pain, and dependence.

This will not save money — it will cost more

If I lose support:

• I may leave the workforce
• I may require more medical care
• I may become more dependent on other systems

This is not efficiency.

This is moving costs from one system to another—while damaging lives in the process.

There is no real alternative

I am told there are “other supports.”

But where are they?

• Medicare offers only a handful of physio sessions—nowhere near enough
• I do not qualify for Australian Hearing
• “Foundational supports” are unclear, undefined, and uncertain

You are asking people to trust a system that has not been properly explained, and may not exist in a meaningful way.

That is not reform. That is risk.

The reality of “permanence“

I am deeply concerned about the proposed changes to the definition of “permanance”.

My cochlear implants do not cure my deafness.

they do not allow me to hear like a hearing person.

Without them:

• I cannot hear alarms
• I cannot hear people calling me
• I cannot hear danger

even with them, i still struggle every day.

my disability is permanent.

my need for support is permanent.

If I lose support because I use assistive technology — because I am trying to function and practice – then the system is punishing me for doing exactly what it is supposed to help me do.

What this really means

if these changes go ahead as they are:

You are not just changing a system.

you are changing lives.

you are deciding:

• Who gets to participate
• who gets to work
• who gets to be heard
• And who is left behind

My message to you

I am not asking for special treatment.

I am asking for the support that allows me to live as an equal member of society.

The NDIS gave me that chance.

Please do not take it away.

Final words

I want to keep working.

I want to keep contributing.

I want to keep being part of my community.

But I cannot do that without support.

If you take that support away, you are not just cutting funding – you are cutting people off from their lives.

Please choose to move Australia forward.

Not backward.

Yours sincerely, [Your Name]