Your NDIS Future: Understand Big Changes, Have Your Say

Understanding the Proposed NDIS Changes: What the New Bill Could Mean For Us

As an NDIS support worker and provider for the past eight years, I’ve seen firsthand how vital the National Disability Insurance Scheme is to people’s lives across Australia. We all know the NDIS wasn’t just handed to us; it was fought for by people with disability, their families, and advocates who believed everyone deserved the chance to live safely, freely, and with dignity.

That’s why I want to talk about the latest proposed changes. The Australian Government has introduced a new piece of legislation: the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026. While the title sounds reassuring, many of us in the sector, and certainly many participants and families, are very concerned about what this Bill could actually mean.

In my experience, when changes like these are proposed, it’s crucial to understand the details. This Bill isn’t just a minor tweak; it represents some of the most significant changes to the NDIS since it began. If it passes in its current form, it could lead to substantial shifts in who gets NDIS support, how much funding is available, and how much choice and control participants have over their own plans.

What Exactly Is Being Proposed?

The Bill and some related budget announcements point towards widespread changes across the Scheme. From what I understand and have heard, these changes could deeply impact daily life for participants.

Potential Impacts on Support and Access

• The Minister could gain broad new powers to cap or cut essential NDIS supports. This might include limits on funding amounts, how often you can receive supports, and even rules about worker-to-participant ratios. This could force people into sharing supports or even into group homes, potentially reducing individualised care.
• We could see broad cuts applied to entire categories of supports, even if they’ve been assessed as essential for an individual. This moves away from the ‘individual need’ model that the NDIS was built on.
• Access to supports for social and community participation, therapy, and other vital activities could be reduced. These are the supports that help people stay connected, build skills, and live full lives.
• Getting your plan reassessed when your circumstances change could become much harder. Life happens, and plans need to adapt, so this is a major concern.
• New functional capacity assessments might be introduced. These assessments could be used to systematically restrict eligibility over time, potentially pushing people out of the Scheme. It could mean less focus on a person’s individual lived experience and more on a standardised measure.
• Your choice and control over who delivers your supports could be reduced. This is a fundamental principle of the NDIS, and anything that limits it would be a step backwards.
• There’s a risk that people could be removed from the NDIS before other community-based supports are properly available to meet their needs. This could leave many without adequate support.

For me, these changes are concerning because they risk moving the NDIS away from its foundation of individualised support based on specific needs. Instead, we might see more generalised, budget-driven decisions that could put people’s safety and well-being at risk.

The Danger of Broad Funding Cuts

One of the most serious worries I have about this Bill is the proposed power for the Minister to reduce funding for entire groups of supports across the NDIS. This is a huge shift from the current model.

The NDIS was designed around the idea that each person’s support package should be tailored to their unique disability, their family situation, home life, culture, community, and personal goals. Giving a Minister broad power to cut funding for whole categories of support risks replacing this individualised approach with a blunt budget control measure.

This could lead to funding reductions without properly considering each person’s unique circumstances. It means cuts could be made through a general policy decision, rather than through a proper, individual assessment of what someone truly needs to live safely and with dignity. Once this power is established, it could be used for any support category, not just specific ones initially targeted. This could reshape lives based on decisions made behind closed doors, without transparency or proper review.

Community Participation Cuts: A Serious Concern

A really clear example of this risk is the proposed cut to social and community participation funding. The Government is talking about a 50% cut to social, civic, and community participation funding, and a 10% cut to some capacity-building daily activity funding (like therapies). These cuts are slated to start from 1 October 2026 as plans are renewed.

In my experience, these supports are not “nice-to-haves” or “lifestyle perks.” For many participants, they are absolutely essential. They are what allow someone to leave their home, see friends, attend community events, volunteer, study, work, exercise, shop, build new skills, and stay connected.

A 50% cut would mean significantly fewer hours outside the home for many, leading to increased isolation. It could cause people to lose vital routines, relationships, confidence, and independence that they’ve worked so hard to build. And too often, it’s families who are left to fill that gap, taking on even more care responsibilities.

The NDIS was created to ensure people with disability are included in their communities. A cut of this magnitude strikes right at the heart of that promise.

Threats to Choice and Control

Another cornerstone of the NDIS is participant choice and control. This means people with disability should have a real say over who supports them, how they are supported, and the kind of life they want to build.

Many participants rely on trusted individual workers, small local providers, culturally safe services, peer-led supports, and flexible, individualised arrangements. These options often provide the best fit for their unique needs and preferences.

The Minister has also indicated an expansion of mandatory registration requirements for providers. While regulation has its place, changes to registration must not be used to push people into larger provider systems that might not meet their needs. We must protect trusted workers, innovative models of support, and the ability for participants to self-direct their care.

The Speed of Change is Worrying

This Bill could impact hundreds of thousands of people. It touches on who can access the NDIS, what supports are funded, how plans are developed, how decisions are reviewed, and ultimately, whether people can continue to live dignified lives in the community.

A Bill of this significance deserves thorough examination and genuine consultation. It’s crucial that people with disability and their families are heard directly before decisions about their lives are made. We need clear information, strong protections written into law, and proper appeal rights for any decisions that affect support.

Your Voice Matters: How You Can Have Your Say

It’s really important that Parliament hears directly from participants, families, carers, and providers about how these changes could impact real lives. The Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee is currently looking at the Bill, and submissions have been extended. You can make a submission until 10 July 2026.

You don’t need to write a long, formal document. Even a short, personal submission can be incredibly powerful because it tells your story.

What to Consider Including in Your Submission:

• Who you are and why the NDIS is important to you personally.
• Whether you oppose the Bill entirely, or if you’d only support it with major changes.
• The specific part of the Bill that concerns you most.
• How these proposed changes could affect your life, your family, or your community in real terms.
• What specific changes you want Parliament to make before the Bill passes.

You might want to focus on things like the proposed 50% cut to social and community participation, the risk of people becoming isolated, the need to protect individual choice and control, the importance of strong appeal rights, or the dangers of broad funding cuts without individual review. Remember to use your own words and explain what support means in your daily life.

You can also write to your local Federal Member of Parliament and your state or territory Senators. Sending each person a separate email is effective. Ask them to support amendments, speak about your concerns in Parliament, meet with you, or explain their position on the Bill.

Let’s Protect Our NDIS

The NDIS exists because people with disability and their families fought for it. They fought for the right to live ordinary lives, to have choice and control, and to be included in our communities. They fought for a Scheme based on individual needs, rights, and lives.

It’s crucial that these rights aren’t rolled back through rushed legislation, broad cuts, or new rules that make it harder to get the support we all rely on. Parliament needs to hear from us now. This Bill must not pass in its current form.

Protecting the NDIS means protecting the lives and futures of so many Australians. If you’re looking for local NDIS providers who understand these challenges and are committed to participant-centred care, remember to explore your options right here on NDISLocal.