Exceptional Care for You's Response to the NDIS Bill Amendments

Our Submission to the Community Affairs Legislation Committee for the NDIS Amendments (Securing the NDIS Future Generations) Bill 2026

June 1, 2026

I am writing to you regarding my deep concerns about the proposed changes to the NDIS that will result from the NDIS (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill being presented and passed by Parliament.

I am the Director of a growing registered NDIS Provider who currently supports approximately 40 clients.  While we do not have many children as participants, we do support many complex and high-intensity clients.  Our service is entirely focused on achieving the best outcomes for our participants and supporting our staff.

I would like to begin by stating I understand there are questionable providers who need to be removed from the system, and I’m well informed about the extent of fraud within the NDIS. I also recognise that Government expenditure is not unlimited and that appropriate controls are necessary. The amount of negative attention to the NDIS across all types of media, which, if not started by the Government, has certainly been amplified by it, without any attempt at balanced reporting, it is incredibly unfair and has created a real resentment towards both those who provide services and those who receive services in our community.

Having said that, I believe that the current proposals are inhumane, have the potential to damage participants both physically and psychologically and cause a significant amount of trauma for loved ones and people living with a disability.

Governments have a significant history of introducing schemes without the appropriate safeguards, such as the RTO rorts, the pink bat disgrace and now the NDIS, and yet they are surprised there is fraud in the NDIS!

The NDIS system was designed and implemented by the Government and was flawed from the beginning. The correct safeguards were not built into the system to prevent fraud. Unfortunately the participants under this NDIS Bill Amendments will be forced to live the consequences of a badly designed, implemented and managed system by successive governments.

In reality, these consequences will include;

• Hours of support being cut for clients as digitalised systems are brought in to make assessments. The selling point for a digitalised assessment system is that it will bring consistency in assessments. I am yet to find two people living with the same disability to have that disability present in the same way. The outcome of this will be people left without support, which will lead to loneliness, mental health concerns, possible physical concerns and an overall decrease in their health and wellbeing.

  
  

• Decreasing community access funding by 50% is, put simply a disgraceful strategy. It takes us back to the bad old days when people living with disabilities were hidden from public life. If the Government believes this area of funding has been abused, then devise a clear list of approved uses. I am sure no member of the Government would willingly have their social activities (many of which are funded by taxpayers) reduced by 50%. Imagine for a moment that you are totally reliant on someone else to help you socialise, but 50% of that opportunity is taken away from you, not because you have done anything wrong, but because the Government has mismanaged the NDIS.

  
  

• Increasing the time allowed for a determination on an unscheduled assessment from 21 to 91 days will leave participants without funds and forced to enter the hospital system. Hospital admissions are detrimental to both physical and mental health. I can assure you that no person with a disability is cared for as well in hospital as they are in their own home. This could result in loss of life.

  
  

• Removing the right to appeal such assessments is a denial of basic human rights.

  
  

• The increase in the Minister’s unchecked rights according to the proposed Bill is frightening and un-Australian. The Minister should not have the authority to cap support at any time while also having the ability to keep such decisions out of the public domain.

  
  

• Dictating the ratio and amount of support according to a class of participants is impractical and incredibly flawed.For example, we support two participants with the same injury. One returned to work within 12 months and requires six hours of support per day. The other returned to part-time work after three years and requires 12 hours of support per day. To categorise participants according to their disability without taking into account co-morbidities or abilities is heartless and will lead to many psychological concerns for participants.

  
  

• To cut the number of participants by 300,000 is both heartless and inexcusable. Have you found a way to prevent injuries from accidents, to prevent illnesses leading to disabilities, such as MND, stroke or MS related disabilities and have you found a way to stop birth defects which lead to life long disabilities? If you have not, then you have no right to cut the total number of people receiving NDIS funding. As our population grows, so too will the number of people living with disabilities. 

The Government is responsible for the state of the NDIS and whilst there are some recipients who should not be receiving support, they did not win their funding in a raffle; it was granted to them by a Government department. There are undoubtedly some bad providers, but they have been endorsed, with every invoice approved and paid by the NDIS.  The common theme is clear. The Government created the system, failed to adequately safeguard it, and is now responding by reducing services to vulnerable people living with disability. Most concerning of all, these proposed changes would further restrict participants' ability to engage in their communities through cuts to community access funding.

Lets make changes by all means, but let’s make changes that will improve the NDIS for participants:

• Let's carefully screen those entering the privileged position of being a provider and ensure they possess appropriate disability and/or healthcare experience.

• Let's ensure the NDIS does not become a political football.

• Let's increase investment in fraud prevention and compliance.

• Let's require all providers to be registered and all workers appropriately trained.

• Let's create a system we can be proud of, where participants are treated as equal members of our community.

Yours sincerely,

Dianne Geddes

Director