Julie-Ann Campbell (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

What I would say to this House is that it was on Labor's watch when the NDIS became a reality. People facing profound disability had not had the opportunity to seek that support until a Labor government put it into place. The National Disability Insurance Scheme is a critical Australian institution. It's a world-leading piece of public policy reform that, on the individual level, changes the lives of participants for the better, every single day.

Recently, I had the opportunity to meet some of those participants at the Kuraby Special School family fun day. It's a day that's put on for kids with disability who do not get the opportunity to go to the Ekka. The principal there, Abby Kilfoy, and their P&C leader, Glen, know how critical that is, because everyone who is a person with disability deserves dignity, deserves support and deserves to participate in our community. That's what they do day in, day out at the Kuraby Special School, and, when it comes to the NDIS, they are some of the participants who make up the 717,000 people who now have the choice to control their own supports. It enables them to access reasonable and necessary services, supports and equipment for the care that they need, for the care that their families need, for the care that they deserve. In particular, they need that care to work towards personal goals and to access their community just as those students did when it came to the Kuraby Special School and the Ekka.

As Minister Butler recently said, Australia's NDIS has gone from a dream of generations of disability activists to an entrenched and beloved institution, and we need to keep it that way. To be able to keep it that way, what the NDIS needs is financial sustainability so that the NDIS remains a reality and remains a critical support for all of those participants who use it day in and day out. It is imperative we ensure the long-term viability of the NDIS so that future generations can access it, and Labor takes this responsibility incredibly seriously. Cost projections showed the annual cost of the NDIS would grow from about $35 billion in the 2022-23 year to more than $50 billion in the 2025-26 year and exceed $90 billion a year within a decade.

The Albanese Labor government is focused on the sustainable growth of the NDIS, and Labor is also determined to ensure that prices are fairer for participants, providers and workers in the sector and that there is a transparency for the Australian taxpayer about that process and outcome. This means ensuring that participants are not overcharged. It also means that our investment in the NDIS has to go to our frontline workers and participants. It means clarity around pricing arrangements. It is the participants and the frontline workers of the NDIS who are the lifeblood of this scheme.

The annual price review is a key part of monitoring the scheme to ensure efficiency, equity and financial viability, and the National Disability Insurance Agency incorporates market data, research and public and industry engagement in its review, considering numerous factors such as changes to the minimum wage and the superannuation guarantee. In the last review, the agency also commissioned an independent report into pricing, focusing on a detailed examination of pricing data and patterns. The review is a rigorous process. It's a rigorous process in which this year more than 10 million therapy transactions were assessed and benchmarked with Medicare, private health insurance and 13 other government schemes. The outcomes of that 2024-25 annual pricing review included recommending new prices for certain therapies where participants were paying more than other consumers, as well as restructuring and clarifying travel charges.

What the NDIS is fundamentally about is making sure that some of the most vulnerable people in our community have the support they need every day, and the only way to do that—the only way to ensure this world-changing critical piece, this great institution introduced by Labor—is to make sure it is financially sustainable.

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