Andrew Gee (Calare, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

The NDIS has been a game changer for constituents of our Calare electorate and communities around Australia. It needs to be supported and it needs to be sustainable.

Everyone wants the rorters and the wrongdoers identified, weeded out and dealt with. In fact, I am concerned that there is not enough focus on that in the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026. This is taxpayer funding we're talking about, and every dollar that is dishonestly taken by the unscrupulous is a dollar that doesn't go to those in need and that undermines public confidence and faith in the whole scheme.

The proposed changes have, however, raised serious concerns amongst many local participants. These are great local community members. They deserve to be heard, and they don't feel that they are being sufficiently listened to at the moment. I want to take some time to give voice to my constituents who've raised these concerns.

Skye is a constituent in the Calare electorate, and I have known her for many years. She has written to me and said:

I live with Spina Bifida and a lower limb amputation. These are lifelong conditions that already require ongoing management, adaptation, and support to maintain my independence and safety.

Skye says:

I understand the need for the NDIS to be sustainable. But sustainability cannot be achieved by reducing support for the people who rely on it to function.

Because when support is reduced:

Right now, I am already experiencing what it looks like when capacity is reduced and support becomes critical.

Under one of the changes 'using capacity not diagnosis to determine support' will be disastrous for someone like me because the NDIS considers me independent and able to function. This is not the case because what you and everyone sees outside my house is me putting a face on, because you know what disability is hard … what your capacity will be like day to day is hard enough to deal with, without having to prove that life sucks.

I would honestly give back the membership card if it meant being accepted in society as not the bad guy, or having to prove every single day that I have a disability.

This is not hypothetical.

This is my reality.

I ask that you take that into account when considering these changes, and that you bring the lived experience of people with disability into the centre of these decisions.

Victoria writes:

I am a sixteen year old, wheelchair bound constituent writing to express my concern about the proposed NDIS reform, specifically the shift toward strict functional impairment assessments and away from flexibility and personalisation.

In 2020, I developed Myalgic Encephalomyelitis after contracting Covid-19. I live with many other multiple, complex and debilitating conditions, including but not limited to Functional Neurological Disorder, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, fibromyalgia, and Autism Spectrum Disorder. To say that I live in a constant state of pain would be an understatement. The NDIS has saved my life. The funding that I receive is how I am able to get out of bed and do something meaningful with my life.

The proposed changes to the NDIS risk that. ME/CFS, as well as many other conditions, are dynamic disabilities. This means that while a disabled person can seem functional and capable one day, they can be severely impaired and unable to complete basic tasks the next day. What do you think would happen if an assessor deemed someone with a dynamic disability "functional" one week, and the next, they aren't able to use the bathroom on their own? That cycle may repeat for years, if not decades, and they will be denied help.

Victoria goes on to state:

A standardised assessor may see that and tell me that I am functional and do not need NDIS funding. But what they fail to see is that the next day, I am in so much physical pain that I can not move, breathe, or swallow. They do not see that the following night, I am at risk of falling onto the hot stovetop while preparing food as my body can not properly circulate blood. They do not see that I have had to quit mainstream school despite my exceptional academic performance because the mere environment induced violent seizures and extreme fatigue where I could not even lift my head without excruciating pain.

She goes on to write:

If access to NDIS support is restricted, people like me who suffer from poorly understood but very real dynamic disabilities will be failed. We will not be able to manage daily life, let alone participate in the community, build capacity, and advocate for ourselves.

I am already financially struggling with the NDIS chunk funding. I can not afford the support work that I need. The new changes will only make my situation, and thousands more, more dire.

I am pleading that you advocate for:

I am afraid for my future and afraid for the vulnerable people like me.

Cheryl lives in Kelso and she says:

I am writing to you as one of your constituents and as a person living with disability, to express my deep concern about the proposed changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

She says:

I rely on my NDIS supports for the most fundamental aspects of daily life: personal care routines, eating meals safely, moving around my home, mobilising in the community, going shopping, and attending medical and other appointments. These are not luxuries. They are the supports that allow me to exist with dignity and safety in the way that you and other Australians do. But they have also made something remarkable possible: I have been able to re-enter the paid workforce and contribute through volunteering.

She says:

The proposed changes … risk causing serious, even irreversible harm, particularly in regional/rural areas such as ours. I am fortunate—

she says—

to have the capacity to advocate for myself, but I think constantly of those who cannot: people with cognitive disabilities, people … in supported accommodation, and people without family or friends to fight for them. For these Australians, the withdrawal of NDIS support is not an inconvenience, it is a threat to their safety, their health, and in some cases their lives.

Kathryn says:

I am a young adult Autistic NDIS participant with high support needs. …

With NDIS supports, I have been able to start attending board game groups to meet new people and access therapies that have greatly improved my quality of life. I have learned more about my disabilities and been able to start engaging with the disabled community. I have no friends and no healthy family supports, so my only supports are NDIS-funded—my therapists and support workers. Without NDIS, I would have no support. … The current proposed NDIS cuts would impact me significantly, reducing my quality of life and negatively impacting my mental health.

Nicole, who is the director of Health Works NSW, which is a longstanding regional allied health organisation, has said of these proposed changes:

The greatest impact will ultimately fall on children and families.

Children may lose long-standing therapeutic relationships with clinicians who understand their communication styles, sensory needs, behavioural presentation, developmental history and family context. Families who have spent years navigating fragmented systems may once again find themselves without clear pathways to support.

In regional communities, the impacts may be even more pronounced. There are already significant workforce shortages across allied health, disability and paediatric services. Smaller regional providers often operate with narrow financial margins while carrying substantial travel, workforce and operational costs. Procurement models that favour large-scale metropolitan structures or unrealistic delivery expectations risk unintentionally destabilising the very providers currently holding regional service systems together.

Nicole says:

… I am deeply concerned about the practical implementation risks associated with the current reform and procurement environment, particularly if experienced private paediatric providers are excluded or significantly reduced within the broader ecosystem supports.

…   …   …

… many children over the age of 9 may also lose access to continuity of care and broader therapeutic supports.

These concerns are very real. Reform can't be at the expense of our constituents and our community members who genuinely rely on this scheme and are gaining life-changing benefit from it. It can't be at the expense of those who are doing the right thing. There needs to be genuine consultation, and the government needs to listen to those whose lives they are affecting. I support the NDIS, but reform needs to be properly thought through and properly planned. I urge the government to listen to those most affected and act on their concerns. Don't let genuine NDIS participants fall through the cracks of reform.

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