Leon Rebello (McPherson, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to speak about an issue that I am incredibly passionate about. It's a decision of this Labor government that's having devastating impacts on members of my community. The same prime minister who ran a health-cuts scare campaign against our former leader has now stripped health and disability care funding and access from our community's most vulnerable. When this Labor government make decisions about numbers on a page, they seem to forget that those numbers represent people. Right now, people in my electorate are paying the price for Labor's poor decisions.

On 1 July, Labor allowed new NDIS pricing arrangements to come into effect. These changes were thrust upon participants and the sector with very little opportunity for preparation, and the impacts are already being felt across the country. Labor's approach has been blunt, heavy handed and, as many providers have told me, entirely disconnected from the realities on the ground.

Recently, I met with Ross from Custom Prosthetics and Orthotics in Mudgeeraba, one of the many providers and participants I have spoken with since these changes came into effect. Ross shared the story of a Coolangatta resident, a recent amputee who, having been fitted with a new leg, is now unable to access the physiotherapy required to relearn how to walk using that new leg. This is the cost of Labor's ill-considered decisions.

I also met with Physio 4 Kids in Robina, who raised serious concerns about the assumptions these changes are grounded on. They explained that the rates being used for comparison were based on musculoskeletal physiotherapy, a completely different service to the highly specialised, intensive care required by many NDIS participants. Physio 4 Kids told me this flawed benchmarking leaves providers questioning their viability and families fearful of losing access to essential support.

During my meetings with local providers, I heard the same story over and over again. Providers are already underselling their services to put participants first. A local physiotherapist told me that each appointment with a participant, perhaps billed for two hours, comes with upwards of four hours worth of paperwork and reporting. That is time and cost the providers currently absorb for the sake of the participants they serve. When making changes to the NDIS we must remember that if delivering services isn't viable for providers, there will be no-one left to support participants.

With that being said, I recognise growing need for greater efficiency and integrity in the NDIS because every dollar we invest should reach the people that it is intended to help, and the scheme must have the financial sustainability to endure for the long-term.

We all recognise that the NDIS must remain financially sustainable. This year the scheme is costing taxpayers around $48.5 billion, projected to rise to $52.3 billion next year and $63.4 billion by 2028-29. These are significant figures. But ensuring sustainability cannot mean undermining access. That balance requires careful thought, proper consultation and an approach that puts participants at the centre. Meaningful reform cannot be done by spreadsheets alone. It must be strategic, evidence based and carefully implemented with clear transition paths.

Providers across the Gold Coast tell me these price settings look less like reform and more like a blunt savings measure. They've urged the government to tackle waste, fraud and duplication, to standardise reporting and to accelerate early intervention pathways—not to pull funding levers that choke off access. When travel allowances are cut and specialist therapy is benchmarked against the wrong services, those with the most complex needs pay first and pay most.

The NDIS is supposed to be there for those who need it most. It's important that the scheme is efficient and targeted to ensure long-term sustainability. But these changes are disproportionately hitting hardest for those participants with some of the most complex needs—people for whom travelling to appointments is not simply difficult but impossible. To halve their travel allowance without consultation is to halve their ability to access support. I will continue to raise the voices of my community in this place, and I urge the government to take those voices very seriously. The NDIS must work for those who rely on it.