We made a submission on the NDIS Bill

By Self Manager Hub

Keywords | consultations | NDIS

Category | Policy and Advocacy | News

Formats | Text only

Here are some ideas for your submission. 

Self Manager Hub has made a submission to the Senate inquiry into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026. 

Our submission is based on what you have told us is important to you. 

We are deeply concerned about this Bill. 

It could make major changes to the NDIS, including: 

• who can get NDIS support 
• how plans are made 
• how much funding people receive 
• provider registration 
• self-management and self-direction 
• claiming rules 
• debts and record keeping 
• automated decisions 
• review rights 
• plan suspension and revocation 

We have told the Senate Committee that the Bill should not pass in its current form. 

You can see our submission here.

If it does go ahead, it must be changed to protect the rights, safety, choice, and control of people with disability and our families. 

Submissions close at the end of Monday 1 June 2026. 

We strongly encourage people with disability, families, nominees, supporters, workers, and organisations to make a submission. 

You do not need to write a long submission. You can write in your own words. What matters is that the Committee hears from the people who will be directly affected. 

Why we need to speak up 

This Bill could have serious consequences for the future of the NDIS. 

The NDIS is meant to support people with disability to live safely, make our own choices, and take part in the community. 

Our submission warns that this Bill could move the NDIS away from individualised support and towards a more centralised, rule-based and cost-controlled system. 

We support safety, integrity and accountability. 

Fraud should be stopped. Public money should be used properly. 

But the answer must not be to cut people’s supports, weaken review rights, reduce choice and control, or punish people who are trying to do the right thing. 

Our key concerns and what we need to see changed in this Bill 

The NDIS must protect the rights of people with disability and our families. 

This includes the right to live independently, make choices about our own lives, challenge unfair decisions, and get the support we need to live safely. 

Financial sustainability matters. 

But it must never be used as an excuse to override people’s rights, safety or assessed support needs. 

Self-management and self-direction must be protected 

Many people self-manage or self-direct our supports because it gives us real choice and control. 

It allows us to choose workers who understand our lives, homes, routines, communication and safety needs. 

This can include direct employment, sole traders, independent workers and services for one. 

The Bill must clearly protect participant-led and nominee-led self-directed supports. 

People must not be forced into registered provider systems unless there is a clear, fair and individual reason. 

People must be given notice, reasons and review rights before their choice and control is restricted. 

We need a self-directed registration category 

If mandatory registration is expanded, there must be a specific self-directed registration category. 

This must be designed with people who self-manage or self-direct our supports. 

Participant-led arrangements are different from large provider models. 

The rules must not place unfair provider-style burdens on people with disability and families who are arranging supports in our own lives. 

Reasonable and necessary supports must be fully funded 

One of our biggest concerns is proposed section 34A. 

This could allow the Minister to reduce funding for reasonable and necessary supports below the real cost of those supports. 

That is extremely concerning. 

If a support is reasonable and necessary, the NDIS should fund it properly. 

People must not be told they need a support, then be given too little funding to actually buy it. 

This could create unsafe gaps in support, break down trusted support arrangements, and push more pressure onto families and unpaid carers. 

Social and community participation supports must not be treated as optional 

Social and community participation supports are essential for many people 

They can include communication support, personal care, behaviour support, essential medical appointments, family contact and everyday community life. 

For people with high and complex support needs, these supports can be part of a 24-hour safety plan. 

Cuts to these supports could increase isolation, risk and unmet need. 

Broad caps must not override individual need 

The Bill could allow broad caps on funding, support intensity and worker-to-participant ratios. 

This is dangerous if it overrides what a person actually needs. 

Some people need one-to-one support, two-to-one support, active overnight support, or workers trained in complex health, behaviour or communication needs. 

Support levels must be based on individual need and safety. 

They must not be decided by broad caps that apply to groups of people. 

The NDIS must keep a whole person approach 

People do not live our lives in separate boxes. 

Disability, health, communication, environment, family situation and daily life all interact. 

The NDIS must keep a whole person approach and look at what each person needs in real life. 

A narrow approach could leave people without the supports they need to live safely. 

People should not be pushed out of the NDIS because another system exists on paper 

We are very concerned that people could be excluded from the NDIS because another system is said to be responsible. 

This could include health, aged care, compensation or other systems. 

A person should not lose NDIS support unless that other system actually provides the right support. 

It must be available, timely, accessible, safe and able to meet the person’s disability support needs. 

Promises on paper are not enough. 

Record keeping and claiming rules must be fair 

Self managers understand the need for records. 

But the Bill could create debts because of record keeping problems, even when the support was genuinely received. 

People should not face debts because of a technical or admin mistake when they acted in good faith. 

The Bill would also reduce the claim period from two years to 90 days. 

For many people, this is far too short. 

The claim period should be at least six months, with fair exceptions where someone has a good reason for a late claim. 

People need protection if they rely on NDIA advice 

Participants and nominees should be able to ask the NDIA whether a support can be claimed. 

The NDIA should give written advice, and people should be able to rely on it. 

If the NDIA later changes its mind, the person should not be punished with a debt. 

Automated decisions must be limited 

The Bill could allow more automated decisions. 

This is a serious risk. 

Automated systems should not make complex decisions about people’s lives. 

They should not be used for high-risk decisions about funding, plans, claims, debts, access or participant status. 

Where automation is used, people must be told, given clear reasons, and able to ask for human review. 

People need fair planning and review rights 

People need to be able to ask for plan changes when life changes. 

This includes changes in health, safety, housing, work, equipment, informal supports or support arrangements. 

There must be a fast emergency pathway when there are serious safety, housing, health or support breakdown concerns. 

People must also keep strong review rights. 

Without review rights, people cannot properly challenge unfair or harmful decisions. 

Supports should not be suspended because someone is hard to contact 

We are worried about rules that could suspend or revoke a person’s NDIS status if they are considered not contactable. 

There are many reasons a person may be hard to contact, including hospital stays, communication barriers, psychosocial disability, nominee issues, family violence, homelessness or lack of access to online systems. 

Essential supports must not be stopped without strong safeguards. 

The NDIA must use accessible communication, try all contact methods, contact nominees or authorised supporters where appropriate, and consider disability-related barriers. 

Big changes must be co-designed 

The Bill leaves many important details to future rules. 

That is a major concern. 

Rules about access, funding, registration, claims, records, debts, self-management, self-direction and review rights must be co-designed with people who will be affected. 

People with disability and our families must be involved before decisions are made. 

What you can write in your submission 

Your submission can be short. 

You may want to include: 

• who you are 
• how you use the NDIS 
• what supports matter most to you 
• what would happen if your supports were cut 
• why choice and control matters 
• why review rights matter 
• why you are worried about debts, claiming rules or automated decisions 
• what could happen if you were forced to use registered providers 
• why the Bill should not pass in its current form 

Try to connect your story to the Bill. 

Example points you can include 

You can say: 

“I urge the Committee to recommend that this Bill not pass in its current form. As drafted, it risks weakening the rights, safeguards, choice, control and supports that people with disability rely on to live safe, independent and meaningful lives.” 

“I urge the Committee to protect the NDIS as a rights-based scheme. Financial sustainability must never come at the expense of the rights, safety, dignity or support needs of people with disability. Cost-cutting and administrative convenience should not override individual need.” 

“I urge the Committee to ensure that all reasonable and necessary supports are fully funded at their actual cost. It is unacceptable to approve a support but provide insufficient funding to access it. Underfunding essential supports can place people at risk, disrupt established support arrangements and shift unreasonable pressure onto families and unpaid carers.” 

“I urge the Committee to establish a dedicated self-directed registration category before any expansion of mandatory registration. People who self-manage or self-direct their supports must not lose choice, control or access to trusted workers because of regulatory changes designed for large provider organisations rather than participant-led arrangements.” 

“I urge the Committee to protect participants and nominees from unfair debts where supports were genuinely received and claimed in good faith. People should not face financial hardship because of technical errors, unclear requirements, administrative mistakes or changes in NDIA interpretation after the fact.” 

“I urge the Committee to preserve strong and accessible review rights for decisions about plans, funding, claims, debts, access and supports. Without effective review rights, people with disability can be left without a meaningful way to challenge decisions that are incorrect, unreasonable or harmful to their wellbeing and safety.” 

How to make a submission 

Submissions must be made to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee. 

The inquiry is called: 

National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 

Submissions close at the end of Monday 1 June 2026. 

You can make a submission online through the inquiry page on the Parliament of Australia website. 

Look for the button that says: 

Upload Submission 

You can also email your submission to: 

community.affairs.sen@aph.gov.au 

Use this email subject line: 

Submission: NDIS Future Generations Bill 2026 

You do not need to send private documents. 

Only include information you are comfortable sharing. 

If you want your submission to be confidential, say this clearly at the start and explain why. 

Please speak up before the deadline 

This Bill could have a serious impact on the future of the NDIS. 

It could affect who gets support, how much support people receive, choice and control, self-management and self-direction, claims, debts, reviews and access to support. 

The Senate Committee needs to hear from people who will be affected. 

Please make a submission by the end of Monday 1 June 2026. 

Your voice matters. 

Together, we need to protect an NDIS that is fair, safe, individualised and based on the rights of people with disability and our families.