Every Australian Counts’ Statement in response to The Guardian article on 3/12/2025 titled “NDIS plans will be computer-generated, with human involvement dramatically cut under sweeping overhaul”

Summary Statement 

The revelations reported today in The Guardian are deeply alarming and pose a serious risk to the rights and safety of people with disability. Every Australian Counts is clear: it is unacceptable to shift to automated decision-making using unproven tools while removing meaningful appeal rights, including independent review through the Administrative Review Tribunal.

The leaked NDIA briefing describes a system where a computer program – not a qualified human – sets a person’s budget, where independent participant-provided evidence may be ignored, and where participants have no real ability to challenge mistakes. This is not ok. We urgently need full transparency and codesign on all aspects of the new NDIS planning framework to ensure that human oversight, independent safeguards and participant rights remain central to the Scheme.

The Details

In The Guardian today, details from a leaked internal NDIA staff briefing have come to light showing that major changes to how NDIS plans are created. Staff who attended that session were concerned enough about what they heard that they shared the details with the media. This means the article is reporting what the NDIA told its own staff about how the new Support Needs Assessment and budget-setting will work. 

According to The Guardian, the NDIA plans to move to a system where a computer program decides how much funding a person receives. Staff will not be allowed to change the budget that the tool produces. The article also says staff will not have to look at independent medical or allied health reports from participants.

The article also reports that NDIA staff were told that under the new model, if a participant appeals their plan to the Administrative Review Tribunal, the tribunal will not be able to change the plan. Instead, the tribunal can only send it back to the NDIA for another internal assessment using the same tool. This is very different from the current system where the tribunal can fix mistakes and change plans when the NDIA gets it wrong.

Every Australian Counts is very worried about what this means for people with disability and our families. If a computer program generates your plan, and only the NDIA is allowed to redo the assessment, then there is no real independent oversight. There is no proper check on mistakes. There is no guarantee that a participant can get a fair outcome if something goes wrong.

The Guardian article also shows that NDIA staff themselves raised concerns about these changes. They worried about important needs being missed, about the lack of independent evidence and about how people with psychosocial disability or trauma histories will cope with the new process.

Every Australian Counts is calling on the government to explain these changes clearly and openly, and to deliver open, transparent consultation and co-design. Before anything is introduced, people with disability must be assured that there will be strong safeguards, real human oversight and a genuine right to appeal.  People need decisions made by humans who understand our lives and who can be held accountable when things go wrong.

The NDIS is a scheme that has a direct impact on people’s rights, freedoms and life outcomes. NDIA decisions can determine whether someone can live safely in the community, whether they face institutionalisation, whether they can participate in society and whether their basic daily functioning needs are met. A fair and safe NDIS needs safeguards that allow an independent body to properly check government decisions. Removing independent oversight weakens the protections that people with disability and our families should be able to count on.

Every Australian Counts is calling on the government to release the full details of these proposed changes, and guarantee strong safeguards before any new system is put in place. We urge the government to protect the right to independent review and ensure that NDIS decisions are fair, transparent and grounded in human rights.

Independent Chair of Every Australian Counts Dr George Taleporos shared the following statement:

“People with disability and our families deserve a fair NDIS, not a system where a computer decides our funding and there is no real way to challenge mistakes. These decisions shape whether we can live safely in the community, avoid institutionalisation and participate in society.

The leaked information reported by the Guardian shows a move toward automated planning and far weaker appeal rights, and that is a serious threat to our human rights and to the NDIS that we were promised.

Independent review of government decisions is critical. If the NDIA is the only body allowed to re-assess a plan, even when a tribunal finds something wrong, then the system stops being fair and accountability is lost.

Every Australian Counts is calling on the government to reconsider their approach and guarantee that the rights of people with disability will be upheld.”

If you’re feeling worried or overwhelmed by the changes, you’re not alone. We’ve put together a page of helpful resources to support. You can also call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 for support.