The Australian Government has introduced a major new NDIS Bill called the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026.

Do not be fooled by the title.

This Bill is a direct attack on the supports we rely on to live safely, freely and with dignity.

The NDIS was built because people with disability were shut out, left behind, forced into poverty, isolated in our homes, placed in institutions and denied the support we needed to live ordinary lives.

We fought for something better.

Now, the Government is proposing some of the biggest and most dangerous changes to the NDIS since it began. If this Bill passes in its current form, it could mean deep cuts to support, fewer people getting access to the NDIS, more power for Government to reduce funding, and weaker rights to challenge decisions that affect our lives.

This is not a small technical change. This is a serious threat to the promise of the NDIS.

Read our Submission on the NDIS Bill: Every Australian Counts Submission on NDIS Bill May 2026

Take Action

• Make a submission on the NDIS Bill before 10 July
• Email decision-makers
• Join the EAC mailing list
• Donate to Every Australian Counts to support our campaign.
• Join our next community forum
• If the NDIS changes feel overwhelming, you’re not alone. Support is available: Lifeline 13 11 14 | Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636

What is being proposed?

The Bill and related Budget announcements point to major changes across the Scheme.

These changes will:

• give the Minister broad powers to cap or cut essential NDIS supports, including limits on funding, how often supports can be provided, and worker-to-participant ratios, forcing people to share supports and into group homes.
• allow broad cuts to whole categories of supports, even where people have already been assessed as needing them
• reduce access to social and community participation, therapy and other supports people rely on to live safely, stay connected and take part in community life
• make it harder for people to get their plan reassessed when their circumstances change
• introduce new functional capacity assessments that could be used to systematically restrict eligibility and push people out of the Scheme over time
• reduce participant choice and control over who delivers our supports
• remove people from the NDIS before other supports are available.

These changes are dangerous.

They will push people out of the NDIS, and force people into unsafe support models, by denying them the support they need to live safely.

The NDIS was built on individualised support based on need. That promise must not be replaced by hidden caps, broad Ministerial powers and cuts that put people at risk.

New powers to cut funding are the biggest danger

The most serious concern is the proposed power for the Minister to reduce funding for groups of supports across the Scheme.

This is a major shift in how the NDIS works.

The NDIS was created around individual need. Each person’s support should be based on their disability, life, family situation, home, culture, community and goals. A broad power to cut funding for whole categories of support risks replacing individualised decision-making with blunt budget control.

It could allow funding reductions without each person’s circumstances being properly considered. It could mean cuts are made through a general decision, rather than through a proper assessment of what a person needs to live safely and with dignity.

This is dangerous because once this power exists, it may not only be used to reduce our social and community participation and therapy funding. Ministers could use it to cut other supports or groups of supports across the Scheme.

People with disability and our families should not have our lives shaped by broad funding decisions made behind closed doors.

Any power to reduce funding must have strict limits, transparent reasons and clear review rights.

People must be able to challenge decisions that affect the support we rely on.

The proposed community participation cuts are also dangerous

One of the clearest examples of this risk is the proposed cut to social and community participation funding.

The Government is proposing a 50 per cent cut to social, civic and community participation funding, and a 10 per cent cut to some capacity building daily activity funding (for things like therapies). These cuts are proposed to start from 1 October 2026, as plans are renewed or reassessed.

This funding is not optional. It is not a nice extra. It is not a lifestyle perk.

For many people with disability, this is the support that helps us leave home, see friends, take part in community life, go to events, volunteer, study, work, exercise, shop, build skills and stay connected.

Cutting this funding will result in real harm.

It will mean fewer hours outside the home and more time isolated. It could mean people lose routines, relationships, confidence and independence. It could mean families are left to fill the gap, again.

That is unacceptable.

The NDIS was created so people with disability could be part of the community. A 50 per cent cut to community participation support strikes at the heart of that promise.

Choice and control is being stripped away

The NDIS was built on choice and control.

That means people with disability should have a real say over who supports us, how we are supported, and what kind of life we want to build.

Many people rely on trusted workers, small providers, culturally safe services, peer-led supports and individualised arrangements that are flexible and responsive to our lives.

The Minister has announced expansion of mandatory registration may affect who people can choose to support them.

Changes to registration requirements must not be used to force people into large provider systems that do not meet our needs. It must not wipe out trusted workers, small community providers, self-directed arrangements or innovative models of support.

This process is moving too fast

The Bill could affect hundreds of thousands of people with disability and our families. It could change who gets into the NDIS, what supports are funded, how plans are built, how decisions are reviewed, and whether people can keep living in the community with dignity.

A Bill of this size and consequence deserves proper scrutiny.

People with disability and our families must be heard before decisions are made about our lives.

The Government must commit to genuine co-design, accessible consultation, clear information, strong protections in the law and proper appeal rights.

Anything less is unacceptable.

How you can have your say

The Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee is looking at the Bill. Submissions have been extended and now close on 10 July 2026.

You do not need to write a long submission. A short, personal submission can be powerful.

You can write about:

• who you are and why the NDIS matters to you
• whether you oppose the Bill, or support it only if major changes are made
• the part of the Bill that worries you most
• how the proposed changes could affect your life, your family or your community
• what you want Parliament to change before the Bill passes

You might write about:

• the proposed 50 per cent cut to social and community participation
• the risk of people becoming isolated or stuck at home
• the need to protect choice and control
• the importance of appeal rights
• the danger of broad funding cuts without individual review
• the need for fair and transparent assessments
• the need to protect people with complex and high support needs
• the need to co-design the rules with people with disability and our families

Use your own words. Tell your story clearly. Explain what support means in real life.

You can also write to your local Federal MP and your state or territory Senators. Send each person a separate email. Ask them to support amendments, speak in Parliament, meet with you, or explain where they stand.

We must protect our NDIS

The NDIS exists because people with disability and our families fought for it.

We fought for support to live ordinary lives. We fought for choice and control. We fought for the right to be included in our communities. We fought for a Scheme based on our needs, our rights and our lives.

Those rights must not be wound back through rushed legislation, broad cuts or rules that make it harder to get the support we need.

Parliament needs to hear from us now.

This Bill must not pass in its current form.

We must protect our NDIS to protect our lives.

Read our Submission on the NDIS Bill: Every Australian Counts Submission on NDIS Bill May 2026

Take Action

• Join our next community forum
• Email decision-makers
• Join the EAC mailing list
• Donate to Every Australian Counts to support our campaign.
• If the NDIS changes feel overwhelming, you’re not alone. Support is available: Lifeline 13 11 14 | Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636

Watch NDIS Insights with Dr George

For a deeper explanation of what is at stake, we strongly encourage you to watch the latest episodes of NDIS Insights with Dr George.

On 15 July, Dr George Taleporos speaks with three human rights and disability lawyers about the serious legal and human rights implications of the proposed NDIS Bill.

Guests Mitchell Skipsey from the Justice and Equity Centre, Naomi Anderson from Villamanta Disability Rights Legal Service and Belinda Kochanowska from Intrepidus Law unpack what this Bill could mean for people with disability and families who rely on the NDIS.

The lawyers warn that the Bill would give government extraordinary power to cut supports, while leaving participants with fewer ways to challenge decisions that affect our lives.

This conversation looks at some of the most concerning parts of the Bill, including:

• the shift away from the NDIS as a rights-based scheme
• new ministerial powers to reduce funding for categories of support
• the threat to reasonable and necessary supports
• reduced review rights and legal protections
• risks for people with complex support needs
• what decision-makers need to understand about the consequences of the Bill
• what people with disability and families can do now to protect the NDIS

The lawyers warn that the Bill could give government extraordinary power to cut supports, while leaving participants with fewer ways to challenge decisions that affect our lives.

As Belinda says in the episode: “People will be harmed. I cannot emphasise that enough.”

This is a critical conversation for people with disability and families, MPs, senators, advocates, providers and anyone who cares about the future of the NDIS.

On 30 June, Dr George Taleporos speaks with Senator Jordon Steele-John about the latest developments in the fight over the Government’s NDIS Bill. After huge pressure from people with disability, families, advocates and providers, the Greens secured some protections in the Bill the Senate inquiry has been extended by eight weeks.

Senator Steele-John explains what changed, what protections the Greens secured, and why he believes the Bill still needs to be scrapped.

This conversation covers the major risks in the Bill, including broad ministerial powers to cut supports, automated decision-making, treatment requirements before NDIS access, support ratios, and the risk of people being pushed back into unsafe and undignified support arrangements.

George and Jordon also discuss what happens next, how the disability community can keep up the pressure, and why the next eight weeks matter.

This is an important conversation for people with disability, families, supporters, advocates, providers and anyone who cares about the future of the NDIS.