It’s true, we were concerned that talk of a tough budget would mean cuts or delays to the NDIS. But we’ve been overwhelmed by your support over the past few weeks.

Thank you to those who emailed politicians, wrote to newspapers and called radio stations. The government has listened and the NDIS is safe.

But the NDIS wasn’t the only mention of disability in the budget.

The National Disability and Carers Alliance has fears that changes to the annual increases to the Disability Support Pension (DSP) and the Carer Payment will result in increased poverty for many people with disability and their carers.

Ara Creswell, CEO of Carers Australia said: “It is clear that these changes will add another layer of financial disadvantage to the already financially challenged and vulnerable.”

“Cutting the DSP won’t create jobs, it will just create poverty,” said Matthew Wright, CEO of the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations.

Ken Baker, CEO of National Disability Services said: “the Budget pushes more people with disability to look for work without extra investment in the services that provide this support.”

What has been made clear over the last few months is that support for the NDIS is as crucial as ever.

With your support, we will keep the pressure up.

John Della Bosca
and the Every Australian Counts campaign team