Opinion 6 August 2026

Start where you are, use what you have and do what you can: why a harm reduction approach to the NDIS Bill Amendments can protect our community

July 24, 2026 I keep hearing the same words across the disability community: “The NDIS Bill will pass.” I understand why people are saying this. We have to

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Opinion 20 April 2026

Why Minister Butler must rule out means testing the NDIS

Dr. George Taleporos, Independent Chair, Every Australian Counts Follow me on LinkedIn Dr George Taleporos is physically disabled public policy professional and the independent chair of Every Australian

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Opinion 9 April 2026

The Curated Pathway: What Is Happening to Autistic Children in Australia?

More than 135,000 autistic children in Australia may soon lose something the National Disability Insurance Scheme promised them. The right for families to choose the support their child

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Opinion 30 September 2025

Safeguarding Individualised Support for Psychosocial Disability: Why NDIS Reform Risks Leaving Us Behind

By members of the Australian Psychosocial Disability Collective As lived experience advocates from the Australian Psychosocial Disability Collective (APDC) who are NDIS participants, we are deeply alarmed by

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Opinion 21 August 2025

Autistic Children Don’t Break the Budget. Broken Systems Do

Marking the launch of the notorious Productivity Roundtable this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared the NDIS would be a focus for budget tightening, claiming that “40%” of

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Opinion 7 July 2025

Community responses to NDIS therapy funding cuts highlight what really matters: Australia’s deep commitment to the NDIS

In recent weeks, proposed changes to NDIS therapy funding have triggered a wave of public outcry. Participants, families, disability advocates and service providers have united in opposition to

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Opinion 16 May 2025

A Day in the Life of an SRS Resident: Reflections on the Need for Safe, Sustainable NDIS Housing Options

A priority highlighted by the disability community through Every Australian Counts pre-election survey 2025, is for political leaders to uphold the right not to be forced into group

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Opinion 2 May 2025

Why It’s Time to Move Beyond Group Homes

By Jarrod Sandell-Hay Jarrod Sandell-Hay is a disability activist with lived experience of disability and self-determination under the NDIS.  As we head towards the next federal election, housing

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Opinion 16 April 2025

NDIA Hits Reset on Co-Design – Here’s What It Means for You

The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) has announced a reset in how it will work with people with disability to design changes to the NDIS. According to the

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Opinion 24 February 2025

Foundational Supports: A new lifeboat or a disguise to capsize us?

Heidi La Paglia Reid is an Autistic, disabled advocate, an NDIS participant and a member of the Every Australian Counts Steering Committee. If you would like to contribute

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Opinion 12 February 2025

New Support Needs Assessments for the NDIS

Suddenly, everyone seems to be talking about new assessments for the NDIS, called Support Needs Assessments. What are they and why are they such a talking point? Read

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Opinion 9 August 2024

NDIS “Support Lists” Threaten People with Disability’s Right to a “Normal” Life By Stevie Lang Howson

  Every Australian Counts supporter, Stevie Lang Howson Shares his concerns  about the NDIS “Support Lists” that are currently open for consultation.   The central question at the

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Opinion 20 June 2024

NDIS participant is “terrified of the consequences of the bill”

Scott Harry is an NDIS participant who is concerned that if the NDIS Bill goes through, the government will be able to implement the NDIS Review recommendation that

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Opinion 20 May 2024

Implications of the NDIS Amendment Bill 2024 for some of Australia’s most marginalised people

The Power to Persuade editors, Sue Olney and Elroy Dearn originally published this article on their website The Power to Persuade on the 13th of May 2024. We

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Opinion 6 May 2024

The Role of Navigators – An Opinion Piece by Michaela Kennedy, Judith Ellis and Peter Sheehy

Michaela Kennedy, Judith Ellis and Peter Sheehy have co-written this opinion piece about the part of the recent Review that relates particularly to the recommended introduction of navigators.

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Opinion 12 February 2024

We won’t let the NDIS review take away our right to choose – An open letter to Bill Shorten

Douglas used AI technologyto generate the photo above

Douglas Fogg is a NDIS participant with a passion for making technology inclusive and accessible.

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Opinion 1 February 2024

NDIS review: Regulation does not keep people safe. People keep people safe!

Linda Hughes is president of the Self Manager Hub and parent of an NDIS participant. Together they self manage and directly employ support workers. Here Linda describes some of the problems with the changes proposed by the NDIS review.

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Opinion 1 February 2024

Too Much About Us Without Us: Psychosocial Disability and the NDIS Review

Muriel and Neil participated in our NDIS Review forums where we came together to share our perspectives on the recommendations in the final report. Here is a summary of their perspectives that were developed in collaboration with six NDIS participants who are members of the Australian Psychosocial Disability Collective.

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Opinion 1 February 2024

The NDIS review “makes me so angry and scared”- by Sam Petersen

Samantha Petersen participated in our NDIS Review forum in December where we came together to share our perspectives on the recommendations  in the final report. Here are some of Sam’s concerns.

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Opinion 29 January 2024

The NDIS Review housing and living recommendations are “outdated and unethical”

The above image was drawn by Peter to help visually represent his concerns about the NDIS Review.

The issues identified through the NDIS Review are not new or unexpected. However, the solutions proposed create a level of bureaucratic overreach that intrudes into people’s lives and does not align with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (UNCRPD).

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Opinion 31 August 2023

My Take On “Redesigning the NDIS”

This week, Australia’s national representative body of independent disability advocacy organisations, Disability Advocacy Network Australia, released a report calling for “urgent and radical reform of the NDIS”.

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Opinion 22 August 2023

Independent Assessments 2.0? NDIS Review Chair Forecasts Massive Changes – check them out…

Today the NDIS Review Chair gave us a first look at some huge changes that they want to make. In case you missed the speech by Professor Bruce Bonyhady, here is a summary:

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Opinion 6 July 2023

What Would Life Be Like Without the NDIS? & 5 Reasons to Defend It

This week, 10 years ago, our community won the fight for a National Disability Insurance Scheme. Today, the media cycle is dominated by stories about the cost of the scheme, so it’s important that we remind ourselves about what life was like before the NDIS, why the NDIS was introduced and why it needs to succeed into the future.

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Opinion 15 May 2023

Budget 2023 with Minister Shorten & How the NDIS Is Changing… In Plain(ish) English

Is the government putting a cap on the NDIS? Are our plans going to be cut?  Will it be more difficult to get onto the NDIS? These are

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