Heidi La Paglia Reid

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 your views on current NDIS issues and be featured on our website, please email

Since its introduction in 2013, the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has been a lifeline for many of us. Unlike the fragmented and inadequate disability support systems that came before it, the NDIS put people with disability in the driver’s seat and put into practice Australia’s obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). However, while the NDIS has been a game changer for many, it has also created a support vacuum as not everyone can access it.

As many of us are aware, when states and territories signed onto the NDIS, funding was amalgamated and state and territory-based supports diminished. In many ways, the supports available through the NDIS were an improvement, but for those ineligible, there was and remains, little else available.

In 2023 NDIS Review acknowledged this, noting that without other disability supports in place, the scheme is the only option available^[i] – often being described as the ‘only lifeboat in the ocean’.^[ii] To address, this, the NDIS Review recommended introducing Foundational Supports—a system of community-based services like peer support, home care, and assistive technology available to people with disability, whether or not they qualify for the NDIS.^[iii]

In principle, this is something we need. We have always needed disability supports outside of the NDIS, so that people who don’t meet its strict eligibility criteria aren’t left to fend for themselves. But here’s the problem: Foundational Supports don’t exist yet.

While late last year, the Department of Social Services launched a national consultation to begin designing them, it is states and territories that will hold responsibility for their implementation, most of which have been pushing back against this^[iv] – many resentful for originally pouring all their money into the NDIS, only to be told later that the services they originally provided, would likely need reinstatement.

For people with disability and government representatives alike, much of this is not surprising. When the NDIS Review recommended foundational supports, many of us knew there would be teething problems. But here’s the problem. While all of this is still being worked out, the NDIA has already started pushing people with disability off the NDIS – before there are any other lifeboats available.

Over the past several months, thousands of people with disability have received letters telling them their access to the NDIS is under review, with many being told they have just a finite amount of time to prove their eligibility—or lose their funding. Between September and November 2023 alone, 7,487 reassessments were conducted, nearly 6,000 of them on seven – and eight-year-old children, nearly half of whom were removed from the scheme.^[v]

One key target here – Autistic children.

. While data available is limited, we know from anecdotal evidence, that as the continual and rapid changes roll out, more and more Autistic people – especially children – are being pushed off or denied access to the NDIS, with claims that ‘early intervention’ has been effective or that access to ‘foundational’ programs will mean we won’t need it.

We don’t ‘grow out’ of being Autistic. Our support needs don’t disappear because a bureaucratic process says they should. What actually happens when Autistic people lose access to support is increased rates of mental illness, burnout, unemployment, and homelessness.^[vii]

So, what does this mean for the NDIS and this so called, cost cutting exercise of kicking Autistic kids off? Long-term, it is likely that it means it will not be cost cutting it all. The cost will just be shifted elsewhere.

Autistic and disabled children don’t need to be “prevented” from accessing the NDIS. They need support. And we need to start seeing this support as an investment.

When given the right support—whether through the NDIS or other well-funded, community-based services—children with disability grow into adults with disability who can fully participate in society, education, and work. Who get an education, pay taxes and contribute to the economy. Cutting those supports early doesn’t save money—it just shifts the costs to other systems, like crisis mental health services, homelessness services, and the justice system.

We need to get this right. Foundational Supports are essential, but they must be done right. They must be co-designed with people with disability, in all of our diversity and not be rushed for political wins or short-sighted budget surplus claims. Additionally, for the time being at least, Foundational Supports must exist alongside the NDIS—not be used as an excuse to deny people access or push people with disability off the scheme before alternative supports through states and territories are available.

^[i] NDIS Review (2023) Working Together to Fix the NDIS: Independent Review of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Final Report. Australian Government, Canberra, p. 32

^[ii] Lee, M (2023) ‘Lifeboat: Disability, Humanity and the NDIS,’ Article in Quarterly Essay, Issue 91, 2023. Viewed: <https://www.quarterlyessay.com.au/essay/2023/09/lifeboat/extract>

^[iii] NDIS Review (2023) Working Together to Fix the NDIS: Independent Review of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Final Report. Australian Government, Canberra, p. 4.

^[iv] Dickinson, H (2024) ‘States agreed to share foundational support costs. So why the backlash against NDIS reforms now?,’ UNSW Sydney Newsroom. Viewed < https://www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/news/2024/03/states-agreed-share-foundational-support-costs-backlash-against-NDIS-reforms>.

^[v] Morton, M (2025) ‘Exclusive: Children targeted in NDIS crackdown,’ The Saturday Paper. Viewed: < https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/health/2025/01/11/exclusive-children-targeted-ndis-crackdown#mtr>.

^[vi] See e.g. Chrysanthos, M (2023) ‘Shorten flags autism changes, says NDIS ‘can’t be surrogate school system,’ The Sydney Morning Herald, Viewed: <https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/shorten-flags-autism-changes-says-ndis-can-t-be-surrogate-school-system-20231120-p5elci.html>.

^[vii] See e.g. Department of Social Services (2025) National Autism Strategy, Australian Government, Canberra, p. 32.

^[viii] Sky News (2025) ‘Ndis Early Intervention Pathway Focused On Making A Difference Amanda Rishworth,’ Interview with Minister for the NDIS, Amanda Rishworth on Sky News Australia. Viewed: < https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/ndis-early-intervention-pathway-focused-on-making-a-difference-amanda-rishworth/video/?fbclid=IwY2xjawIWYHVleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHRWPH06wvC1wNQM_qHFp5qq7Peg5dn8vB_IEngVr47UauRdffQYfhNhRcA_aem_6f0PfCDqcjoH8kwTe6F-Aw>.

^[ix] See e.g. Early Start Australia (2023) ‘Inklings Program in WA,’ Early Start Australia. Viewed: < https://www.earlystartaustralia.com.au/program/inklings-program/>.

^[x] See e.g. Hippocratic Post (2024) ‘ANPA warn of ‘Inklings’ Program’s Risks to Babies,’ Hippocratic Post, Viewed: < https://www.hippocraticpost.com/genetics/anpa-warn-of-inklings-programs-risks-to-babies/?>; La Paglia Reid, H (2024) ‘About Inklings,’ Autism Aspergers Advocacy Australia, Viewed: <https://a4.org.au/node/2615>.

^[xi] See e.g. People With Disability Australia (2023) ‘Social Model of Disability,’ People With Disability Australia. Viewed: <https://pwd.org.au/resources/models-of-disability/>

^[xii] See e.g. Belcher, H (2022) ‘Autistic people and masking,’ National Autistic Society. Viewed: < https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/professional-practice/autistic-masking>.