The Senate inquiry has been extended. That’s because of you!

Thanks to the voices of thousands of people with disability, families, carers, advocates and supporters, the Senate has agreed to extend its inquiry into the NDIS Amendment Bill.

The Government has also announced some amendments to the Bill.

That’s an important step forward.

It shows that community pressure is working.

But the Bill is not fixed.

Many of the biggest concerns raised by people with disability remain unresolved, and Parliament still has important questions to answer before any vote takes place.

Here’s what you need to know.

What changed?

✅ The Senate inquiry has been extended

Senators now have more time to examine the legislation, hear from people with disability and consider whether further changes are needed.

This gives our community more time to make sure our voices are heard.

✅ The Government has announced some amendments

The crossbench, led by the Greens,  has negotiated changes to some parts of the Bill, including aspects of:

• ministerial support determination powers
• treatment requirements
• automated decision-making transparency
• some transitional rule-making powers.

These changes acknowledge that improvements were needed.

But they don’t resolve many of the concerns raised by the disability community.

Check out Dr George’s latest podcast with Senator Jordon Steele-John, explaining the amendments and issues that remain.

What hasn’t changed?

❌ Important safeguards are still missing

People with disability deserve confidence that decisions affecting their lives are fair, transparent and can be reviewed.

Every Australian Counts continues to call for:

• stronger review rights
• greater transparency
• genuine co-design with people with disability
• independent oversight
• protections for choice and control.

❌ We still haven’t seen the Rules

Some of the most significant changes in the Bill will be determined by Rules that haven’t been released.

Without seeing those Rules, Parliament and the community cannot properly understand how the legislation will work in practice.

Before Senators vote, people deserve to know exactly what they’re being asked to approve.

❌ We still don’t know who will be affected

The Government has not released participant impact modelling.

That means we still don’t know:

• how many people may lose support
• who could be affected
• how different groups of participants will be impacted.

Good public policy should be based on evidence and transparency.

❌ We still don’t know what support exists outside the NDIS

One of the biggest unanswered questions is simple:

If someone loses access to the NDIS, where will they go?

The Government has disclosed that over 240,000 people will lose access to the NDIS over the next 4 years, but not shown that alternative supports are funded, available or ready.

People should never lose NDIS support before real, accessible and enforceable alternatives exist.

❌ Participation supports remain at risk

And the Minister still has the power to cut supports to funding for social and community participation and therapy.

Supports that help people participate in their communities are not optional extras.

The Minister also has the power to impose funding caps and support ratios which could force people to share support and to have to live in group homes and other unsafe living arrangements.

Why does this matter?

The inquiry extension gives Parliament an opportunity to properly examine these issues before voting on the Bill.

It also gives people with disability, families and carers the opportunity to speak directly to decision-makers about what these changes could mean in real life.

The next eight weeks are critical.

The choices Parliament makes now will shape the future of the NDIS for years to come.

What Every Australian Counts is calling for

Before any vote on the Bill, we are calling on Parliament to:

• Protect reasonable and necessary support and prevent across the board cuts to essential NDIS supports
• Guarantee that no one loses support before real alternatives exist.
• Strengthen safeguards, review rights and transparency.
• Work with people with disability to fix the Bill.
• Release the Rules.
• Publish participant impact modelling.

What you can do

The inquiry has been extended because people across Australia spoke up.

Now we need to make sure Parliament uses that extra time wisely.

You can help by:

• emailing your Senators
• sharing your story
• completing our Community Pulse Survey when it launches
• attending our online community forums
• sharing our campaign with your friends and networks.

Together, we’ve already made a difference.

Now let’s make sure Parliament gets this right.

Stop It. Fix It. Protect the NDIS.