CANBERRA — State and territory disability ministers submitted a joint submission to the Albanese government, warning that proposed National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) reforms could not prioritize cost-cutting over participant safety. The Albanese government's NDIS bill aims to reduce scheme budgets and limit access to the program starting in 2028.
Department modelling indicates that more than 240,000 participants could be shifted off the NDIS in the four years following the introduction of new eligibility rules in 2028. The NDIS currently costs $50 billion annually. The state and territory governments said in the joint submission: "Without a careful, coordinated approach that aligns these changes with broader improvements across the disability support system, there is a significant risk that people with disability will end up in hospitals or other settings that are inappropriate and unable to meet their needs, or have no access to services at all."
The disability ministers also stated they were not meaningfully consulted on the proposed NDIS changes. They expressed concern regarding unilateral powers granted to the federal NDIS minister under the proposed legislation. The state and territory governments said in the submission: "States and territories are not in a position, and have made no agreement, to deliver like-for-like services to people who are exited from the NDIS."
Evidence provided to a Senate inquiry indicated that planned 50% cuts to social and community participation budgets could lead to increased isolation and potentially unsafe situations for NDIS participants. Federal health minister Mark Butler said, "The plan that I announced many weeks ago now was part of the budget that the treasurer delivered in May, and was a very well-developed plan that thought carefully about the way in which we could get the NDIS back on track, secure it for the long term, but very much still with people with disability at its centre."
A Labor-led Senate committee is scrutinising the NDIS legislation and is scheduled to deliver recommendations next week. Butler dismissed calls to extend the Senate inquiry and reaffirmed the government's aim to pass the legislation before the winter parliamentary break on 2 July.