NDIS Amendment Bill submission

AGOSCI lodges submission on NDIS Amendment Bill 2026

AGOSCI has lodged a submission to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026. AGOSCI’s submission calls for the Bill to be withdrawn and re-developed through genuine co-design with disabled people, including people who may not rely on speech alone to understand or be understood by others and AAC users.

AGOSCI’s concern is that, although the Bill is being presented as a way to “secure the NDIS” and address fraud, it would in practice shift risk and cost onto participants while giving the Minister and the NDIA broader powers over planning, funding, compliance and automated decision-making. For AGOSCI’s community, the Bill poses particular risks to AAC, communication-focused therapy, support coordination, support workers and accessible communication processes, all of which are essential for communication, participation and safety.

To inform the submission, AGOSCI ran a rapid online survey over 96 hours. The survey produced 28 usable responses from AAC users, family members, carers, disability advocates, support workers, allied health professionals, educators and providers across 27 unique postcodes. Twenty-seven of 28 respondents said they were deeply concerned about the proposed changes, while most respondents said the changes had not been explained clearly.

The submission identifies several major concerns, including:

• the proposed definition of functional capacity, which risks ignoring how people function with AAC, supports and environmental adjustments
• tighter limits on reassessments, including removal of support coordinator and advocate triggers
• new powers to cut or cap supports across cohorts without individual assessment
• automatic plan renewal and the risk of losing approved but undelivered supports such as AAC and therapy
• plan suspensions for participants considered “not contactable”, without strong enough communication-access safeguards
• tighter rules around permanence and “alternative supports”
• expanded civil penalties and compliance burdens
• and increased use of automation in decision-making affecting access, plans and funding.

AGOSCI’s submission argues that these changes could increase isolation, reduce communication access, intensify family and carer burden, and make it harder for people with communication disability to challenge decisions that affect their lives. The submission also warns that reforms of this scale should not proceed without accessible consultation and genuine co-design with the disability community.

AGOSCI’s key recommendations include:

• withdrawing the Bill in its entirety
• developing any future reform package through genuine co-design
• focusing reform on criminal fraud affecting the NDIS, NDIA governance, staff capability, accessible communication and sustainable market stewardship
• and, if Parliament proceeds with the Bill, making substantial amendments to protect communication access, review rights and human oversight.

The submission also recommends a specific safeguard principle recognising that people with communication disabilities are entitled to accessible communication, communication supports, and decision-making processes that recognise AAC and communication partners as legitimate and necessary means of participation.