PWDA warns new evidence shows Government is not ready for sweeping NDIS reforms
Monday 3 August
PWDA is warning the Government is pushing ahead with the biggest changes in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) before the agencies responsible for delivering them have demonstrated they are ready.
Analysis conducted by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) found around 40 per cent of a sample of providers continued claiming supports that were no longer permitted through the “other professional” line item, despite changes taking effect in October 2025.
The findings reinforce concerns raised by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO), which warned the pace of reform is already outstripping the capability of the agencies responsible for delivering it.
Acting CEO of People with Disability Australia, Megan Spindler-Smith, said the evidence raised a simple question for Parliament.
“If the NDIA is still struggling to implement and effectively administer changes introduced almost a year ago, why should Parliament have confidence it can safely and effectively deliver the biggest reforms in the Scheme’s history, where even more is at stake for people with disability?
“Our advocates are already seeing the consequences of a system under pressure. People with disability are turning to PWDA because decisions aren’t being made, problems aren’t being resolved and too many people are being forced into reviews and appeals that should never have been necessary. If that’s the reality today, Parliament should be asking what happens when the Government asks the same system to deliver the biggest reforms in the Scheme’s history.
“The Government has targeted the wrong problem. It could have strengthened the administrative capability of the NDIA. It could have continued to strengthen the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. It could have improved governance, compliance and oversight. It could have tackled waste by fixing the administration of the Scheme.
“Those reforms would have strengthened the NDIS while delivering savings. Instead, the Government has chosen to create new pathways to cut essential supports for people with disability.
“The Government has already acknowledged these reforms will leave some people worse off. Our concern is that the agencies responsible for delivering them have not demonstrated long term capability to implement changes of this scale effectively. If they could not get less complex and smaller scale reforms right, there is every reason to fear the harm will be even greater when far more is at stake.
“People with disability should not pay the price for administrative failures they did not create. Parliament must not pass this Bill,” Mx Spindler-Smith said.
PWDA is urging Parliament to not pass the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026. The evidence points to one conclusion – that the Government has targeted the wrong problem. Instead of fixing the institutions responsible for administering and safeguarding the NDIS, it has created new pathways to reduce participant supports. The foreseeable result is not a stronger Scheme. It is greater harm for people with disability.
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