Media Release |“Rip it up”: PWDA urges Parliament to reject NDIS Bill and start again
Monday 10 August
PWDA has called on Parliament to reject the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026, warning the Government has chosen to cut participant supports instead of fixing the institutions responsible for administering and safeguarding the Scheme.
Speaking at the National Press Club, PWDA Acting CEO Megan Spindler-Smith said the Bill abandoned the original promise of the NDIS by asking people with disability to pay the price for a policy choice the Government did not have to make.
Dozens of people with disability and representatives from disability organisations across Australia joined today’s address, coming together in opposition to the Bill and carrying signs reflecting what the NDIS has made possible in their lives and why it must be protected.
PWDA’s call comes after more than 6,000 Australians made submissions to the Senate Inquiry, the Australian Human Rights Commission urged the Government to delay the Bill, and while the Government is yet to formally respond to the Independent Review of the NDIS.
PWDA said the Government’s own Impact Analysis identifies weak administration, inconsistent decision-making, immature regulation, provider fraud and market failure as key challenges facing the Scheme. Instead of addressing those failures by strengthening the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and action against providers exploiting the Scheme, the Bill creates new pathways to reduce participant supports.
PWDA Acting CEO Megan Spindler-Smith said Parliament now faced a choice: fix the institutions responsible for administering and safeguarding the NDIS, or endorse a Bill that makes people with disability pay the price for the Government’s decision to cut supports instead of fixing the system.
“This Bill makes people with disability pay the price for a choice the Government did not have to make.
“The Government’s own evidence identifies the real problems: weak administration, weak regulation and providers exploiting the Scheme. The answer was to strengthen the NDIA, strengthen the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and crack down on providers exploiting the Scheme. Instead, this Bill cuts participant supports.
“The NDIS was created so people with disability could live ordinary lives with dignity, choice and control. That promise should not be abandoned because governments failed to fix the system.
“Our community fully and deeply understands the harm this Bill will cause to us. Parliament must rip up this Bill and start again,” Mx Spindler-Smith said.
PWDA Interim President Jarrod Sandell-Hay said the Bill would fundamentally change what the NDIS represents for people with disability and future generations.
“The NDIS has meant my family, like many others, has gone from daydreaming to planning and living a meaningful life.
“These changes turn the NDIS from a rights-based scheme, where reasonable and necessary supports are funded, to a scheme that will, at best, only respond when people with disability and families are in crisis.
“You have heard the overwhelming evidence. Senators now have a choice. Take a stand against this Bill or take the stand at a future RoboNDIS Royal Commission,” he said.
PWDA member and deafblind NDIS participant Jane Britt said the supports that make an ordinary life possible were at stake.
“The NDIS means I can access my community safely through mobility cane training, communicate using assistive technology and live safely in my own home.
“It also means I can safely travel at night to sing in my two community choirs. As a professionally trained musician, music is my life-giving force.
“My fear is that as my vision deteriorates, the supports I rely on to work and be part of my community won’t be there, leaving me stuck between systems without the support I need.
“Please remember that the consequences of this Bill won’t be lived by you. They’ll be lived by people like me,” she said.
PWDA Individual Advocate and NDIS participant Thara Pech said the Bill risked replacing individualised support with one-size-fits-all decision-making.
“Disability is not one-size-fits-all. Two people with the same diagnosis can have very different functional capacities, support needs and life circumstances. People deserve supports based on their individual circumstances, not assumptions.
“Social and community participation isn’t an optional extra. It helps people stay connected, protect their mental health, build relationships and live independently.
“Before you vote, listen to people with disability, our families, carers and the organisations that represent us. Together, we are saying: reject this Bill and start again. Our lived experience provides insight that policy alone never can,” she said.
PWDA is calling on Senators to reject the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 and work with people with disability to deliver reforms that strengthen the NDIA, strengthen the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, address provider misconduct, and protect the rights of people with disability.
“The disability community is united. The evidence could not be clearer. Parliament should not pass this Bill. Rip it up, start again and work with people with disability to deliver the reforms the NDIS actually needs,” Mx Spindler-Smith said.
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