24 March 2025
People with Disability Australia (PWDA) is putting politicians on notice: Australians with disability will not stand by while our lifeline – the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) – and the essential supports it delivers are threatened by cost-cutting or used as a political football.
PWDA is calling for considered investment in the NDIS in recognition of the critical role the Scheme plays in our economy and in enabling people with disability to live and participate in our communities.
“The NDIS is an essential service, not a luxury. It enables more than 706,000 people with disability to live independently, participate in the workforce and contribute to our communities. Any move to restrict access or cut funding is not just a betrayal of our rights – it’s bad economics,” said PWDA Deputy CEO Megan Spindler-Smith.
“Every $1 invested in the NDIS returns $2.25 in value to the Australian economy. It also drives job creation – for every $1 billion underfunded, over 10,000 jobs are lost. Cutting the NDIS doesn’t save money – it costs more in hospitalisations, crisis services and social supports,” Mx Spindler-Smith said.
Coalition Senator Jane Hume’s recent remarks insinuating further reductions to growth targets for the NDIS are on the table have sparked fear and anger among the disability community. While the Coalition has since walked back these comments, they have not outlined their alternative plans, leaving people with disability uncertain and anxious about what lies ahead and whether they believe the NDIS is an essential service or fair game for further budget cuts.
“People with disability are scared – and we have good reason to be. Floating the idea of cuts then failing to provide any detail on what you’d actually do is unacceptable. We need clear commitments from all parties that there will be no politics played with the NDIS, no further cuts to access, underfunding or changes to the NDIS growth target,” said PWDA Board Director and NDIS participant Steph Travers.
“We want long-term, sustainable investment in the NDIS guaranteed. We want participant choice and control – the very foundation of the Scheme’s success – to be protected. We want an end to the fraud narrative that has misrepresented our community. The NDIS is a vital support for many disabled Australians to have a shower or leave the house. Any cost-cutting reforms that further reduce access to essential supports shifts the burden to already over-stretched or non-existent state support systems,” Ms Travers said.
PWDA is calling on all parties to prioritise investment in the NDIS by:
- Guaranteeing sustainable funding with no further cuts to the growth target for the NDIS
- Protecting participant choice and control and a meaningful co-design process of any Scheme changes
- Reversing or preventing reforms that reduce access to essential supports
“Australians with disability and our millions of allies are paying attention. We are voters. We are workers. We are community members. And we will be keeping this front of mind when we cast our votes at the upcoming election,” Mx Spindler-Smith said.
Media contact
People With Disability Australia
0491 034 479
ENDS
disability organisations need to act immediately NDIS under Labor Butler are being very cunning and ignoring occupational therapist assessments and slashing funding severe more then 50% and more Disability Advocacy organisations need to step in now and stop and reverse this im pleading for help
so i had my 90 day review i had obtained so much more evidence including psychiatrist assessment and psychologists reports and further occupational therapist assessments including cognitive impairment assessment and the review ignored it all and never had any respect or decency to even speak to me im so heartbroken and depressed and isolated NDIS is pushing disabled Australians to suicide and what is PWD and other disabled advocates doing to help i feel like nothing i feeling not listened to and railroaded im so upset
Now in the year 2026, the repercussions of this ridiculous and heartless decision is clear to see everywhere….that horribly tragic story of that whole entire family gone, through a murder/suicide, because they were cut from the program, leaving no one to help them….As someone with a disability myself, I am barely getting any sleep these days anymore, spending almost 24/7 of every day feeling anxious, crying, and terrifed of what the future holds, not just for me, but for all of us, who have disabilities….and all the lives being lost, because they’ve had that door closed to them, which was their literal lifeline!
To all the people that are responsible for pushing this atrocious decision of cuts….I have just one question for you.
What do you value more: Saving money….or lives? Because, money, you can get back.
But, a life, once it is lost….you cannot.
Because, THIS is the reality of the repercussions of cutting disabled people’s funding….disabled people experience enough stress and anxieity on their own, but decisions like this increase all of that TENFOLD. It is driving them beyond breaking point, causing us anxiety every day, pushing so many to suicide, and making life so much harder than it already was before. Life has always been hard, but it is never meant to be like this. People committing suicide, more and more people turning up homeless on the street every day….these are the results of bad decisions, that is the blame of the government alone, who are turning a blind eye to disabled peoples’ distress, and shutting the door on their needs.
To choose to cut funding specifically from the most vulnerable people, who need this support and assistance the most – which includeds EVERYONE on the spectrum, no matter how mild or severe – because disabilities go beyond so much more than just physical impairments, but mental, as well; we are not mentally equipped to deal with this kind of stress, of having our lifeline restricted and forcibly taken from us! – is quite literally one of the most inhuman, apathetic, and traitorous injustices one could ever commit. It should be obvious to these people by now, with the rapid rise of suicides among the disabled, that this decision is not working, rather causing more problems, than solving any.
All the advocates for NDIS, anyone who cares about disabled peoples’ rights to live, and not just merely survive…help us. Fight for us….because the government no longer is :'(
These decision makers are skilled and adept in the art of killing, murder and torture. To deprive the most basic requoement of Support, Care and Connevtion and Dignity. And disrespect a hundred percent given to.this, mockinh of and indifference too when even.a sliver of is disgraceful and harmful. iTbIs A Deliberate Attack and a Witholding of What Works. And To Have Lives Lived with Dignity.and Respect. It is to Withold Peace, Belonging, Health.and Values Held for Safety and Wellbeing and the Right To Live,.Live Well and not Endure Suffering and Cruelty and Exploitation of with Vulnerabilities Exposed, Disrespected from.these decision makers and in Contempt of and to.Inflict Cruelties of and Wipe Away our Existence Any Way They Can. They Have No.Representation oc Governance and Responsibility in Admimistering monies and ensuring the Rollout and Confidence of Livelihoods and Supports with Expertise, Training and Qualifications included with.Respect amd Respect and Care for Families and Caregivers. Thsy Like To Throw Stones. These decision makers wear a suit and tie but are unfit to wear it. They Do Not Represent Community,.Voters or Jobs amd Livelihoods, Quality Education amd Skills and Expertise, Care or Love. They Represent Cruelry, Torturers, Encoragement To Suicide. It is Abusive. It Is Violence. It is Perverse With Every Aspect. It Is An Abuse Of Power On Us. It is Violence and A Celebration amd Satisfaction Doing This. It Demomstrates Unfit and Unworthy to.Hold or be Responsible in these Positions. It Is Savage Brutality and Ise Power in Deliberate Misappropriation Of. They Have In Effect Removed Themselves From The Ability To.Hold Office. Accountabilty Lies At Their Door For All Of These Cruelities and Violence and Abuse of Pwople with Disabilities and Their Support Networks of Families, Carers and Friends and the All Important Professional Sipports and Their Expertise and their Livelihoods, Qualifications, Training and Experience and Ability To Care. This Is An.Attack.of Violence on them to Deprive Them Of Their Care, Knowledge and Their Livelihoods. These Decision Makers Are Dangerous, Superficial, Abusive and Hearts Filled With Murder. There is No Place For Them. To Hold And Be In These Positions to then be Wielding Violence, Murder and Abuse of People with Disabilities and Those Around Them. It Is Not With Invisible Hands They Do This. It Is Plain To See. Fear And Punishment and Brutality They Hold In One Hand. With A Whip In The Other Hand. Any Support Base For This Also Reflect and Holds These Same Abuses. They Are The Ones Unfit To Participate In Any Way Decision Making on Community Life nor on Any Individual. They Seek To Endure A LifeTime Of Pain And Sufferings onto Us.