The Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO) has acknowledged significant further amendments made to the NDIS legislation in the Senate, while warning that major concerns remain about how new powers affecting participant funding will operate in practice.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 passed the Senate on 18 August with additional Government amendments and will now return to the House of Representatives for consideration of the Senate changes.
The Senate amendments include important safeguards raised through advocacy by people with disability, families and disability organisations.
They include:
- a new pathway for participants with high support needs who require continuous 24-hour disability-related care to seek a plan variation where a support determination affects their funding;
- exclusions of high-intensity supports, complex behaviour supports and certain customised, wearable technology and hearing supports from support determinations;
- improved rights to request an unscheduled plan reassessment where significant and ongoing changes in living, education, employment or informal supports are foreseeable;
- access to review rights where the NDIA has not decided a reassessment request within 90 days;
- stronger recognition of the additional disability-related support needs of children and the potential risk of harm to families and informal supports if necessary supports are not funded;
- safeguards around debt notification and recovery; and
- stronger fraud and integrity measures, including action on provider kickbacks and inducements and improved whistleblower protections.
AFDO President Grant Lindsay said amendments that genuinely respond to concerns raised by people with disability should be recognised.
“Where Parliament has listened to people with disability and strengthened protections, we welcome that.”
“These changes matter. In particular, the additional protections for people requiring continuous 24-hour support, greater recognition of the impact on families and informal supports, and stronger review and debt safeguards respond to concerns the disability community has consistently raised.”
“But the test is not how many amendments Parliament has passed. The test is what happens to people with disability when these provisions are implemented.”
“People must remain safe, retain their rights, and continue to receive the disability supports they need to live independently and participate in their communities.”
AFDO said significant issues remain unresolved.
The legislation retains the power for the Minister to make support determinations that can reduce funding for specified categories of supports, including community participation and capacity-building supports.
AFDO CEO Ross Joyce said this remains a critical area requiring scrutiny.
“The additional safeguards are important, but they do not remove the fundamental concern about what happens when an individual participant’s needs have not changed but a system-wide funding decision reduces the resources available to meet those needs.”
“For some people requiring continuous 24-hour care, Parliament has now created a pathway to have funding restored where necessary. That is a significant improvement. But protection from harm should not depend on a person first falling within a narrow category, losing essential supports or reaching crisis.”
Mr Joyce said, “AFDO would also continue scrutinising the legislation’s broader Ministerial powers, automated administrative actions, access and planning changes, future Rules and the implementation of support determinations.”
“Many of the most consequential decisions are still ahead of us.”
“The legislation creates the powers. Rules, Ministerial instruments, NDIA policy and implementation decisions will determine how those powers affect people in their everyday lives.”
“That next stage must involve genuine co-design with people with disability and their representative organisations before decisions are made, not after problems emerge.”
AFDO also welcomed amendments strengthening the focus on fraud, provider misconduct and scheme integrity.
“People with disability have been clear that protecting the sustainability of the NDIS must include tackling exploitation, fraud and poor provider behaviour,” Mr Joyce said.
“Scheme integrity should be strengthened without shifting the burden onto participants who legitimately rely on the NDIS.”
Mr Lindsay said the Senate vote marked a new phase of advocacy, not the end of it.
“People with disability helped change this legislation and secure additional safeguards. Now we have to make sure those safeguards work.”
“Genuine co-design cannot stop because the legislation has passed through the Senate.”
AFDO will continue monitoring support determinations, review rights, automated administrative actions, impacts on families and informal supports, and the development of future Rules and Ministerial instruments.
AFDO’s responsibility, together with our member organisations, remains clear: to protect the rights, safety, choice, control and independence of people with disability, and to hold governments accountable for reforms that affect their lives.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Ross Joyce, CEO – AFDO
mobile: 0402 842 040 (text preferred to connect)
or email: ceo@afdo.org.au
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