The Federal Government’s reforms to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) have passed the Senate, following a months-long inquiry.
The changes are expected to cut $37.8 billion from the scheme over the next four years, tightening who can access it and how funding is spent.
The Government says the reforms will protect the scheme from fraud and rein in its growing cost, but advocates warn hundreds of thousands of Australians with disability will lose necessary support.
Here’s what you need to know.
Background
The NDIS provides support and services for Australians with disability.
This includes access to community services, such as doctors, and assistance for necessary support, such as vehicle modifications.
It was launched in 2013, with the intention of supporting 410,000 people.
There are now more than 760,000 Australians who receive support from the NDIS.
Under 25-year-olds represent more than 60% of active NDIS participants.
Around 22% of recipients are zero to eight-years-old.
The most common primary disability of NDIS recipients is autism (43%).
The other most common primary disabilities are intellectual disability (13%), and developmental delay (9%).
Reforms
In a press conference on Tuesday, Health Minister Mark Butler noted the widespread fraud of the NDIS by what he called “shonks and fraudsters”.
He said fraud-prevention efforts “simply weren’t delivering the results we needed”.
Butler confirmed that costs had “blown out by... $13 billion,” saying the reforms would bring that figure down to ensure the NDIS is a scheme that will “last for decades”.
Here’s what’s changing, by the numbers:
240,000: The number of existing participants expected to exit the scheme by 2031. A further 110,000 people are expected to be diverted from ever joining.
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100%: The proportion of recipients whose plans will be re-assessed, with Butler aiming to start this process by January 2028. Removal from the scheme will be determined based on a person’s symptoms. Those with lower needs will be moved to “other supports”.
2%: How much the Government wants scheme growth to slow to, each year, before returning to around 5% from 2030.
$26,000: The average amount the Government wants to allow recipients to spend on accessing social and community participation activities each year. This figure is in line with spending in 2023.
Final bill
The bill to reform the NDIS first passed the House of Representatives in July.
A Senate inquiry then ran for months and received thousands of submissions, most opposed to the bill.
It still recommended the bill pass.
Based on feedback from people with disability and advocates, the Government agreed to additional amendments including:
NDIS providers can no longer offer rewards to keep or grow their business.
People needing 24/7 care will be protected from funding cuts.
Disability advocates, including People with Disability Australia (PWDA), warn the changes will cause “foreseeable harm”.
PWDA chief executive Megan Spindler-Smith said the changes would force disabled Australians to work less, engage less with their community and rely more on family, eroding their independence.
The Greens have remained strongly opposed to the bill, saying it “leaves hundreds of thousands without support”.
Opposition
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said the Coalition would only support the changes once the Government fixed the “widow’s tax”.
The “widow’s tax” is the name given to a rule affecting people whose spouse dies, leaving them the sole owner of property they owned together, causing them to lose certain tax concessions.
Taylor argued: “Widows, divorcees and victims of domestic violence should not pay a financial penalty”.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers agreed to fast-track a change in exchange for the Coalition’s support of the NDIS bill.
