Despite almost 5000 submissions, most of which opposed the bill in its current form, the Senate inquiry’s final report recommended that the bill be passed.
GPs remain long-term care coordinators for patients with disability, yet they are absent from the final Senate inquiry report on NDIS changes – a decision medical advocates say risks assessment and support for NDIS participants.
The Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs’ final report on the legislation was published at 4:30pm on Friday.
Just one recommendation was made:
“The committee recommends that the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 be passed.”
The aim of the NDIS reform is to slow annual NDIS growth from 22% to a “sustainable” 5-6%.
An estimated 241,000 people with disability may be removed from the scheme by 2031.
However, with access changes not scheduled to commence before 1 January 2028, NDIS minister Jenny McAllister said the government had until then to “get it right”.
The government intends to invest $200 million through the Inclusive Communities Fund and $3 billion through Thriving Kids foundational supports to mitigate the impact.
The dissenting opinions from Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John and independent Senator David Pocock, were scathing.
In a LinkedIn post, disability rights advocate and podcast host Dr George Taleporos said the decision remained “incredibly disappointing” and that he was “deeply concerned that serious risks remain”.
Part four of the bill, for example, allows the Commonwealth minister to determine reductions of up to 50% in funding for groups of supports and to reset participant support budgets for social, civic and community participation and capacity-building daily activities.
Here’s what some of healthcare’s peak advocacy organisations had to say.
Organisation: RACGP
Who: Dr John Crimmins, disability specific interest group chair
Dr Crimmins, an experienced GP with patients with moderate to severe disability, said he supported the fact that the bill’s eligibility framework centred people with permanent, significant disability rather than diverting resources to milder cases who can receive support through alternative pathways.
However, he told The Medical Republic that omitting GPs from the new legislation was a significant oversight.
While a patient’s functional impairment would be assessed using a well-validated tool – ICAN – the assessment itself would be carried out by people insufficiently trained in disability and lacking a GP’s insight into a patient’s changes in circumstances over time.
“Schedule One of the NDIS amendments must acknowledge the GP as the key provider of whole-person healthcare, including disability care, but it’s not there. This was [also] a problem with the original NDIS bill,” he said.
While he acknowledged the NDIS was “leaking money terribly”, he said it was concerning that the amended bill could remain in effect for the next decade.
“All the fraud, in my experience with many, many hundreds of patients, occurs because of implementation – [the government] give an organisation a pile of money, and then it’s how that organisation spends it, and unfortunately, in terms of direct patient support, a lot of it’s lost,” Dr Crimmins said.
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Organisation: AMA
Who: Dr Danielle McMullen, president
Dr McMullen urged the government to “take heed” of the AMA’s Modernise Medicare campaign and to comprehensively overhaul the system to ensure it is fit for purpose.
“GPs are the lynchpin of continuity of high-quality care, and it’s important for people with a disability to have a regular GP that they can access easily when needed,” she told TMR.
“All Australians deserve a Medicare system that is properly structured and funded to recognise the needs of patients with complex and chronic health concerns.”
Organisation: RACGP
Who: Dr Tim Jones, specific interest child and young person’s health group chair
Dr Jones told TMR he was concerned the process was moving “extremely quickly” for such a complex system, without sufficiently consulting people with a disability about how their support operates.
“Change is inherent in living with a disability. People will go through natural phases when they don’t need much support, and then something might change, like the death of a parent who’s been caring for them. Suddenly, they require urgent support, but we lack a system to provide it,” he said.
GP involvement is critical here, he said – both for identifying when support needs to be scaled back and for recommending additional support where necessary.
“In Medicare, we already perform an annual health assessment for all our patients with intellectual disability… [which] would be incredibly useful to the NDIS.”
GP involvement and primary care should also extend to Thriving Kids, Dr Jones said, to build robust support for people with disability outside the NDIS.
According to the Department of Health, Thriving Kids will provide a new Medicare Healthy Kids Check to support GPs in assessing a child’s health and development at age three.
A separate annual health-check support tool will help assess children aged three to 12 with suspected or confirmed neurodevelopmental delay.
Organisation: Disability Representative Organisations (DROs)
Who: Australian Autism Alliance, Australian Federation of Disability Organisations, Children and Young People with Disability Australia, Disability Advocacy Network Australia, Down Syndrome Australia, First People Disability Network Australia, Inclusion Australia, National Ethnic Disability Alliance, National Mental Health Consumer Alliance, People with Disability Australia, Physical Disability Australia, Women with Disabilities Australia
A coalition of disability organisations, the DRO, urged the Senate not to pass the bill in its current form, citing “significant concerns” regarding the sequencing and implementation of the proposed reforms.
“Rushed implementation risks creating gaps – and every gap creates a genuine risk of
foreseeable harm to the people relying on it,” the statement read.
People requiring 24/7 healthcare, support, and some employment supports would continue to receive them, but key decisions on funding and scheme operation remain to be determined rather than embedded in primary legislation, the DRO flagged.
“This approach currently allows for unprecedented delegated powers, with limited parliamentary oversight and insufficient consultation, transparency and avenues for review… safeguards that matter most before, not after, a person with disability reaches a point of crisis,” the statement read.
People should not be diverted from or lose NDIS supports unless alternative supports are funded, operational, accessible, and available in practice, the coalition said.
Organisation: The Australian Greens
Who: senator Jordon Steele-John
Mr Steele-John said the inquiry made it clear the proposed budget cuts risk undermining the independence, dignity and participation of disabled people, and instead further strain families and wider health care settings.
“The NDIS can and should be reformed, including through stronger anti-fraud measures and reducing unnecessary administrative burdens. These cuts should not come at the expense of disabled people’s rights and essential supports,” he said.
“We will strongly oppose this Bill when it reaches the Senate, and we urge the crossbench and the Opposition to do the same.”
In a senate debate this morning, Mr Pocock admitted the bill was likely to pass this week.
Read the full report here.
