National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
8 July 2026
On 10 June 2026, the Law Council made a submission to the Senate Legislation Committee on Community Affairs on the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Safeguarding the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026.
The submission, while acknowledging the need to place the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) on a sustainable footing, sets out serious concerns the Law Council holds about the Bill, including:
- the timeframe for consideration of the Bill is unacceptably short given its serious implications for NDIS participants (and such a short consultation period is inconsistent with the recommendations of the Disability Royal Commission and the requirements of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities);
- its proposed approach to financial sustainability risks undermining original goals of the NDIS such as its participant-centred approach and respect for autonomy and related rights;
- the new test for assessing permanence of impairments risks imposing barriers and having discriminatory effects for NDIS participants in practice;
- it reduces statutory timeframes for participants, while at the same time making them more generous for the NDIA, potentially placing participants at increased risk of harm due to longer waits for supports;
- it provides for Ministerial powers to reduce support for entire cohorts without due consultation or consideration of individual needs and circumstances, and
- it would enable more automation of eligibility assessments and other administrative determinations, which need to be carefully scrutinised based on the recommendations of the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme.
The submission also refers to issues with penalties, suspension powers, review rights, new framework planning, problematic delegation in transitional provisions and timing of commencement. It also recommends that given the significance of the Bill's measures, further provision should be made for legal assistance funding to address the increased unmet need likely to result from those measures, and that resulting justice system impacts should also be assessed.
The submission followed a joint statement between the Law Council, National Legal Aid, Community Legal Centres Australia and National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services highlighting that the NDIS reforms will risk real harm without proper and genuine consultation.
The Law Council is grateful for input from the Law Institute of Victoria and the Queensland Law Society which informed the submission.
Last Updated on 08/07/2026