NDIS cuts could restrict some people from work access
Disabled Australians could be left without the ability to access regular work or medical appointments as a result of sweeping funding cuts, a senate committee has heard.
Social inclusion budgets in the National Disability Insurance Program will be cut by 50 percent to prevent growth of the $50 billion annual plan, it was announced in May.
Funds can be used for things like hobbies, grocery shopping, transportation to work, and help with work.
Government modeling shows that visually impaired people and people with Down syndrome will be hardest hit by the cuts.
Jordan Steele-John, the Greens’ disability spokesperson, said mixing community services “all in one bowl” would prevent many people, particularly those with Down syndrome, from being able to work or access meaningful group activities.
“If it is a blanket cut, how do you propose to strengthen employment financing?” he said.
Ministry of Health officials said the government did not specifically intend to cut business funding but did not confirm how they would stop it.
“The intended cuts to social engagement and community engagement will clearly have an impact… the category will still remain, it will just have less funding,” deputy health minister Mary Wood told a senate estimates hearing.
Advocacy groups such as Down Syndrome Australia, which echoed Senator Steele-John’s concerns, will only be consulted once the bill is passed.
Independent senator David Pocock said such consultations appeared pointless.
“The government has already included this in the (federal) budget. If there are 50 per cent cuts, what is the use of further consultation?” Senator Pocock said:
“Many people with Down syndrome rely on their social and community engagement budgets to work, which is something they value very much.”
If the bill is approved, the health minister will be able to decide on rates of social and welfare support for people in different disability categories, rather than making decisions through assessment.
Meanwhile, the amount of taxpayer money spent on disability claims has also increased.
The National Disability Insurance Agency has spent $170 million over the last three years fighting NDIS participants appealing decisions about their packages.
About $66 million has been spent in the current financial year, compared with $60 million in 2024/25 and $44 million the year before that.
The agency resolved 1,979 applications in the last quarter alone, after receiving almost 7,000 applications in the fiscal year through March.
A three-day hearing on the NDIS bill will be held from Tuesday.
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