TV interview with Minister McAllister, ABC Insiders - Sunday, 16 August 2026

Media event date: 16 August 2026 Date published: 16 August 2026 Media type: General public DAVID SPEERS: Jenny McAllister, welcome to the program. JENNY MCALLISTER: Good morning. DAVID SPEERS: So, have you now reached a deal with the coalition to pass these NDIS changes?

JENNY MCALLISTER: We've been in really close discussions with the coalition actually for some time now, and they have been extremely constructive. You'll have heard them say that they do think that this scheme does need to be sustainable in the interests of the people who use it. We're really hopeful, and I'd go as far as saying confident that we can reach an agreement.

But of course, we continue to talk to them. DAVID SPEERS: Are there any particular sticking points? JENNY MCALLISTER: I think the main issues that we are interested in, from a government perspective, is listening to the evidence that we've received through the inquiry process, taking on board the feedback that we've received across the parliament, not just from the coalition, and also thinking about what else we might want to do in relation to fraud, you'll know that that's an area that's been a very strong area of interest for our government.

It's also an area where the coalition says that they have an interest in seeing stronger protection, stronger powers within the NDIA to combat fraud. We're having a look at what we could do in those areas. DAVID SPEERS: So you might move amendments to the bill.

So stronger powers to tackle fraud might be one area of movement. JENNY MCALLISTER: Indeed, we've already put through legislation this year, of course, that really substantially increased the penalties. We created some new offenses.

For example, it's now an offense to work in the NDIS if you're the subject of the banning order, but this scheme has to operate with integrity. When we see fraud, we very frequently see harm to people with disability, and I think there's a shared view across ourselves and the coalition that that's an area where we think further work could occur. DAVID SPEERS: When you say you're listening to and taking on board the feedback that came through the Senate inquiry, fraud really wasn't the big issue.

The big concern was around all the other changes you're making. Are you going to listen to any of that, or are you not going to budge on things like eligibility, who's going to be kicked off the scheme, the community and social participation plans, and so on? Is there any movement on any of the concerns that were raised at the actual Senate inquiry.

JENNY MCALLISTER: So two things here. You'll have seen in the House of Representatives when we debated this, we made a series of amendments to the bill, really to clarify policy intent in response to some of the concerns we've been hearing from disability advocates, and we continue to talk to them. But we do think that the broad direction of policy that the government is pursuing is right, and it's for this reason, David.

This is a life-changing scheme. It has changed the lives of 1000s of people with disability, and I remember what it was like when we didn't have a scheme of this kind. It was really bad.

We consider that changes to clarify who is eligible for the scheme and clarify what kinds of supports they should receive are absolutely essential if the community is to retain confidence in the scheme. DAVID SPEERS: Well, let's go to the big concern, and we heard it from Martin Laverty as well there. What supports will be available for those who are kicked off the NDIS?

Will you delay removing anyone from the scheme until the states have put these so-called foundational supports in place, JENNY MCALLISTER: So we've been really clear that we do want to see alternative supports in place at the same time as we bring access changes into play. We don't anticipate making any changes to access until 2028. We've got time, and from the first of October this year, we will see states and territories taking the first steps to stand up for thriving kids supports for children.

DAVID SPEERS: Will we? Because Queensland's still not on board. JENNY MCALLISTER: Look, we are in every other state seeing the states getting moving, and I'm really confident, having met with state and territory counterparts on Friday, that we will see these states ready to move.

You're right that Queensland is still formulating their position, but I'm really confident that this is in the interests of Queensland population, and I think the Queensland residents will want to see their government take the next step. DAVID SPEERS: I understand you're optimistic about the states here, but they did say to the inquiry itself-that the cuts you're making risk leaving people with disability in hospitals with inappropriate care-Queensland is still not on board.

So again, will you delay pushing anyone out of the NDIS until those supports are ready? JENNY MCALLISTER: I don't think we need to contemplate delay at this point. What we're trying to do is move to a position where we are ready to make these changes from the first of January.

DAVID SPEERS: But it's a simple position to state right now: Will anyone be kicked off the scheme if those state supports aren't ready? JENNY MCALLISTER: I'm not contemplating delay, but I will say this: we've been clear that we do think alternative supports need to be in place. Understand that, and we have time to do so.

DAVID SPEERS: Yeah, but I'm saying, are you prepared to delay removing anyone from the scheme until they're ready? JENNY MCALLISTER: I think I've answered that question. We're really clear that we need supports in place.

We're working with the states and territories on that, and we'll see the first of those supports start to roll out in October. DAVID SPEERS: Okay, I'm not sure if you have answered that. Is that a yes?

You will delay kicking anyone off the scheme? JENNY MCALLISTER: We don't need to contemplate delay at this point. DAVID SPEERS: Well, you do if the States aren't on board, and Queensland's not on board.

JENNY MCALLISTER: Look, states and territories are presently working with us to stand up the supports that will commence in October. We have until 2028 to get this right. We want to get it right, and we want there to be a good ecosystem.

DAVID SPEERS: And what I'm asking is, if that doesn't happen, Mark Butler told this program just two months ago that the government would not leave people without support. Is that still your position? JENNY MCALLISTER: Absolutely.

DAVID SPEERS: So you will delay if the states aren't ready. JENNY MCALLISTER: What I'm saying is that I don't think we need to contemplate delay at this point because we are working with the states and territories towards that January one deadline, and it's part of a broader agreement that we have with premiers. We all agree that the scheme needs to be reformed.

We all agree it needs to be sustainable, and states and territories also agreed that it travelled in tandem with the hospital funding, which saw states and territories get an additional $25 billion for their hospital services. DAVID SPEERS: Thriving Kids is only available for kids up to the age of eight. What happens to a nine-year-old who's removed from the NDIS?

JENNY MCALLISTER: We will need to work through the additional foundational supports. There's $10 billion that premiers and the Prime Minister have agreed ought to be applied to standing up foundational supports. We started with children, but we know that we'll need to stand up additional, make additional arrangements.

DAVID SPEERS: So, for a nine-year-old though, or a 10-year-old, is it still not clear what supports they'll get? JENNY MCALLISTER: A couple of things here, David. We do need to be clear about eligibility for the scheme, and we've sought advice from a technical advisory group that includes a whole lot of people that have deep expertise in all sorts of disability, including paediatrics.

There. advice will shape what changes we are going to make to access for the scheme, and we haven't received that yet. But we know that we do want to stand up supports outside the scheme that will likely include supports for children as well. DAVID SPEERS: I guess we've heard this.

We've heard this for a long time, and the concern families of a nine or a ten-year-old have is, you know, if they're no longer on the NDIS, what happens, and that's not clear, is it? JENNY MCALLISTER: Yeah. Look, I know that change is really challenging for families, and we'll communicate with people along the way.

But part of our commitment is working with the disability community as we bring these changes about. We've consulted widely on the thriving kids arrangements, we'll need to consult also on foundational supports that are developed with states and territories, and we've got time to do so because we don't propose to make changes to access, as I've said, until 2028.

DAVID SPEERS: For those who are going to stay on the scheme, the NDIS at the moment helps them attend work, or appointments, or social activities by paying for a support worker, you want to cut the funding though for these services through the community and social participation plans. There was a lot of concern over this at the Senate inquiries. You know, the Disability Discrimination Commissioner warned these cuts would leave people socially isolated and at greater risk of abuse.

Is that a risk you're willing to live with? JENNY MCALLISTER: A couple of things. I mean, this is an area of the scheme that's grown really quickly.

It's now costing in the order of $12 billion a year. That's the same as the PBS by comparator, and it's set to grow even further, $20 billion a year by the end of the decade if we don't intervene. And so we think that we can somewhat reduce the supports that are available to people in this one category, and do that in a way that is safe.

And indeed, the legislation that's before the Parliament requires the minister to consider safety before making any determination of this kind. DAVID SPEERS: And who will make the determination if the NDIS, through its assessment, says this person needs this many hours of support. Can the minister override that and cut that back?

JENNY MCALLISTER: This will be a broad determination across participants, and that's the way that the legislation is structured. And the minister will take advice in in making the determination under the legislation as to whether or not what's proposed can be done safely, DAVID SPEERS: Should families, parents in particular, expect to do more unpaid caring as a result of those cuts?

JENNY MCALLISTER: We think that these supports can be managed safely for people who use them, and I'll give you this example. Our proposal, under our proposal, we would see average expenditure reduced from what it is at the moment, which is around $31,000 a year, to around $26,000 a year. So it is a reduction, and we don't deny that it will have impacts on people with disability and their families.

But it is in a context where the scheme is growing very, very quickly. We do think that it needs to be fiscally sustainable, and so this is a measure we think we can take in a way that supports people with disability, continues to allow them to access supports of this kind because we know how important they are in people's lives, but actually just starts to rein in some of the cost growth, which is unexpected, and ultimately puts the scheme on an unsustainable trajectory.

DAVID SPEERS: There are concerns about a whole range of areas, including what we're just talking about there on the social and community participation plans, the extra ministerial powers that are involved in these changes as well. Will you adopt the recommendation from Martin Laverty to have an inspector general of the NDIS to keep an eye on this and oversight of all of this.

JENNY MCALLISTER: Look, we don't think an additional layer of bureaucracy is what's required at the moment. We do have a Quality and Safeguard Commission, which is the regulator that looks at the performance of the scheme from a safety perspective. We have the NDIA, which delivers the scheme itself, and importantly, we have a government department.

And one of the things that I'm really pleased about is, in the period that I've been the minister, I've seen a much greater level of coordination between those three entities on a whole range of areas. I think in this portfolio, as in other portfolios across government, we'd expect the Department of State, the Portfolio Department, to provide strong advice about the appropriate coordination arrangements within the scheme to the minister.

DAVID SPEERS: So that's a no to the Inspector General. JENNY MCALLISTER: We don't think that's a necessary proposal at this point. We don't think more bureaucracy is the thing that will fix what ails us in this regard.

DAVID SPEERS: The government and the budget suggests you're going to save what is it, 38 billion dollars over the next four years through these changes. By the sounds of it, you're still planning to make that sort of saving. JENNY MCALLISTER: We do think this is necessary.

So the scheme at the moment costs in the order of 50 billion dollars a year. Without change, by the middle of next decade, it will cost more than 100 billion dollars a year, and we don't think that that's in line with the original intention of the Productivity Commission proposal. We also don't think it's in line with broad community expectations, but we want this scheme to be here for the long term.

So, in a decade's time, if there's a little boy, little girl born with a disability, and it's a significant and permanent disability, they should be able to access a scheme like this. DAVID SPEERS: And if you don't get it passed this week, does that bill start to… I mean, does the cost of the budget increase? JENNY MCALLISTER: Look, we are hopeful of being able to pass the bill this week.

The government would like to do so. Minister Butler outlined our plans back in April. We've had a long opportunity for the Parliament to consider this.

We think the community thinks this is an important reform, and we think it's now time for the Parliament to get on with it. DAVID SPEERS: All right, Minister for the NDIS, Jenny McAllister. Thanks for joining us this morning.

JENNY MCALLISTER: Thank you, David. Senator the Hon Jenny McAllister Disability and carers Accessibility We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of Country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to Elders both past and present. © Commonwealth of Australia