Radio interview with Minister McAllister, ABC Radio AM – 19 August 2026

Media event date: 19 August 2026 Date published: 19 August 2026 Media type: General public MELISSA CLARKE: Senator. Thanks for speaking to AM this morning. JENNY MCALLISTER: It's my pleasure.

MELISSA CLARKE: With the passage of this legislation, are you entrenching two classes of disability? JENNY MCALLISTER: This was incredibly important legislation for the country. It secures the NDIS as a scheme that will be sustainable, that will operate with integrity, and we believe secures the social license for the scheme.

It was always intended that this scheme operated for people with permanent and significant disability. There are five and a half million Australians who live with disability at the moment, and at the moment, only 680-670,000 of those are on the scheme. It's always been the case that this scheme was for people with the most significant disabilities.

MELISSA CLARKE: It may have been the case that it was always meant for people with the most significant disabilities, but many participants say there's no longer enough supports for those who won't fall into that category. So the two classes will be those who will get support and those who'll be left without support. JENNY MCALLISTER: That is not a correct interpretation of the government's policy.

We've been clear from the outset that we won't leave people without support. It's why we've worked with the states and territories to strike an agreement to invest $10 billion in supports outside the scheme. This was advice provided to us back in 2023 by the independent review into the NDIS, who told us really clearly that that work needed to occur.

MELISSA CLARKE: And still needs to occur, because that's the concern of participants: is that those alternatives are not in place, and there's little confidence that they will be in place by the time the changes come into force in 2028. JENNY MCALLISTER: I want to say this really clearly: the government will not let people fall between two stools. It is our intention to have supports in place by 2028, and indeed in October we will see the first supports under the Thriving Kids programs start to roll out.

All states and territories, with the exception of Queensland, have signed the bilateral agreements, have submitted their implementation plans. My discussions on Friday last week with state and territory ministers indicated that they are getting ready to start rolling these supports out this October, well in advance of that 2028 deadline. MELISSA CLARKE: What are you going to do about Queensland?

JENNY MCALLISTER: We're talking with Queensland, of course, but ultimately it is for them to explain how they are approaching this issue. There's money on the table for Queensland communities to receive supports co-funded by the Commonwealth Government. I think that Queensland communities will want to see their government implement Thriving Kids and work with the Commonwealth on a broader suite of foundational supports.

MELISSA CLARKE: I think this is a key part of where the concern comes from-that people are worried they're going to be left behind because you say that the federal government doesn't want anyone to fall through the gaps, but when we have a gap of a state not wanting to participate in in this change, and you say, well, it's for Queensland to explain that position.

That's the gap that people are worried about. That the federal government says the change needs to happen. No one will fall through the gap.

But we already have an argument between federal and state levels about the alternatives. JENNY MCALLISTER: Disability supports have always been a shared responsibility by the states and territories and the Commonwealth. Disability ministers are clear about their desire to co-govern the scheme and to co-govern disability supports.

That has always been true for disability for disability policy and program, continues to be the case, and we work with the states and territories to make sure that we have got a strong disability ecosystem that can support all people with disability across the community. MELISSA CLARKE: These NDIS reforms were very hard to secure. There was a lot of pressure from the public, from participants.

You've had to work with other parties in a parliament to get it through. But it's something the government's persisted with, despite public concern about it. But when it comes to limiting gambling, the government's taken a more incremental approach.

Why have you been so forceful in making sure these NDIS cuts come through but have taken a more limited approach to curbing gambling harms? JENNY MCALLISTER: Starting with the NDIS, we think this is a crucial scheme. It has been life-changing for Australians, and we were concerned that it was losing its social license.

We set out our approach in April in the Press Club, and we have worked hard with community, with the disability community across the Parliament, to bring this legislation through to the point that we are today. In relation to gambling, as the Prime Minister said yesterday, these are the strongest laws in relation to gambling advertising that have ever been put before this bill, and they build on… MELISSA CLARKE: They’re the strongest because they’re incrementally more than the status quo.

Of which there is the view across Parliament that that is not enough, and there is a strong public appetite for even more. Isn't that a very low bar to clear, just being incrementally better than the status quo? JENNY MCALLISTER: I don't agree with that assessment.

We have already made substantial changes to protect people from gambling harm, and it includes, of course, BetStop. And we have very good evidence of the work that BetStop is doing to protect people from problem gambling. The additional amendments that were put through last night reflect the fact that we are listening to the range of views across the community and across the parliament, we've worked in good faith to deliver those.

MELISSA CLARKE: You could have done more if you'd worked with the Greens. Will you come to regret not having taken stronger action when the opportunity was there to do it? JENNY MCALLISTER: Again, we are taking strong action.

This is a strong, comprehensive, and balanced package. MELISSA CLARKE: Jenny McAllister, thanks very much for speaking to me on AM this morning. JENNY MCALLISTER: Thanks, Melissa.

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