National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026

Senator McALLISTER (New South Wales—Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) (18:05): Thank you, Senator Steele-John, for your question. May I also acknowledge the contribution you've made just now, which responds to the continuing energy, organisation and campaigning that the disability community brings to the work of making the world a more inclusive place.

We have appreciated very much our engagement with disability activists over the period since Minister Butler spoke at the Press Club about our plans to reform the scheme. We know that this is a challenging conversation for many people. We approach this very clear about our view, which is that this is a valuable scheme, an important one, and one that was fought for by disabled people.

We want to do everything we can to make sure that it is sustainable and here for the long term. Whilst we recognise that not all people within the disability community agree with the approach we have adopted, we are grateful for their engagement and the genuinely important information, feedback and suggestions that they have provided to us about operationalising these reforms in the best possible way.

People have been generous with their time. You mentioned, Senator Steele-John, the amendments that have been circulated by the government that respond to some of that feedback. There are 33 amendments that have been circulated, and they include a range of changes which respond very directly to the feedback we received from the community.

I wanted to speak particularly about the escalation pathway that you referred to. Senators will know that we have been clear that we wish to safeguard against risk to participant health and safety. We've previously confirmed that participants requiring continuous 24/7 supports will continue to have these provided at all times.

I know this was something you also were interested in, Senator Steele-John, and you indeed drafted an amendment which suggested an escalation pathway in support of that objective. You were kind enough to share that with Minister Butler's team, and that provided us with some very useful insights, which we have sought to build upon in the amendments that we have circulated.

There are other amendments which I think respond to evidence we've received but are also aligned with areas where you did policy work, and we thank you for your engagement. Your question goes to what happens now in terms of working with the disability community. Much of the architecture of this bill is a beginning rather than an end.

For example, the bill establishes a clearer eligibility test for access. We've been very clear we wish to work with the disability community on how best to enact these provisions. Senators will know that we have established a technical advisory group to advise us on those thresholds.

You should also know that that technical advisory work is working closely with the reform advisory committee, led by El Gibbs and Dougie Herd, and they are supported in turn by a range of excellent representatives from states and territories. We want the disability community involved in this work and thinking about this work. To that end, I did want to provide some reassurances to participants who might be worried about how these new access arrangements will work.

The first thing to know is that these arrangements will begin in January 2028. We do have time to work through this with the experts and with the disability community to make sure that we do put in place a fair and transparent way of establishing access. From January 2028, participants will begin to go through prospective functional capacity assessment—new participants on entry, and existing participants will be reassessed over time.

As part of this, participants will be required to meet the definition of 'substantially reduced functional capacity' and other access changes as set out in this bill. It will mean demonstrating that you have access treatment that is likely to materially improve or alleviate the impact of the impairment through treatment, but those treatments must be ones that are regularly undertaken or publicly funded through the Medicare Benefits Schedule, the PBS and public hospitals, and I referred to this earlier.

The amendment we moved in the House means that, once you have established your eligibility under the new definition, you will not be required to retest eligibility through different planning cycles. I want to be clear about this, as I was earlier. This is about establishing a simpler, fairer assessment process to return the scheme to its original intent of supporting people with permanent and significant disability.

This will mean more streamlined processes and a reduced administrative burden on people who are seeking to test their access to the scheme and for people who are already participants. I look forward to the work of the technical advisory group and also the involvement of disabled people in a whole range of other areas where we will be seeking their involvement and advice.

The government intends to consult on changes to the way that we organise supported independent living. This is an area of service provision where we consider the quality could be improved, where we're concerned about sharp practice and where we are interested to understand whether a commissioning approach could deliver choice, control and improved quality. We will be interested in the views of the disability community in supporting implementation arrangements for an inclusive communities fund—resources to ensure that community clubs or groups' activities that are so important in the life of any community member are actually genuinely inclusive, welcoming and accessible for people with disability.

We will want to hear from the disability community about the approach we intend to take to plan management and the approach we intend to take to support coordination. Of course, we are already working closely with disabled people on putting in place the new framework planning, as recommended by the independent review—a fairer, more transparent, more consistent way of providing resources to people with disability at the planning phase of their journey through the NDIS.

It's a reform agenda that will unfold over time, and we will be drawing on the insights and the public spirit of those many people in the disability community who advocated in the first place for the NDIS and continue to advocate for its success. I want to reassure the disability community that the government fully intends to honour our obligations to work closely with you through the implementation of these reforms through the coming years.

I'm conscious that there are other senators who may wish to move amendments or make a contribution, Senator Steele-John. Should you be ready for a vote to take place on the amendment that you have moved, let us know.