Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme Faces Major Restructure
An eight‑year‑old girl named Annabelle Shaw stands on a hockey field in Perth, Scotland‑Orange‑ Blue, her face bright with excitement. She scores the fourth goal for her team, the Panthers, and celebrates with a cartwheel. Annabelle has Down Syndrome, a genetic condition that grants her access to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), a world‑leading program that provides funding for therapies such as speech and the support workers who help her on the field.
The NDIS was launched in 2012 under former Prime Minister Julia Gillard and reached full roll‑out in 2020. It was designed to give people with lifelong disabilities independence and a better quality of life, offering customised funding and choice.
From Growth to Crisis
The scheme’s growth has been staggering. What was expected to cost $22 billion a year with 475,000 participants has ballooned to $54 billion, now supporting more than 700,000 people. The average participant receives about $65,000 per year, though those with complex needs receive considerably more. The rapid increase has prompted the federal government to propose a ‘reset’ to curb spending.
The first part of the plan arrived in July when the NDIS Amendment bill passed the House of Representatives. The Senate is now expected to review it after an inquiry report is due on 14 August, with the aim of tightening controls and shrinking the scheme’s size and budget.
Critics warn that the cuts target an essential element of the NDIS: social participation. The scheme was built, in part, to enable people with disability to be an integral part of community activities. A social‑participation cut as steep as 50 percent could threaten the very sports and social opportunities that people like Annabelle rely on.
Fraud and Abuse Concerns
Another elephant in the room is fraud. In 2025, the NDIS Integrity Chief reported that $3.7 billion was misappropriated through cash‑over‑charging and unnecessary services. While addressing fraud is essential, experts say the savings are modest compared to the need for broader reform.
Measures under consideration include tighter compliance, revamped assessment processes and the movement of children with lower support needs—such as those with developmental delays—to the Thriving Kids programme, rather than early intervention funding under the NDIS.
Voices of Those Impacted
"If Annabelle’s playing mainstream hockey and going to mainstream school, that’s normal for her," says her mother, Gillian Croft. "Now, if she loses funding for sporting and social participation, she won’t get the independence training she needs before she finishes school."
Hannah Diviney, a disabled actress and advocate, echoed the sentiment at the parliamentary inquiry: "I rely on NDIS funding to travel for work and maintain a social life. A cut to social participation would collapse that freedom."
Down Syndrome Australia CEO Darryl Steff added that every $1 spent on the NDIS contributes more than $2 to the broader economy and that the scheme’s key goal—helping disabled people participate—includes workers, educators and the social fabric of society.
The government’s proposal is framed as a necessary step to keep the scheme sustainable for future generations. Whether it will achieve that without erasing the core purpose it was birthed to serve remains a central question for policymakers, advocates and the people who depend on the NDIS.
