On 3 June 2026, I gave a Speech on NDIS cuts

Transcript:

Ms WATSON-BROWN:

Thank you, I seek leave to move amendments 1 to 9 as circulated in my name, together.

[leave granted]

I move amendments 1 to 9 as circulated in my name, together.

The Greens will not be supporting these cruel cuts and changes to the NDIS Bill.

We know that these changes will make life harder for people who rely on the NDIS to live independently, participate in their communities, and access education and work.

I’ve heard these concerns directly from my constituents. 

I sent out a survey to people my office has helped with the NDIS and every single person who responded was seriously concerned about being either kicked off entirely, or cuts severely impacting their quality of life.

Some said they simply wouldn’t know if they could keep going, keep surviving, without their NDIS support.

I’m pleased that the Greens have been able to secure an additional 8 weeks of inquiry into the Bill. This will delay the passing of the Bill, and will secure more time for the disability community to have their voice heard in the inquiry. 

This in turn will build more pressure for the Bill to be completely withdrawn, as it should. 

As well as gaining more valuable time for participants, the amendments I am moving today will protect NDIS participants from some of the very worst parts of this very bad Bill. 

However, the effects of this Bill will still be incredibly cruel even with these amendments, and the Greens will continue to push the Government and the Opposition to withdraw their support for it.

The first area of amendment relates to support determinations. 

The Bill as first presented allows the Minister to make universal percentage cuts to funding for a category of supports. These cuts would apply to all NDIS participants. 

Our amendments will ensure that cuts cannot be applied to support categories of Daily Living, Transport, Consumables, Assistive Technology, or Home Modifications. 

We have also limited the impact of the Minister’s changes to Support Determinations relating to Social, Community, and Civic participation. 

The Minister cannot make cuts to supports that people rely on for daily health needs, attending medical appointments or getting to work.

The second area is the definition of a Permanent Disability. 

The Bill gives a new definition of permanent disability that narrows the scope of what will be considered a permanent disability by bringing into primary legislation the concept of ‘all appropriate treatment’, which requires a person to undergo treatments to prove their disability is permanent before being allowed access onto the Scheme. 

The Bill as it is written specifies that financial and geographical circumstances are not a consideration regarding what treatment is available. 

We've secured protections to ensure that treatment cannot be a restrictive practice, such as forced medication. 

Treatment must also be a publicly funded service available through Medicare, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, or the public health system.

Thirdly, this Bill allows the use of automated decision-making for important NDIS decisions, including the development of participant plans and the processing of claims. 

We have secured greater transparency on the detail of how these automated decisions will be made, by requiring that decision-making frameworks for evaluative decisions are made publicly available before being implemented.

Lastly, this Bill gives the Minister the power to make Rules that can change how parts of the NDIS Act operate, without having to pass a new Bill through Parliament. 

Our amendment reduces the scope of the Ministerial Power by reducing the timeframe for making transitional Rules to 6 months for every part of the Bill except for parts relating to new framework planning, reasonable and necessary supports, and plan renewals.

This will significantly limit the power of the Minister to change how the NDIS Act works without taking a Bill to Parliament, though the Greens will continue to push for this power to be removed from the Bill altogether.

I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to make a submission on the NDIS Bill, over 4500 people so far. 

You’ve helped us put pressure on the government to secure these changes. 

The Greens and I will continue to use every pathway we have to fight this Bill, and to push the Government to scrap it entirely.