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Shut Out Again: Dismembering Inclusion through Community Participation Cuts “Institutions are not defined by their size, but by the extent to which people lose control over their own lives.” John O'Brien Abstract: This document critically examines the proposed reductions to Social, Civic and Community Participation (SCCP) funding within the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and explores the broader structural implications these reforms may have for disabled people,

A Critical Analysis of Supported Independent Living Reform, Shared Support Models, and the Future of Individualised Disability Support Under the NDIS “An institution is not created by the shape of the building. It’s created by who holds the power, and what kind of power they hold.” Dave Hingsberger Abstract: This document critically examines the proposed commissioning of Supported Independent Living (SIL) within the context of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amend

Participants with Complex Needs Prepared by: Peter Gregory Date: 22.05.2026 Purpose of Writing This Document The purpose of writing this document is to provide guidance for practitioners, families, advocates, and support teams preparing reports for participants with complex needs within the evolving decision-making environment of the National Disability Insurance Agency. The document has been developed in response to emerging patterns in NDIA planning and Home and Living dec

View this video from 2021, here: https://youtu.be/_RnbeVymAlo?si=d7QTcG5ccwbfeGRJ Five years ago, the disability community was already sounding the alarm, defending the National Disability Insurance Scheme as a nation-building reform worth protecting. And yet here we are again. Different language, same threats. Different policies, same underlying push to roll back choice, control, and dignity. For decades, disabled people, families, and allies have had to fight, again and aga

STACKED DECK EVIDENCE CARD SERIES This series draws directly from the voices of disabled people who spoke to the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability. These are not abstract policy debates or hypothetical risks. They are lived experiences, documented, verified, and placed on the public record. Each card presents a moment, a fragment of testimony that reveals what happens when systems are underfunded, when accountability fa

The Voldemort Defence Why Group Homes Are Necessary for “The Greater Good” Abstract: On 22nd April 2026 Minister Mark Butler stood before the National Press Club and revealed the changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) being proposed by the Australian Government. This speech sent shock waves through the disability community. Emerging from the plethora of justifications emerged a common theme: These changes are necessary for the greater good. This essay crit

When the NDIA demands you justify why you want to be safe. In my community, where we are collaborating with disabled people with very complex support requirements, their families and allies, there’s a trend that has been building for a few years now. People who have established that it is reasonable and necessary for them to be funded for 24/7 1:1 supports (For example, 16 hours/day 1:1 for 7 days per week and 7 sleepovers/week) are being informed that their funding has been

“Disabled people are not here to inspire you. We’re here to live our lives.” Stella Young The NDIS was designed to enable people to live full, self-directed lives, not to be reshaped, constrained, or mined to serve broader economic or political agendas. This essay critically examines the increasing use of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) as a fiscal instrument within Australian public policy. Drawing on examples including the 2018 redirection of approximately

Remembering the words of Senator Jordon Steele-John: During August 2024, When it became apparent that the NDIS Amendments Bill would be passed in the Senate, Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John expressed the frustration of many in the disability community with a searing speech highlighting the betrayal many felt as a result of this legislation. Sadly, these words were prophetic. The total annihilation of the NDIS is now sponsored by all political parties (Except The Greens, wh

Image sourced from: “Christmas in Purgatory” A Photographic Essay published by Burton Blatt and Fred Kaplan, 1974 This reflective essay emerges from a growing unease about how disability, and particularly the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), is being represented in contemporary public discourse. Over recent months, coverage from outlets such as the Australian Financial Review has increasingly framed the scheme through the language of crisis—cost blowouts, fraud, a

Tonight I’m remembering the public relations stunt to defend the NDIS Review held in Brisbane on 25 January 2024, hosted by the Department of Social Services and members from the NDIS Review Panel. I recall vividly NDIS Review Co-chair, Professor Bruce Bonyhady, and panel members Professor Kirsten Deane, Kevin Cocks and Dougie Herd, promising that no participant would be worse off as a result of their recommendations. I can still hear our concerns about recommendations, such

Essay Summary: This essay critiques the media framing of NDIS spending on community participation supports, such as assistance to go for walks, attend social activities, or access everyday services. It argues that portraying these supports as frivolous spending misunderstands the purpose of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013, which is to enable people with disability to live independently and participate in community life. The analysis shows that the NDIS does

Abstract: Abuse is often imagined as something visible: Acts of violence or neglect that leave clear evidence. Yet some of the most damaging forms of abuse occur quietly within systems, policies, and everyday interactions. For many citizens with disability, these hidden harms slowly erode dignity, autonomy, and trust. This essay examines how systemic decisions within the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), driven by cost-cutting, rigid bureaucratic thinking, and brok

Abstract: This essay is a response to the Department of Social Services' 2025 consultation on the NDIS Support Rules, challenging the current use of prescriptive support lists to determine what constitutes a funded NDIS support under Section 10 of the NDIS Act. It argues that the list-based approach is overly rigid, lacks transparency, and undermines participant autonomy, particularly for individuals with complex needs. Instead, the paper proposes a principles-based approach

Abstract: The initiative described in this essay, based on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and...