25/05/2026
Today I submitted a response to the proposed NDIS reforms.
Not as a politician.
Not as an economist.
But as a speech-language pathologist who has spent more than 30 years working alongside children, adults and families living with disability.
Much of disability is invisible.
Many families appear to be “coping” only because they have reorganised every aspect of their lives around support needs, safety, regulation, communication and survival.
One mother I work with finishes night shift, takes her child to school for the two hours the school can currently accommodate him, then sleeps in the school car park before needing to take him home again. Once home, rest is not possible because her son requires ongoing supervision and support.
This is what hidden disability can look like.
The success of the NDIS should not be measured solely by short-term budget reduction, but by long-term human, social and economic outcomes.
When supports are reduced, the costs do not disappear.
They are transferred:
onto families,
onto women,
onto siblings,
onto schools,
onto health systems,
and onto exhausted carers quietly trying to hold everything together.
I support sustainability and accountability within the NDIS.
But I also believe reforms must carefully consider the real-world consequences for participants, families, frontline clinicians and the broader community.
I encourage clinicians, carers, participants and families to make submissions and share their experiences.
