22/08/2025
⚠️ BREAKING
MEDIA RELEASE
22 August 2025
ANPA Lodges Notice of Concern: Minister Given 30 Days to Act
The Australian Neurodivergent Parents Association (ANPA) has lodged a formal Notice of Concern with Minister Mark Butler. The notice gives the Minister 30 days to address urgent harms caused by his government’s policies, including breaches of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
The Notice cites:
the growing number of people being moved off the NDIS into no support at all, and
mounting evidence of harm from NDIS cuts and policy changes, documented through ANPA’s Harm Tracker.
If the Minister fails to act, ANPA will escalate to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, seeking their advocacy to refer Australia’s breaches to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
“We have had enough,” said Sarah Langston, President of ANPA.
“Australia signed and ratified the UNCRPD. That means our government is bound by international law. Breaching Disabled people’s rights is not just bad policy — it’s unlawful.”
ANPA notes that Minister Butler’s National Press Club announcements came as a complete surprise to Australia’s Disabled People’s Representative Organisations (DPROs), who were not consulted in advance.
This is a direct contravention of Article 4(3) of the UNCRPD, which requires governments to work in partnership with DPROs.
“These so-called reforms risk displacing evidence-based supports, wasting public money, harming children during critical developmental windows, and deepening inequality. We cannot and will not accept this,” Langston said.
ANPA is clear: unless the Minister reverses course and commits to genuine consultation with Disabled people, international accountability will follow.
The complete Notice of Concern follows.
ENDS
Contact: Sarah Langston — exec@thisisanpa.org
Notice of Concern – Breach of the UNCRPD
Attn To:
Hon. Mark Butler MP
Minister for Health and Aged Care
Minister for Disability and Ageing
From:
Australian Neurodivergent Parents Association (ANPA)
A recognised Disabled People’s Representative Organisation (DPRO)
Date: August 21, 2025.
Subject: Notice of Concern – Breach of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Dear Minister Butler,
As a DPRO representing Neurodivergent parents and families, we issue this formal Notice of Concern regarding recent government conduct that we believe places Australia in breach of its obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and its Optional Protocol (OP-CRPD).
1. Specific Concerns
1. Failure to Consult (Art. 4(3))
Significant reforms affecting Autistic children have been announced without consultation with ANPA or other DPROs, contrary to the requirement for close consultation and active involvement.
2. Discriminatory Segregation (Arts. 5 & 19)
Autistic people have been singled out for differential treatment pathways solely due to population size. This constitutes disability-based discrimination and segregation, prohibited under the UNCRPD.
3. Use of Non-Clinical and Rejected Terminology
The repeated use of terms such as “mild/moderate autism” has no clinical basis, is rejected by Autistic people and their representative organisations, and reflects discredited frameworks linked to harmful ideologies.
4. Unsafe Program Implementation (Arts. 7, 24, 25 & 26)
The proposed national rollout of the Inklings program lacks independent safety data, long-term adverse event monitoring, or transparency in protocols.
Publicly available materials indicate the program may promote masking of Autistic traits — a practice associated with long-term harms including anxiety, depression, and suicidality.
Despite repeated requests, DPROs have been denied access to full therapy manuals and protocols for independent review.
5. Documented Widespread Harm
Evidence gathered through the Harm Tracker, an independent grassroots monitoring project led by Disabled people and allied health workers, shows systemic harm already occurring as a result of recent NDIS pricing and policy changes:
Scale of impact: over 6,300 individuals (participants, carers, and providers) have reported harm across every state and territory.
Mental health decline: more than 80% reported anxiety and/or depression following NDIS cuts or changes.
Service access collapse: nearly 70% lost access to essential supports, with providers withdrawing due to pricing freezes and travel cuts.
Regional inequity: rural and regional participants disproportionately affected by travel funding cuts, leaving many with no viable service options.
Market distortion: small and medium providers are withdrawing from the market, forcing participants to rely on larger providers — often with less personalised, less safe, and less responsive practices.
This evidence demonstrates that reforms are causing widespread, measurable, and escalating harm.
2. Required Action
We formally advise that the Government must:
Cease the use of non-clinical and offensive terminology such as “mild/moderate autism.”
Immediately halt plans to implement the Inklings program pending independent safety review and full consultation with DPROs.
Reverse harmful pricing freezes and travel cuts that have destabilised service provision and directly harmed participants.
Reinstate essential supports lost to NDIS participants as a result of recent pricing and policy changes.
Establish an independent, transparent harm-monitoring mechanism (such as integration of the Harm Tracker into NDIA quarterly reporting).
Commit to genuine co-design with Disabled people and their representative organisations before implementing any further reforms.
3. Notice of Escalation
If corrective steps are not taken within 30 days, The ANPA reserves the right to:
Submit a communication under Article 1 of the Optional Protocol to the UNCRPD;
Provide evidence to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;
and
Raise this matter with the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and request advocacy to escalate the matter to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to seek intervention on behalf of the Disabled community of Australia.
This Notice serves to place the Government on record that Australia has been formally advised of these breaches by a recognised DPRO.
Yours sincerely,
Sarah Langston (she/her)
President
Australian Neurodivergent Parents Association
“Nothing About Us Without Us”
exec@thisisanpa.org • https://www.thisisanpa.org
