Talking about changes to the NDIS

You can read the full transcript of the event here.

You can watch the full recording here.

Summary

• This Open Dialogue was about Talking about changes to the NDIS.
• The event was hosted by Todd Winther and Sara Gingold. Todd is a NDIS Subject Matter Specialist, Home and Living Consultant, and disability policy writer with over 15 years of experience. Sara is the Editor-in-Chief of DSC’s Resource Hub. She is known for her passionate voice, deep research skills, and authoritative NDIS commentary. 
• In the weeks leading up to the event, there was a survey sent out to people who had registered for the event. One of the questions in the survey was “How are you feeling about the changes to the NDIS?” Todd and Sara began the event by sharing some of the answers people gave. Some of the answers were that people were feeling confused, scared, frustrated and disappointed. 
• Next Todd explained some of the big changes to the NDIS that have been announced. He started with the changes to NDIS planning.
• Then Todd invited experts Maeve Kennedy and Emma Bennison to discuss these changes. Maeve is the CEO of Inclusion Australia and has over a decade of experience in disability advocacy and social policy. Emma is the CEO of Disability Advocacy Network Australia (DANA), the national voice for independent disability advocacy.
• Emma and Maeve talked about how the changes might affect people with intellectual disability. They also talked about how these changes have been announced in a way that has been very upsetting for people with disability.  Also, they said that the way the government is trying to rush the changes through parliament is not fair for people with disability. They said that it is very important to consult properly with people with disability, but this has not happened.
• Next, Sara explained the NDIS changes to “access and eligibility.” Sara spoke about how NDIS eligibility requirements will tighten if the changes pass through Parliament. This will lead to stricter definitions of “permanent disability” and “functional capacity.”
• The first speaker was Luke Nelson. Luke is a disability self-advocate with 18 years of experience. He has worked with VALID and Inclusion Australia (IA). Luke discussed how these changes would impact people with an Intellectual disability. Luke gave information on how people can take action to stop these changes. 
• Riley Buchanon, a Senior Policy Officer with Inclusion Australia joined Luke in discussing her concerns with the NDIS changes.
• Following a 10-minute break, our next speaker was Sheetal Balakrishnan. Sheetal is a disability rights lawyer at the Justice and Equity Centre with over 13 years of social justice experience. 
• Sheetal discussed three main points including changes to permanence and access, removing the whole of person approach and Ministerial powers. The audience was invited to ask Sheetal questions.
• Our final speaker was Kelly Treloar. Kelly is the Director of The Disability Dialogue. Kelly discussed how these changes will impact Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Kelly highlighted that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people already have difficulty accessing the scheme and these changes will make that much worse.
• Then there was an audience Q&A with all the speakers. Melissa Hale, Policy and Advocacy Manager at DANA joined the panel to answer audience questions.
• The event closed with an invitation to register for the July 2026 Open Dialogue event which will be about “what did we find out in the Feature Dialogue?”.