Stricter Permanence Criteria for NDIS Access
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
House of Representatives
Senate
Assent
Topics
compliance data privacy disability services disability support investigation powers NDIS access
Introduced by: The Hon Mark Butler MP (ALP)
Links to official parliament websites
Effects of this bill
If this bill passes, it means that:
The Debate
What different members said when this bill was debated:
Mark Butler ALP
“I move: That this bill be now read a second time. The National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 seeks to return the NDIS to its original intent—providing lifetime supports for Australians with permanent and significant disability.”
Melissa McIntosh LIB
“I rise to speak on the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 and I move: That all words after ”That” be omitted with a view to substituting the following words: ”whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House notes that: in 2023, the Government announced a target growth rate for the National Disability Insurance Schem…”
Carol Berry ALP
“I need to start by outlining my sense of disbelief in relation to the sudden concern on the part of the coalition for the future of the NDIS. I have worked alongside people with disability for about 17 years, and I have to say that, for that entire time, I have not felt a deep sense of concern about the NDIS from the opposition—so I found all those words somewhat disingenuous, I have to say.”
Henry Pike LNP
“I thank the previous speaker, who did a very good job of articulating what the original purpose of the NDIS was and the importance of how we need to undertake the necessary reforms to ensure we get back to that purpose. As we all know in this place, and as we’ve all been seeing for many years, the sustainability of the scheme is of deep concern.”
Steve Georganas ALP
“The National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 goes to the very heart of restoring the National Disability Insurance Scheme to what it was always intended to be—a system that supports Australians living with permanent and significant disability—while ensuring that it remains strong, fair and, very importantly, sustainable into the future and…”
Helen Haines IND
“I rise to speak on the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026. The NDIS is a vital program that people in Indi and across the nation value deeply. Before entering this place, I spent most of my career as a nurse, midwife and rural health researcher in a pre-NDIS healthcare system.”
Jo Briskey ALP
“In 2023, the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability delivered its final report after four years of hearings. More than 8,000 people gave evidence to the commission.”
Nicolette Boele IND
“I rise to speak on this bill to reform the National Disability Insurance Scheme. The NDIS is not just another government program. It is critical social infrastructure. It keeps vulnerable Australians safe, enables community participation and strengthens our social fabric.”
Shayne Neumann ALP
“Pensions, paid parental leave, superannuation, Medicare, the National Broadband Network, the National Disability Insurance Scheme—it is Labor that makes the major economic and social reforms in this country.”
Dai Le IND
“A local NDIS provider shared: I got spat on by a dad the other day. You can imagine that took me by surprise. The provider then shared that the distressed father yelled: If my child is pushed onto Thriving Kids, is the government saying that my child no longer has autism? … it doesn’t magically go away … What does this even mean for us? That is the level of fear and confusion we are dealing with.”
Libby Coker ALP
“The National Disability Insurance Scheme transforms lives. It has given hundreds of thousands of Australians with disability greater independence, greater dignity and greater opportunity. It has supported families, strengthened communities and changed our nation for the better.”
Kate Chaney IND
“I rise to speak on the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026. The NDIS is one of Australia’s most important social reforms. At its best it changes lives. It enables people with disability to live with dignity and independence and to be genuinely included in their communities. It allows carers to participate in work and public life.”
Jodie Belyea ALP
“Before I speak to the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026, I first want to acknowledge the incredible organisations in the community of Dunkley for the work they do supporting people with disabilities.”
Mary Aldred LIB
“It’s always a pleasure to follow my colleague the member for Dunkley. In approaching my broader remarks on the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026, I want to say some things upfront about carers and, particularly, unpaid carers.”
“After 13 years, Australia’s universal health and support system would be inconceivable now without the National Disability Insurance Scheme. The scheme has become an important part of Australian life. It’s part of our national identity, it’s part of our national story and it’s one of the greatest social achievements. It is part of what makes Australia the envy of the world.”
Ms BELL
“I rise today to speak to the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026. I wish to acknowledge and thank the extraordinary individuals across our country, across our great land, who dedicate their lives to supporting people living with disability, including those across my community on the Gold Coast.”
“When the Gillard Labor government established the NDIS in 2013, then prime minister Julia Gillard told the House: Disability can affect any of us and therefore it affects all of us. She told the House: The risk of disability is universal, so our response must be universal.”
“The National Disability Insurance Scheme is one of the most important social policies in this nation. Equally, I think it’s fair to say, it’s also been the public policy problem child for successive governments since its introduction by the Gillard government. The NDIS was created with the best of intentions.”
Tony Zappia ALP
“I take this opportunity to speak on the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026. The National Disability Insurance Scheme is indeed a very important scheme, but, unfortunately, it is not operating as it was originally intended to.”
Jamie Chaffey NAT
“I rise to speak to the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026. There are 5,505 people in my electorate of Parkes who are participating in the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Let me introduce you to one of them. His name is Joe Barnes.”
Rowan Holzberger ALP
“I rise in support of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026. In doing so, I commend the work of the Minister for Disability and the NDIS, Mr Butler; and the Minister for the NDIS, Senator McAllister.”
Sam Birrell NAT
“In continuation, I want to turn now to the changes to eligibility and access in relation to the NDIS. The National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 proposes a new framework based on ’substantially reduced functional capacity’, with new thresholds to be introduced in rules.”
Alison Penfold NAT
“I rise to speak on the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026, and I do so acknowledging something that every member in this place should understand very clearly: behind every clause in this bill is a person—a child with profound autism whose parents are exhausted and frightened about the future, a young person with an acquired brain inj…”
Andrew Wilkie IND
“Yesterday I was delighted to meet Clare Waiss, the Tasmanian representative at the parliamentary carers event. What she had to say there was powerful and worth repeating here, at least in part: Seven years ago, when our son Felix was born, we thought we understood what parenting would look like.”
Aaron Violi LIB
“Firstly, I want to commend the member for Clark for bringing Clare’s voice to Canberra. I echo his sentiment, and I let Clare know that we are listening and we have heard that, so thank you. We have an important role to speak, as members of parliament, but the most powerful role we can play, particularly in this conversation, is in bringing the voices of participants and those involved.”
Sophie Scamps IND
“I rise to speak on the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026. The intent of this bill is to ensure a sustainable NDIS for future generations by slowing growth of scheme costs, reducing fraud, strengthening provider regulation and improving governance.”
Andrew Willcox LNP
“I rise today to speak on a matter that cuts straight to the core of our national conscience, the National Disability Insurance Scheme. A civilised society is judged by how it cares for its most vulnerable citizens, which is why we must get the NDIS right. In the coalition, our foundational wish is for every single Australian to live an absolute best life.”
Nita Green ALP
“I table a revised explanatory memorandum relating to the bill and move: That this bill be now read a second time. I seek leave to have the second reading speech incorporated in Hansard. Leave granted.”
Anne Ruston LIB
“I rise to speak on the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 and move: At the end of the motion, add ”, but the Senate notes that: (a) in 2023, the Government announced a target growth rate for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) of 8 percent and was unable to achieve it; (b) in January 2026, the Prime Minister announced a n…”
“The NDIS is a vital piece of social infrastructure in Australia. It was first introduced by the Gillard government with bipartisan support, and it has transformed the lives of thousands and thousands of people with disability, and, indeed, provided relief and confidence to their carers.”
“The eyes of 5.5 million disabled people fall at this moment on this parliament. The hundreds of thousands of Australian community members who are our allies are in solidarity with this community. History is watching this debate. Every word spoken by every senator will be recorded and remembered. The Australian disability community and our families have spoken with a clear and united voice.”
Kerrynne Liddle LIB
“The coalition affirms strong bipartisan support for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, as Australians with significant and permanent disability deserve to live with dignity and independence and have greater choice in their own lives. This is an idea worth defending, and it is worth protecting for those who depend on it. In saying that, it is also worth protecting the scheme itself.”
Ellie Whiteaker ALP
“The NDIS is one of the greatest acts of collective decency our parliament has ever delivered.”
Larissa Waters GRN
“The NDIS has transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of disabled Australians by providing access to the essential supports, services and equipment that enable people to participate more fully in their communities, education, employment and family life. That was its purpose and it was created by the Gillard government with the support of the Greens in the Senate.”
Dorinda Cox ALP
“’Disability can affect any of us, and, therefore, it affects all of us.’ Those were the words of prime minister Julia Gillard that captured the fundamental idea behind the NDIS. It’s that disability support is not a matter of charity. It is a responsibility of a nation.”