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Disability Representative Organisations say the NDIA must explicitly accept that participants have a right to access advice for information about the scheme and to obtain advice for their circumstances.

Reacting to claims participants are just being coached to ‘game’ the scheme, People with Disability Australia President Megan Spindler-Smith has told abilityNEWS "there cannot be penalties for organisations like us helping participants to navigate the system."

"We are about making sure people have all the information they need to navigate a system fairly."

Spindler-Smith’s calls for clarification follow revelations an NDIS participant had their plan cancelled after accusations aired last year by Ben Fordham on 2GB Radio.

She disputed suggestions medical professionals are being coached in the language to be used when NDIS assessments are being conducted.

"If you go to see a specialist, they have a set of exact terminology," Spindler-Smith pointed out. "We make sure [people understand] the medical expert requirements or there are clear guidelines so things can be understood."

She also defends participants’ right to question the operation of the scheme.

“Advice, opinions about, or criticisms of the NDIS or NDIA are entirely separate from an individual's eligibility for the Scheme and vital need for supports, both in the law and the intent of the Scheme", Spindler-Smith says.

Her statements follow last week’s revelations that Falkingham instructed NDIA deputies to “revoke access as quickly as possible” to a participant after criticism of the scheme was aired on conservative talkback radio. This led to a fast-track eligibility reassessment with payments put on hold just minutes after the email was sent.

Falkingham is currently on sick leave.

The email trail leading to the esposure of potential wrongdoing was discovered by the Saturday Paper’s Rick Moreton. The timing of the cancellation suggests Ray Hadley’s radio segments almost certainly acted as the catalyst for NDIA executive action.

If correct, the article implies Hadley’s voice was influential and critical in shaping the agency’s rushed response. There was no suggestion the announcer acted inappropriately, but the affair outraged disability organisations and advocates, who have described the NDIS’s actions as a “deeply unethical use of power”.

/Politicians claim to reflect the will of the people. The numbers from Tasmania’s weekend election say otherwise.

This is the state with, proportionally, the most people registered with the NDIS. But instead of addressing real needs, both major parties backed flashy vanity projects—like a billion-dollar football stadium. Labor, which championed the plan, went backwards.

The PM originally put the sports money on the table. Is he listening? When governments prioritise spectacle over substance, voters respond. Tasmania just sent the country a message: ignore disability and real issues, and you’ll reap division.

Politicians claim to reflect the will of the people. The numbers from Tasmania’s weekend election say otherwise.

This is the state with, proportionally, the most people registered with the NDIS. But instead of addressing real needs, both major parties backed flashy vanity projects—like a billion-dollar football stadium. Labor, which championed the plan, went backwards.

The PM originally put the sports money on the table. Is he listening? When governments prioritise spectacle over substance, voters respond. Tasmania just sent the country a message: ignore disability and real issues, and you’ll reap division.