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Today we’re starting a special Friday feature: ‘The Week that Was’. Instead of wrapping up the past 24-hours, it describes what’s been happening in the disability space over the past week. We hope you enjoy it.

The NDIS argument began the week with a familiar contest over cost and integrity. It ended somewhere more revealing: with the machinery that will decide who gets into the Scheme, how evidence is interpreted and whether a wrong decision can be challenged.

Monday’s evidence showed why the distinction matters. Official material strengthened the case for better claims controls, but it did not prove every part of the Government’s wider reform program. Administrative Review Tribunal outcomes also pointed to the frequency with which decisions change once they are tested. Integrity work and access reform may be connected, but they are not interchangeable.

By Tuesday and Wednesday, the scrutiny had moved closer to implementation. The debate covered impairment definitions, evidence requirements, debt automation and review rights. National Legal Aid’s warning was particularly practical: if an automated process raises a debt, a participant needs a clear way to inspect and challenge it. A record-keeping duty imposed on the participant is not a substitute for accountability by the decision-maker.

The week’s most important new detail came from the Government’s Technical Advisory Group on functional capacity. After its second meeting, the group said no single assessment tool was suitable for every NDIS access decision. A suite of approaches is likely to be needed, obvious cases should be streamlined and the proposed framework still requires clear definitions. Public consultation is planned for August and September.

That advice does not settle the argument. It does, however, make a simple promise of objective, standardised assessment harder to sustain. Consistency may be desirable; disability is not uniform. The design question is how to achieve both consistency and a sufficiently individual account of functional impact without repeating the failures of blunt, centralised assessment.

The Senate committee’s latest scheduled hearing was held in Perth yesterday. The responses arriving around that hearing widened the practical test. Carers Australia warned reduced formal support can shift work and cost to families.

There was a positive contrast outside the Bill. The Government is developing legislation to mandate audio description and increase captioning on TV. It released draft aviation disability standards. These measures are unfinished, but everything begins with a barrier, an improvement, and a process.

Bottom line: the case for reform will not be won by the word “sustainability”. It will turn on the rules, tools, review rights and alternative services that sit beneath it. Also, NDS had its conference this week - we’ll bring you reports on outcomes soon.

Data Watch: Carers Australia says more than three million unpaid carers are providing care valued at over $80 billion a year.

The Government’s functional-capacity Technical Advisory Group says no single tool is suitable for every NDIS access decision and a suite of approaches is likely to be required. It also wants streamlined access for clear cases and further work on definitions and a draft framework. Public consultation is planned for August and September.

Source: Department of Health, Disability and Ageing — Technical Advisory Group communique

The Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee held its Perth hearing completing a second round of public evidence. The committee’s final report is due on 14 August 2026.

Source: Parliament of Australia — NDIS Bill inquiry

The Federal Government is developing legislation to mandate audio description and increase captioning on free-to-air television, subscription television and broadcast video-on-demand. The accessibility measures form part of a wider broadcasting package.

Source: Minister for Communications — Making Australian radio and TV more sustainable and accessible

The Government has released co-designed options for new aviation disability standards covering booking, airports and aircraft. Feedback closes on 2 October. It has published an Air Passenger Travel Guide in Easy Read, Auslan, and video to explain rights.

Source: Department of Infrastructure — Consultation opens on new aviation disability standards

The Hearing Services Program’s Voucher Scheme recorded 850,739 distinct clients in 2025–26, for people requiring 452,995 subsidised hearing devices.

Source: Department of Health, Disability and Ageing — Hearing Services Program statistics

Carers Australia says the impact of proposed NDIS changes on unpaid carers has not been properly assessed. It argues that reducing formal supports just transfers cost, to families. It says unpaid carers provide care worth $80 billion annually.

Source: Carers Australia — Medianet distribution copy | Syndicated media release — not independent reporting | Paywall: No

Physical Disability Australia says the Government should examine an alternative reform approach from economist Cain Beckett, who worked on the original NDIS, before reducing participant supports. It points to other areas where substantial savings may be achieved.

Source: Physical Disability Australia — Medianet distribution copy | Syndicated media release — not independent reporting | Paywall: No

The Protect Our NDIS Alliance says almost 800 people attended rallies in six locations on 1 August and nearly 90 organisations have endorsed its demand that the Bill be withdrawn.

Source: Protect Our NDIS Alliance — Medianet distribution copy | Syndicated media release — not independent reporting | Paywall: No

Every Australian Counts welcomes the Australian Human Rights Commission’s call to halt the NDIS Bill. It says Parliament should not pass the legislation until concerns about rights, accountability and consultation are addressed.

Source: Every Australian Counts

Blind Citizens Australia has welcomed the Government’s plan to mandate audio description and increase captioning across television platforms, saying the change is an important step towards equal access to culture and information. It noted a United Nations committee found Australia is failing to meet accessibility obligations.

Source: Blind Citizens Australia

Shelter WA says a Painted Dog Research poll of more than 760 Western Australians found 78 per cent support for mandatory accessible-housing standards and 9 per cent opposition. Support rose after respondents were told how accessible design can help people remain at home as they age. WA and NSW have not adopted the national Liveable Housing Design Standard.

Source: Shelter WA

News.com.au reports the Human Rights Commission’s concerns about consultation, ministerial power and automated decision-making, together with evidence from the Perth Senate hearing. The report says disability advocates fear tighter access will shift pressure to state services that are not yet ready to receive people leaving or diverted from the NDIS.

Source: News.com.au | Paywall: No

The Guardian’s live report includes evidence from the Perth NDIS Bill hearing. People with Disabilities WA’s Sam Connor alleged that private-equity-owned providers receive about $20 billion in NDIS funding and achieve unusually high margins.

Source: The Guardian | Paywall: No

B&T reports the broadcasting package from an industry perspective, including radio prominence and regional-regulation changes. Its account covers proposed mandates for audio description and increased captioning on television services, alongside commercial radio support for measures intended to protect local services.

Source: B&T | Paywall: No

Overland’s Haley Zilberberg reviews the anthology Crip Stories and a Melbourne Writers Festival panel featuring its contributors. The essay considers disability identity, discrimination, “crip time” and pride, arguing that the collection’s varied accounts resist the demand for a single, easily consumed disability narrative.

Source: Overland | Paywall: No

ABC News reports Brodie Holt reached a confidential settlement with Victoria Police after a 2022 arrest left him with permanent brain damage. Holt now relies heavily on his parents and cannot work. Police said allegations against an officer were unsubstantiated and that the civil claim was resolved on legal advice.

Source: ABC News | Paywall: No

The South Coast News reports Yumaro has lodged plans for a $5.8 million specialist disability accommodation development in Moruya. The proposal has seven bedrooms across self-contained villas and shared accommodation, with accessible paths, overnight-assistance rooms and 24-hour staffing. Summary based on the visible public preview.

Source: The South Coast News / Daily Telegraph | Paywall: Yes