The abilityNEWS Daily
The Big Story
Timely Payments, Timid Targets? Inside the NDIA’s 2025–26 Plan
The NDIA’s new Corporate Plan is out, promising reform. It also locks in flat outcome targets and (perhaps understandably) waffles about future plans. But costs continue rising inexorably, from $49.8b this year to $62.2b by 2028–29. This mix of ambition and hedging leaves big questions about accountability and delivery for the 717,000+ participants.
The headlines sound bold; the targets don’t.
The NDIA’s Corporate Plan 2025–26 establishes a four-year reform path but pegs core participant outcomes at the same levels for the entire horizon: employment 22%, community engagement 43%, and overall satisfaction 76%. Flat lines, four years running. Ambition meets cruise control.
Meanwhile, the money climbs. Participant support rises from $49.8b in 2025–26 to $62.2b by 2028–29, funded by growing Commonwealth contributions. Although General Support shrinks to $1.7b by 2028–29, this depends on the states kicking in money. These settings also depend on ‘financial sustainability’: spending more on plans, less on admin.
They raise the bar for getting outcomes from every dollar, and here’s the rub.
Two of the most important numbers - average payment per participant and annualised scheme growth rate - no longer have fixed targets. They are defined relative to the latest AFSR (actuarial) projection. That’s tidy for risk, lose for accountability.
And the new integrity metric begins with a baseline ‘to be established’.
Service timeliness? Objectives are not too tight. The market-building push measures success by release of pricing arrangements and limits. That’s an output, not an outcome.
The direction is clear; the test will be whether flat targets and shifting growth benchmarks can deliver the change participants actually feel.
Editor’s Note
In 2013 President Obama introduced a rule urging companies doing business with the US government to ensure “people with disabilities account for at least 7 percent of workers within each job group”.
That goal was never met, but it did result in noticeable changes. A Cornell University study found the measure led to the expansion of disability-focused hiring and recruitment programs, partly through new partnerships with community organizations.
Now the Trump administration is rolling it back.
This is sad for People with Disability and, simply for productivity reasons, sad for the US.
What’s sadder still is that there has never been similar regulation in Australia.
The Briefing
Sentencing follows Taskforce action to protect NDIS participants
by NDIA
A person has been sentenced following investigations by a taskforce targeting fraud and misconduct within NDIS service providers. The outcome marks ongoing efforts to safeguard vulnerable participants and uphold integrity in the national disability scheme.
Tech Talk – Phone stands and phone lanyard
by Deafblind Australia
Andrew Howard showcases simple phone stands and a lanyard that assist deafblind users with everyday communication challenges. These low-tech tools help users position phones safely for calls, photos and maintain physical contact while on the move.
Outdated ‘old age’ views of arthritis risk a painful and costly future, new data warns
by Arthritis Australia
A new poll shows most Australians wrongly believe arthritis mostly affects older people, ignoring its impact on younger individuals. With cases set to rise 30% by 2040, experts warn outdated beliefs risk worsening health and economic strain.
BreastScreen Victoria Sensory Friendly Clinic – Expression of Interest
by Disability Advocacy Resource Unit
BreastScreen Victoria will hold its first sensory friendly clinic on 15 October at its Heidelberg site. The initiative supports people with sensory needs through longer appointments, reduced noise, and modified lighting.
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The Wrap
Jenny McAllister (courtesy The Australian)
Labor cracks down on dodgy NDIS fraudsters
by The Australian
The government is shifting NDIS providers onto a new verification system that will bolster ID checks and seek out dodgy operators. As part of its crackdown on fraud, Labor on Monday announced it was moving all NDIS providers onto myID, formerly known as myGov, to enforce more stringent identity checks.
Push to overturn NDIS ‘blanket ban’ on seeing-eye dogs for wheelchair users
by Geelong Advertiser
A 25-year-old vision-impaired wheelchair user has launched a petition against the NDIS's blanket ban on funding guide dogs for electric wheelchair users. The 25-year-old Geelong West woman with low vision is fighting to overturn rules that force electric wheelchair users to abandon their seeing-eye dogs or pay thousands of dollars out of their own pocket to keep them.
Family of Aboriginal man sues Alice Springs disability provider over death in care
by ABC
The family of an Aboriginal man who died of respiratory failure after being restrained in a "bear hug" by a carer in Alice Springs is suing his disability provider. The man died while under the care of disability provider Life Without Barriers. His family is now suing the provider in the Northern Territory Supreme Court, claiming it failed in its duty of care.
The Diary
