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AI experts are warning that automated planning risks pushing the NDIS towards a search for the average. They say that’s a problem, because there’s no average participant.

Asked to name the one non-negotiable safeguard for the next five years, a panellist at the AI in the NDIS Summit went straight past privacy, past cybersecurity, past every risk the sector has been rehearsing, to land here:

A panel of digital sector leaders, including EY’s Christina Larkin, former NDIA Deputy CEO Anthony Vella, Darren Chua from UTS, and Jessica Martin, founder of Bella Sláinte and Google strategy lead, were examining risks around the increasing use of AI in the NDIS.

Ironically, the most useful thing said about artificial intelligence in the disability sector at the summit was not about artificial intelligence at all. It was about the search for the average.

The NDIS was built on the proposition that support must be shaped around the person, not the mass. An engine trained on what has been funded before is optimised for the opposite. It rewards consistency.

The problem with this is that consistency is not fairness. It can be the precise mechanism by which unfairness is made invisible, defensible and enormous.

The new assessments are undergoing testing now and will be introduced from April next year. Using the I-CAN v6 tool budget model to generate plan funding will be a great idea - if it works.

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Bottom line: The Grattan Institute is suggests shifting $128 million in employment assistance away from the NDIS. The institute belives it would fit better in a redesigned mainstream program.

Why this matters: This is a move away from stressing the NDIS as the only program for People with Disability and accepts it cannot remain the only functioning disability-support system. The risk, of course, is how that sequencing would work in practice.

As reported last week, Flinders University found that extra supports found little meaningful narrowing across 29 indicators of disability, although it found that only 11 per cent of young people with disability in its 2023 HILDA sample reported receiving supports through the NDIS.

Data Watch: Grattan puts employment at 34 per cent for people with profound or severe disability, compared with 82 per cent for people without disability, and identifies permitted wages as low as $3.31 an hour.

Carer Strategy report records falling wellbeing

The first National Carer Strategy annual report says only 38.9 per cent of carers reported healthy wellbeing, compared with 66 per cent of Australian adults, while more than 70 per cent did not feel recognised by government and most action-plan projects remained in progress.

Source: Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

Butler discusses counterterrorism on Sunrise

Minister for Disability and the NDIS Mark Butler discussed proposed counterterrorism laws and the possible return of Australian ISIS fighters. The interview did not address the NDIS or disability policy.

Source: Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

Previously missed: NDIS Appeals page maps free advocacy and legal help

The department’s NDIS Appeals Program page has been updated to explain people seeking an external review after an NDIA internal review can receive free advocacy andmay be eligible for legal help.

Source: Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

Grattan calls for NDIS employment funding to move into a mainstream-work pathway

The Grattan Institute says Australia’s $1.3 billion disability-employment system leaves people with high support needs excluded from mainstream work and proposes redirecting $128 million from NDIS employment assistance to a dedicated Inclusive Employment Australia stream, alongside fair-wage and employer-accountability reforms.

Source: Grattan Institute

Young people with disability still face the same inequity gap

A Flinders University study tracking 29 education, employment, health and social indicators over 23 years found the gap between young Australians with and without disability did not meaningfully narrow, while only 11 per cent of young people with disability in its HILDA sample reported receiving NDIS support in 2023.

Source: Flinders University

National survey exposes the cost of chronic pain

Chronic Pain Australia’s 2026 National Pain Report draws on more than 6,000 responses and says 42 per cent of respondents had stopped working, 57 per cent said pain affected their ability to work and 72 per cent identified cost as a barrier to needed care.

Source: Chronic Pain Australia

Rare-disease webinar will explain NDIS and other supports

Myasthenia Alliance Australia has opened final registrations for a 28 July webinar with Rare Voices Australia.

Source: Myasthenia Alliance Australia

Para-athlete employment program enters its next phase

Paralympics Australia is expanding its Beyond Sport Mentoring and Employment Program for Para athletes, including employer partnerships, mentoring, and flexible project work.

Source: Paralympics Australia

Gold Coast to host Australia’s first World Archery Para Championships

The Gold Coast will host the 2027 World Archery Para Championships from 30 August to 6 September, bringing international competition in recurve, compound, W1 and vision-impairment categories to Australia for the first time.

Source: Paralympics Australia

Hani Watson wins Australia’s first Glasgow medal

Hani Watson won bronze in heavyweight Para powerlifting at the Commonwealth Games, becoming the first Australian Para powerlifter to win medals at two Commonwealth Games.

Source: Paralympics Australia

MS podcast recognises nursing, research and lived-experience leadership

MS Australia’s latest podcast is out, examining equitable access to MS nurses and other issues as nominations open for the 2026 MS Australia Awards.

Source: MS Australia

Hireup CEO Peter Willis on leading the NDIS giant through policy chaos

Peter Willis says his cousin Neale Radley’s four years in residential aged care after a spinal injury shaped his path from disability support work and the NDIA to leading Hireup. He says participant control, dignity and transparent leadership are central as the provider navigates policy volatility and projected reductions in NDIS access.

Summary based on visible public preview only.

Source: The Australian | Paywall: Yes

Labor conscience vote on voluntary assisted dying via telehealth

Labor’s national conference passed a non-binding platform amendment removing federal barriers to voluntary assisted dying consultations by telehealth and enshrined a conscience vote. Supporters said the current rules disadvantage seriously ill people in regional and remote areas, while opponents argued face-to-face care and strong safeguards must remain. But nothing will probably happen. Why? See the next article:

Source: news.com.au — national politics | Paywall: No

Anthony Albanese personally opposed to Labor's push on telehealth voluntary assisted dying

ABC News reports Anthony Albanese supports voluntary assisted dying but opposes telehealth consultations because he believes face-to-face engagement is needed to protect safeguards. So Labor’s new platform supports removing federal barriers, but any legislation would first require cabinet and caucus decisions.

Source: ABC News | Paywall: No

Ex-Wiggle Murray Cook on pride watching daughter's wheelchair basketball journey

Former Wiggle Murray Cook says he is proud to watch his daughter, Paralympian Georgia Munro-Cook, represent Australia in 3x3 wheelchair basketball at the Commonwealth Games. He described the difficult period after she acquired her disability and the confidence and progress that followed when she found wheelchair basketball.

Summary based on visible public preview only.

Source: The Daily Telegraph — Commonwealth Games | Paywall: Yes

Leading brain expert brands soft drink a ‘bullet to your brain’ in stark dementia warning

Dementia specialist Dr Helena Popovic told Sunrise that diet, stress, social isolation and alcohol are among the modifiable risks for cognitive decline. She urged whole foods, strength training, continued learning and social connection to support brain health.

Source: 7NEWS — Sunrise | Paywall: No