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Later today, government will announce funding for an innovative social connections network for Autistic people. The new program demonstrates a commitment to supporting individuals outside their plans and finding new ways to extend the reach of community resources.

abilityNEWS can exclusively reveal later this morning NDIS Minister Jenny McAlistair will announce a new, $19 million program to create a social connections network for Autistic people.

The national program, the Improving Social Connections Framework, will roll out over the next four years.

It will enable Autism Spectrum Australia to develop a national hub supporting a network of peer mentors across the country. This will in turn support other Autistic people as they develop their own connections within the broader community.

Part of the National Autism Strategy, this network will harness the power of lived experience to offer specialised understanding, advice and support to others. The idea is to create a spreading, self-sustaining network that will shift power to Austic people, allowing them to develop their own links within the broader community.

Perhaps even more importantly, the scheme represents a first step towards the government’s commitment to develop and extend alternative supports as NDIS funding is reduced.

It’s understood McAllister believes this program provides a solid foundation for the further spread of local peer support programs and activities across the country.

A self-service hub will provide tools, resources, training and videos supporting Autistic people who will become the facilitators of the program.

Autism Spectrum Australia (ASPECT) will partner with Reframing Autism (an Autistic-led organisation) and other Autistic-led organisations to develop the Improving Social Connections Framework.

Most importantly, this is what reform is supposed to look like. Money.

McAllister’s commitment to spend more than $19 million over four years designing a framework, building a self-service hub, and funding the roll-out of local community partners and support peer-led programs across the country is significant.

Crucially, it demonstrates providing individual supports through the NDIS isn’t the only way to assist Autistic people. The framework will create safe and inclusive spaces where Autistic people can connect and participate in community life.

McAllister appears particularly enthusiastic about the way Autistic-led organisations have shown how government and community can work together.

She’s effectively thrown down a challenge to the disability community: come up with new ways of tackling problems and we’ll try and find ways to fund them.

[continued on the abilityNEWS website]

The second day of hearings shifted the NDIS Bill from a cuts argument into a harm argument. The ABC, SBS, The Australian and The Nightly all reporting warnings about women’s safety, autonomy, treatment coercion, isolation and deaths.

Government did not blink. Health Minister Mark Butler insisted the Bill should pass quickly, while PM Anthony Albanese emphasised sustainability. Fraud also re-entered the frame, with the AFP charging an NDIA employee over an alleged $5 million plot.

This is what will make NDIS Minister Jenny McAllistair’s announcement later so important. She’s demonstrating there is a way forward with the government providing new supports outside the scheme.

Why this matters: The government now has two stories running at once. Advocates are making the human-risk case; ministers are making the survival-and-integrity case. The Coalition can use either to justify amendments, delay or conditional support.

Data Watch: The ABC reports NSW has almost 1,300 people stuck in hospital beds waiting for aged care or NDIS placements.

Butler says government remains committed to quick passage of NDIS changes

Health, Disability and NDIS Minister Mark Butler told a Brisbane press conference the government remains committed to passing the NDIS Bill quickly, saying it is needed to get scheme growth “back under control”.

Mark Butler | Minister for Health and Ageing; Minister for Disability and the NDIS

Butler says children will not be left between the NDIS and Thriving Kids

Mark Butler said he was confident systems would be in place from 1 January 2028 for children with low to moderate support needs, after being asked whether children could be cut off from the NDIS before Thriving Kids supports are available.

Mark Butler | Minister for Health and Ageing; Minister for Disability and the NDIS

NDIS Bill inquiry’s Melbourne Hearings Transcript available

The Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee will hold a final public hearing in Canberra today and published a transcript of its Melbourne hearing on the 9th June.

Australian Parliament House

NDIS eligibility changes would deepen the scheme’s gender gap

The Conversation argues the NDIS Bill would disproportionately affect women and girls because they are already less likely to access the scheme, more likely to have complex or poorly understood chronic conditions, and more likely to carry unpaid care when funded supports are reduced.

The Conversation

Changes will harm students with disability

The Curtin University Students Guild says many students with disability require supports which make the difference between being able to attend university and being forced out of higher education.

Curtin Support Guild

Proposed NDIS cuts advocates worry could put women at risk

ABC News reports the second day of NDIS hearings heard warnings that proposed changes could create unsafe environments, increase domestic violence risks and disproportionately affect women. The article also reports Anthony Albanese’s defence that the changes are “sensible” and necessary if the scheme is to have a future.

ABC News | Paywall: No

Disabled people will die 'as a direct result of NDIS bill', advocate says in 'dire' warning

SBS reports Hannah Diviney told the Senate inquiry disabled people would die as a direct result of the Bill if it passes, while the government defended the reforms as necessary to slow growth and secure the scheme’s future.

SBS News | Paywall: No

Overhaul NDIS and people will die, Labor told

The Australian reports advocates told the inquiry Labor’s proposed NDIS reforms could lead to deaths, with Hannah Diviney and Disability Discrimination Commissioner Rosemary Kayess raising concerns about life-and-death consequences, treatment requirements and autonomy. Included from public preview and visible search metadata only.

The Australian | Paywall: Yes

Albanese insists NDIS cuts ‘sensible’ if scheme is ‘going to have a future’ amid concerns raised at inquiry

The Nightly reports Anthony Albanese defended the proposed NDIS cuts as “sensible” while the Senate inquiry heard warnings that the Bill could shift responsibilities onto exhausted families and compromise autonomy and independence.

The Nightly | Paywall: No

NDIS reforms should be delayed until 2028 to protect vulnerable Australians, advocates warn

The Nightly also reports autism advocates are calling for the NDIS changes to be delayed until at least mid-2028, warning systems that are needed to support people moved out of the scheme will not be ready in time.

The Nightly | Paywall: No

‘People like Sam will pay the price’: Floreat family sounds alarm on proposed NDIS cuts

The West Australian reports a Floreat family has raised concerns about proposed NDIS cuts and uses the case of Sam to illustrate this.

The West Australian | Paywall: Yes

Adelaide woman charged with alleged plot to defraud NDIS of $5 million

ABC News reports an NDIA employee has been charged over an alleged plot to defraud the NDIS and a disability services provider of more than $5 million. Police say more charges may be laid.

ABC News | Paywall: No

Adelaide woman charged over alleged $5m NDIS fraud plot

7NEWS reports a 48-year-old Adelaide woman was arrested and charged over an alleged plan to defraud more than $5 million from the NDIS. The article says she was bailed to appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on 20 August.

7NEWS | Paywall: No