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In a newly posted link, the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee has scheduled three further public hearings into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026:

The committee’s inquiry page now lists the three hearings with programs have also been posted through its Public Hearings section. The committee is due to report on 14 August, leaving only eight days between the Perth hearing and its final report.

This compressed timetable will also place huge pressure on the committee to absorb the evidence before finalising its recommendations. It also demonstrates a reserection of the politics of the changes. Just what this will mean for their implementation remains unresolved.

One of the most engaging features of this community is watching people contribute - not just in the disability sphere but right across society. That’s why, although we don’t normally carry articles from Gippsland’s Sentinel-Times, we’re going to make an exception today.

Sebastian Morales of Support Mates, a registered NDIS services provider, has just been chosen as Vice President of the Korumburra Business Association. Not long ago this group was effectively defunct, lacking in energy and ambition. Today it’s back on its feet again and making the area, just south-east of Melbourne, a vibrant community.

That’s what people involved in disability do. Create community where it doesn’t exist. And that’s the real meaning of life.

Health updates guide to proposed NDIS changes and start dates

The official guide, updated yesterday, admits the Bill will cut social, civic and community participation allocations by 50 per cent and capacity-building daily-activity allocations by 10 per cent from 1 October 2026, with new framework planning beginning in April 2027, progressively reassessing current participants from January 2028, and moving support coordination out of individual plans from July 2028.

Source: Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

Families can claim 2026 Assistance for Isolated Children allowances

Services Australia says families may qualify for boarding, second-home, distance-education or pensioner-education assistance when a student cannot attend a local state school because of geographic isolation, disability or special needs. Claims for the 2026 school year close on 1 March 2027.

Source: Services Australia

Camp Australia ordered to pay $82,000 after autistic child left care unsupervised

The WA Department of Communities says the State Administrative Tribunal ordered Camp Australia to pay $82,000 after a seven-year-old boy with autism left its Victoria Park Primary School outside-school-hours service unnoticed, crossed several major roads and was found unharmed one kilometre away.

Source: WA Department of Communities

Services Australia directory points people with disability towards additional help

A Services Australia page marked updated on 21 July directs people with disability to the NDIS, Medicare, Disability Gateway, National Relay Service, state and territory services, social workers and Companion Card information.

Source: Services Australia

Grattan says blunt NDIS cuts are unnecessary for sustainability

Grattan Institute analysis says removing the proposed 50 per cent social and community participation cut and 10 per cent capacity-building daily-activities cut would still leave average NDIS growth at 3 per cent over the forward estimates and about 5 per cent after 2029–30, meeting the government’s long-term sustainability target without the immediate participant reductions.

Source: Grattan Institute

VALID warns NDIS Bill strips safeguards from people with intellectual disability

VALID says cutting support before alternatives exist would shift costs onto families, unpaid carers and public systems, weaken participant protections and expose people with intellectual disability to serious harm; it wants the Bill delayed, ministerial powers constrained, review rights protected and assessment tools co-designed.

Source: VALID

Sunshine Coast Council dog beach changes spark accessibility concerns

A Sunshine Coast family says the council’s new dog-access rules have left its 12-year-old daughter, who frequently uses a wheelchair, without an accessible off-leash beach where she can join family outings. The council says the changes balance dog exercise, public safety, shared spaces and environmental protection.

Source: ABC News | Paywall: No

Standardised failure: how the new NDIS bill sacrifices participants for budget repair

Hello Leaders compares the Bill’s standardised assessment approach with problems experienced under aged care’s Integrated Assessment Tool. Disability Discrimination Commissioner Rosemary Kayess warns standardisation may undermine individualised decisions, while the article points to the absence of published impact modelling and independent monitoring.

Source: Hello Leaders | Paywall: No