_{If this email has been forwarded to you, sign up here}

Bottom line: The government’s revised Explanatory Memorandum provides a reassuring safeguard for current participants. National Disability Services says that sector pressure has achieved an important clarification of the way Ministerial determinations reducing support funding will work. Although employment supports can still be carved out, supports essential to health, safety or continuous 24/7 care will normally be protected from future reductions. This memorandum records how the government says it intends the legislation to operate.

Of course, none of this by itself creates those exclusions, settles the final Support Determination or ensures NDIA delegates apply the protections consistently. This is why Speech Pathology Australia is pressing for a stronger definition of functional capacity, recognition of clinical evidence and safeguards around pricing and budgets.

Nine’s report about nine-year-old Max exposes the distance between a national assurance and an individual plan. His parents say his annual funding fell from about $98,000 to about $27,000, reducing therapy, support workers and in-home care while the family manages serious behavioural escalations.

The report does not establish that the proposed legislation caused Max’s reduction, but it does show why promises to safeguard essential supports must be tested against actual planning decisions. Protection may exist in explanatory language. Yet reassuring wording cannot prevent the danger of a new plan creating an immediate safety risk.

What to Watch: NDS wants the commitments carried into the Support Determination, supported by an escalation pathway and monitoring of package reductions.

Commission expands guidance on NDIS quality audits

The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission has expanded its guidance for providers on verification and certification audits, including the evidence auditors examine, participant interviews and opt-out arrangements.

Source: NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission

Registered providers remain responsible for subcontracted NDIS supports

The NDIS Commission says registered providers using contractors remain legally responsible for the supports. This includes worker screening, compliance, incident management, and the conduct of subcontractors.

Source: NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission

Advocacy secures safeguards for 24/7 and employment supports

National Disability Services says joint sector advocacy has secured changes to the NDIS Bill’s revised Explanatory Memorandum allowing employment supports and supports essential to health, safety or continuous 24/7 care to be excluded from reductions, while warning these protections must still be carried into the Support Determination and implementation.

Source: National Disability Services

Speech pathologists step up Thriving Kids and NDIS Bill advocacy

Speech Pathology Australia says it has lodged a supplementary Senate inquiry submission and is pressing ministers, senators and state taskforces for a stronger functional-capacity definition, safeguards in pricing and budget decisions, recognition of clinical evidence, and access to the full speech pathology workforce under Thriving Kids.

Source: Speech Pathology Australia

Speech pathology gains its own Census occupation code

Speech Pathology Australia says speech pathologists will be counted under a dedicated occupation classification for the first time in the 2026 Census, strengthening national workforce data for planning, funding and service development, including NDIS disability support.

Source: Speech Pathology Australia

‘Scared of my own son’: Mum’s plea after NDIS cuts

A Current Affair reports that Renee and Dave fear they can no longer safely support their nine-year-old son Max after his NDIS plan was reduced from about $98,000 a year to about $27,000. Renee says she is regularly assaulted during her son’s escalations, while the family says the reduction has left them without the support needed to keep everyone safe.

Source: Nine — A Current Affair | Paywall: No

Australia's disability budget – a plea for recalibration

Although published last Friday this remains relevant today. Justin Glyn argues the government is prioritising defence expenditure while reducing disability support, and warns the Bill could remove people from the NDIS before alternative supports exist.

Source: Pearls and Irritations | Paywall: No