10/10/2026
When did inclusion and independence become optional extras?
The latest NDIS funding changes should concern every person who believes people with disability deserve more than simply having their basic needs met.
From October 2026, changes to participant budgets include:
🔻 **50% reduction** in funding allocations for social, economic and community participation.
🔻 **10% reduction** in funding allocations for improved daily living skills.
These reductions will be phased in as plans are created, reassessed or renewed, with some essential supports exempt.
Let's be clear. Community participation isn't a luxury. Building independence isn't an optional extra.
These supports help people build relationships, develop skills, connect with their communities and exercise choice over how they live.
Reducing access to these opportunities risks increasing isolation, reducing independence and undoing years of progress towards genuine inclusion.
And while we're talking about rights, there's another important opportunity to have your voice heard.
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commissioner is currently inviting submissions to an Own Motion Inquiry into the Deprivation of Liberty, specifically examining the use of seclusion and its impact on the rights, freedoms and autonomy of NDIS participants.
This is a separate issue from the funding reductions, but both deserve our attention.
People with disability have the right to safety, freedom, dignity and meaningful participation in society.
Participants, families, advocates, support workers and providers are encouraged to share their experiences, observations and concerns relating to seclusion.
📩 Submissions can be emailed to:
[email protected]
Further information:
https://www.ndiscommission.gov.au/rules-and-standards/quality-practice/deprivation-liberty
A sustainable NDIS should never come at the expense of the people it was created to support.
Ataraxy will always advocate for a system that protects people's rights, promotes independence and delivers genuine outcomes.
People with disability deserve a life, not just a service.
Own Motion Inquiry into the deprivation of libertyThe NDIS Commissioner is using her own-initiative powers under the NDIS Act and Reportable Incident Rules to conduct an Own Motion Inquiry into whether the use of seclusion on NDIS participants may result in actual or potential deprivations of libert...
