14/08/2026
Our friends at CCS Disability Action have shared their response to the Disability Support Services Bill Select Committee report that was released yesterday.
They’ve put together a summary of the changes that have been made, what they think those changes mean, and what questions are still to be answered as the Bill moves forward.
A useful read if you’re following what’s happening with the Bill and what comes next.
Read the full article below 👇
The Disability Support Services Bill is back from Select Committee. Here is what changed, and what we are left still asking.
Today, the Social Services and Community Committee reported back and recommended, by majority, that the Bill be passed with changes.
In all, 3,382 people and groups made written submissions and 143 submitters were heard, in roughly half the time usually given to a Bill. That is a big response in a short window.
First, nothing changes today for anyone who receives Disability Support Services.
Some of the changes are significant. Families are now described as having "a responsibility to contribute to" support, rather than responsibility "in the first instance".
Choice, safety, and dignity now have to be considered when decisions are made about a person's support.
There is a new requirement to consult disabled people's representative organisations before support programmes are made.
The Minister, Hon Louise Upston, has accepted the committee's recommendations and acknowledged that "the intent of the Bill was not as clear as it should have been".
We take her commitments at face value. We think the intent, as stated, is sound. Our questions are about the words on the page.
A commitment describes what this Government plans to do. A law describes what is possible for any Minister, in any year. Where there is a gap between the two, it is worth closing, and we think it can be.
- Income and asset testing: The Government says the Bill does not introduce income or asset testing where it is not used now. We accept that. Putting it in the Act would give that assurance a longer life than any one Government.
- The role of families: The new wording is genuinely better. Defining what a family's "responsibility to contribute" means would make the commitment easier to hold to.
- Consultation: The new duty to consult is a real step forward, and we welcome it. It would carry more weight if a programme could not proceed where consultation had not happened.
- Employment certainty: The Bill settles the position for the Crown. Family carers are still waiting for certainty about pay, hours, and recognition. The carer support package is the chance to give them that.
We have written a plain guide to the key changes as we see them, what each is likely to mean in practice, and the questions we are left with.
None of this is a reason to stop. We want to keep working with the Minister, with officials, and with the community to close these gaps before the Bill is passed. Where the intent is already agreed, writing it into the Act is the straightforward part.
Full article in the comments.
Image description: Circular photo of an interabled family in nature, on a pale blue background. Text in dark blue reads: "DSS Select Committee recommendations: our response'. Image has rounded corners, a white border, and the CCS Disability Action icon in the top left corner.
