Aussie parents to take NDIS fight to court
Parents of autistic children have threatened legal action against the government over plans to block disabled kids from accessing the NDIS.
Parents of children with autism are preparing to fight the Health and Disability Minister in the courts over cost-cutting changes to the NDIS.
The Australian Neurodivergent Parents Association (ANPA), the peak body representing parents of autistic children, issued Mark Butler with a Notice of Concern on Friday.
It claims the Minister failed to consult the disability community over plans to block children with developmental delay, or some kids with autism, from accessing the NDIS from July 2027.
Mr Butler announced at the National Press Club on Wednesday that the government would be supporting that cohort under a new initiative called Thriving Kids, offering a series of community-based programs available in childcare and schools, from July 1 next year.
He said it was a necessary move to rein in costs and protect the NDIS for those with severe and permanent disabilities.
Autistic kids with high needs will still be supported through the disability scheme.
The notice claims autistic children have been singled out due to their high numbers and that terms such as “mild/moderate autism” have no clinical basis, as well as naming one program being touted by the government as lacking in safety data.
The notice also says that there is evidence systemic harm is “already occurring as a result of recent NDIS pricing and policy changes”, with more than 6300 participants, carers, and providers submitting reports to a grassroots project called Harm Tracker.
It also mentions increased difficulties in accessing services following the freezing of fees for NDIS providers for the sixth year in a row.
“This evidence demonstrates that reforms are causing widespread, measurable, and
escalating harm,” the notice said.
“These so-called reforms risk displacing evidence-based supports, wasting public money, harming children during critical developmental windows, and deepening inequality. We cannot and will not accept this,” President of ANPA, Sarah Langston, said.
The notice calls for corrective steps within 30 days, otherwise the ANPA reserves the right to escalate the matter through various means including the International Court of
Justice (ICJ). Mr Butler has been approached for comment.
The development comes after parents of children with mild and moderate autism say they were being kicked off the NDIS even before this week’s cost-cutting announcement.
Mr Butler vowed no-one would be left behind when he revealed children with mild disabilities would be blocked from the NDIS from 2027 — instead receiving services through community programs in a new initiative called Thriving Kids from July next year.
The claims by parents came as the first estimates emerged about how much money the move will actually save taxpayers.
Performl co-founder Loki Ball — a data analyst who looks at gaps in care services — said the latest government figures show 173,465 children under-nine share $4.65 billion in NDIS funding, although around only 65 per cent of that is actually used.
In that group, 78 per cent have developmental delay or autism. The average annual package for kids with autism is $29,000.
The figures include children with severe and permanent disabilities, including autism, who will still be eligible for an NDIS plan.
Mr Butler said on Wednesday that $2bn of Commonwealth funding would be allocated to Thriving Kids, with the state and territories to contribute on top of that figure.
A spokesman for the Minister clarified the $2bn was over the “forward estimates”, which can mean the funds will be spread over as many as four years.
Mr Ball said potentially that meant there would be considerable savings to the taxpayer.
He said the more important issue was whether it would be used in the right way, such as on evidence-based therapy services that are accessible to people without the cost and difficulty of NDIS eligibility.
Overall, he backed Thriving Kids, saying community-based supports were a better solution for children with mild to moderate disabilities.
Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA) chief Skye Skye Kakoschke-Moore said their organisation supported the investment in community supports but the lack of detail had left parents in a panic.
She said her staff were fielding a lot of calls from parents worried about what the move would mean.
She said CYDA also wanted a commitment that no child would be left behind, especially as a large number of kids under nine have already been removed from the NDIS in the last year, following eligibility reassessments.
The agency running the NDIS revealed during a Budget Estimates hearing in November last year that it was completing about 1200 of these reassessments a week.
Of these, nearly half had their access revoked, while 80 per cent of people who received reassessment letters were children aged five to nine.
CYDA’s own survey in May found a quarter of respondents had received an eligibility assessment letter and of those, 32 per cent aged under nine were removed from the NDIS. Those who were autistic, from diverse backgrounds or Indigenous children were disproportionately impacted by reassessments.
A spokesman for the Minister said children enrolled in the NDIS now – or who become enrolled before that time – would remain on the scheme, “subject to its usual arrangements, including from time-to-time reassessments”.
Currently, for children younger than nine, a full plan reassessment is usually recommended by the NDIA every 12-24 months.
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Originally published as Aussie parents to take NDIS fight to court
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