Crossbench MPs, including Kate Chaney, are preparing to challenge Labor’s plans to slow the growth of NDIS spending in the upcoming federal budget, arguing that cutting support too early could simply shift costs onto other strained systems such as health, aged care, housing and income support.
The debate comes as the government considers changes aimed at reducing the annual growth of the National Disability Insurance Scheme from about 10 per cent to between 5 and 6 per cent over the forward estimates. With the NDIS now costing around $50 billion, Labor is treating the scheme’s sustainability as a major budget issue. But independents and disability advocates warn that focusing too heavily on budget savings risks undermining the scheme’s purpose and harming vulnerable Australians.
A group of crossbenchers led by Monique Ryan, and including Kate Chaney, Zali Steggall and Nicolette Boele, was drafting a letter to ministers Mark Butler and Jenny McAllister expressing concern that the government is putting fiscal restraint ahead of the wellbeing of people with disability. Their main argument is that Labor should not move aggressively to curb spending growth until it can demonstrate that alternative disability supports, particularly the planned Thriving Kids program for children outside the NDIS, are fully operational.
For Chaney and her fellow crossbench MPs, the concern is not simply about the size of the NDIS budget but about what happens when support is reduced before replacement systems exist. They argue that unmet needs do not disappear when funding is cut; instead, they are likely to re-emerge elsewhere, increasing pressure on hospitals, emergency services, families and other public systems. The independents are also critical of what they see as a lack of transparency from the government about how it intends to meet its spending targets, especially as it has yet to formally respond to the 2023 NDIS review.
The crossbench wants foundational disability supports outside the NDIS to be established before eligibility is tightened. They are also calling for a legal “no worse off” guarantee for children moved onto the Thriving Kids scheme. In particular, they argue that any attempt to reduce NDIS growth below 8 per cent should be delayed until Thriving Kids is up and running, which is currently scheduled for 2028.
Disability representatives echoed these concerns. Megan Spindler-Smith from People With Disability Australia said the political focus on achieving what appears to be an arbitrary growth target risks forcing people off the scheme without adequate alternatives in place. She argued the NDIS should be judged by whether it enables people with disability to live safely, independently and with greater participation in community life and work, while reducing reliance on hospitals and institutional care. She also warned that changes are being felt more quickly than they are being explained, creating fear, confusion and misinformation.
At the same time, some disability providers and Labor MPs support reform, arguing the scheme needs to be better targeted towards Australians with the highest needs. Catherine McAlpine of Inclusion Australia said sustainability does matter, but stressed that the NDIS was created because previous state-based supports had failed badly and left people at risk.
Overall, the article presents the coming budget as a critical test of whether the government can reform the NDIS without repeating past failures. Kate Chaney’s involvement places her among the independents pressing Labor to ensure that any savings agenda does not come at the expense of adequate support and dignity for people with disability.