This month, showering two days in a row has felt like a major accomplishment for NDIS participant Aspen Robson.
In May, Robson received a new plan following a review, with her psychology sessions being cut to a quarter of what had previously been funded.
Robson said that their support, aimed to help build independence over time, has been reduced by almost $15,000 a year.
In addition, her support worker hours have been split into fixed home and community allocations, with no room to account for how needs shift from week to week.
“It has taken absolutely everything out of me,” Robson said
“I have barely been able to leave the house or take care of myself since this change.”
Robson said they received no warning about the changes. An NDIS worker had called their support coordinator, bypassing them entirely.
The new plan took effect the next day.
“I had no opportunity to advocate for myself, or to even be aware what changes would be made,” they said.
Robson is one of hundreds of thousands of Australians who rely on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) for daily support.
As the federal government pushes through major reforms, including legislation introduced in parliament in May, the latest public data shows the scale of support at stake.
However, the data only goes to March 2026, before the newest reform push. In Wollongong alone, 6,568 people held an active NDIS plan as of March, according to data published by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).
The National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 was introduced in May, with the federal government citing eligibility, funded supports, fraud prevention, and governance as key areas of change. Government modeling reported by the ABC in June has estimated that more than 240,000 existing participants could lose access to the scheme over the next four years under the proposed reforms. NDIS plans are divided into three support classes.
Core supports, which cover everyday disability-related activities and community participation, which is averaged at $68,000 per participant, capacity-building supports, intended to build independence and skills over time, averaged at $21,000 per participant, and capital supports, which are higher-cost items such as assistive technology, modifications, and specialist housing, which is averaged at $20,000 per participant.
When their support is adequate, Robson said, the NDIS makes ordinary life possible.
But they said the stakes are already real. They said they had been paying privately for psychology sessions since May, and that a review of their NDIS plan in ongoing.
“It’s all the mundane things that people generally just do, really,” Robson said.
“When things are aligned, I’m in a good spot — I’m able to go to the shops. Or see a friend I haven’t seen in months.”
At the time of publication the proposed bill had not yet been passed.
Feature image: Aspen Robson
Note: Data is drawn from publicly available NDIS datasets current to 31 March 2026, used as a pre-reform baseline given the bill was introduced in May 2026.
