The National Rural Health Alliance made a submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs – Legislation Committee examining the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026. NRHA has recommended amendments to the NDIS Amendment Bill 2026 to prevent serious harm to people with disability in rural, regional and remote Australia. The submission warns that many proposed reforms assume service markets that simply do not exist outside major cities, creating risks of reduced access, unmet need, and a “psychosocial support cliff.” The Alliance argues that rural communities already face thin markets, fewer providers, higher travel costs, limited advocacy, and major gaps in psychosocial supports. Without safeguards, the Bill could worsen inequity, shift costs onto hospitals and carers, and reduce essential supports for people who cannot access services locally.
Key recommendations include: A mandatory Rural & Remote Equity Impact Statement for all major NDIS rules; no‑detriment protections for people in MMM4–7 areas; A national rural psychosocial support guarantee; transparent rural data reporting and a Rural Thin Market Commissioning Fund; and rural‑validated assessment tools, local navigators, and cross‑sector workforce planning.
The Alliance concludes that sustainability must not come at the expense of equity: “No person with a disability living in Australia should lose fundamental access to support because the legislation assumes the existence of a functioning service market that is not available in their community.”