As two days of parliamentary hearings kick off into draft legislation paving the way for changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), a governmental stoush has re-emerged. 

States and territories have reignited calls for the federal government to pump the brakes, while the Commonwealth says the changes will make the NDIS more sustainable and put participants back at the heart of the scheme. 

At the same time, the disability community remains on edge and in the dark about what it all means for their supports. 

What's in the government's bill? 

We covered the introduction of the draft legislation in March.

Among other things, it amends the NDIS Act to: 

• provide clarity about what constitutes an "NDIS support"; that is, what services can be funded under an NDIS plan 
• create a "new planning framework" that sets an overall budget for each NDIS participant based on a "comprehensive needs assessment"
• provide two pathways for accessing the scheme, one based on permanent disability and one based on early intervention 
• enable participants to have longer plans and to spend them more flexibly 
• require participants to provide information, if asked, in order to reassess their eligibility for the scheme 
• update the powers of agency that runs the NDIS to have greater ability to take control of someone's account if fraud is detected 
• expand the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commissioner's delegation powers 

The federal government has said the bill is essentially an update of legislative instruments so the reform process — and co-design of specific recommendations from last year's NDIS review — can begin. 

It's also stressed that major reforms won't happen right away or without more consultation with the disability community. 

Last year's NDIS review called for an overhaul of how disability support is delivered in Australia, including getting the states and territories to step up and hinging access on need rather than diagnosis.

That would include the removal of "access lists" of medical diagnoses that previously provided automatic entry to the scheme, including for Level 2 autism. 

Since the launch of the NDIS, support outside it has dried up significantly — meaning if you're not on the scheme, finding support can be tough. 

What have the states and territories said? 

The states and territories are concerned things have been rushed, saying they're worried the bill "undermines the vision" of the NDIS review. 

They've teamed up to make a written submission to the inquiry on the bill through the Council for the Australian Federation, a representative group of all state and territory governments. 

Premiers and chief ministers have already asked the Commonwealth to delay reforms over concerns about the speed and cost — particularly for the creation of "foundational supports", which they last year agreed to jointly fund.  

Foundational supports have been pitched as less-intensive services to be delivered through the likes of health services, early childhood education and schools. 

It's expected they'd have a particular focus on support for kids with autism and developmental delay, who have been joining the scheme in rising numbers due to a lack of support elsewhere. 

Without careful design of this ecosystem, people with disability will end up in hospitals or other settings "unsuitable for their needs", they said. 

"To date, there has been no decision as to the specific services that will be provided as foundational supports, or the client groups who should access them. 

"At the moment, it is not clear what the difference in application pathway, assessment, and supports will be for a child with autism who will be applying for NDIS in 2025, versus a child with the same level of need who had applied in early 2024. 

"States and territories expect this level of detail will be worked through later this year — but it is not available now." 

They also argue the bill gives too much power to the federal NDIS minister and the National Disability Insurance Agency, which runs the NDIS, to change the rules and legislative instruments that will govern the scheme. 

They want amendments so that any changes to the rules must be agreed by the states and territories. 

What have the feds said in response? 

Prior to the introduction of the bill, NDIS Minister Bill Shorten said it would pave the way for future improvements that "put participants back at the heart" of the scheme and "ensure every dollar is put towards those who the scheme was originally intended to support".  

Asked about the states and territories' concerns on Tuesday, he said any suggestion that changes to the NDIS risked worse outcomes for people with disability was "wrong".

"I have literally met with tens of thousands of people with disability, their advocates, their intermediaries and their families. People with disability are impatient for us to take Australia to the next step," he told reporters.

Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the Commonwealth had "engaged respectfully" with the states and territories on NDIS reform.

"None of it is easy. It's all difficult stuff, making sure that we can make the NDIS the best version of itself, including the most sustainable version of itself," he told reporters. 

"We understand that the states have raised concerns, they've raised them privately and publicly, and that's appropriate. But our intention here is to work with the states, not against them." 

What else do I need to know? 

Last week's federal budget revealed the government expects the legislation, if passed, to rein in the scheme's growth by $14.4 billion over the next four years, and bring annual growth down from 20 per cent to around 9 per cent. 

Mr Shorten has said "two practical changes" will help realise 95 per cent of the projected $14.4 billion figure — clamping down on "intra-plan inflation" and implementing the NDIS review's proposal to change the way participant budgets are set. You can read more about that here. 

The government has stressed funding for the NDIS will continue to grow, as will the number of participants on it, but it needs to be more sustainable. 

The budget included $129.8 million over two years for consultation work to respond to the NDIS review. 

People with disability have also been apprehensive about the scheme's future, with talk of change feeding into fear that it could come at the expense of their support. 

Advocates — many of whom have also voiced concern about the speed of the process — will address the parliamentary hearing into the legislation on Tuesday and Wednesday.