Officials Push Back on Claims NDIS Reforms Assume Disability Can Be Cured

Government officials have defended key elements of Labor’s NDIS reforms during a Senate hearing.

A symbol indicates disability parking in Albany, Western Australia, on April 22, 2024. Susan Mortimer/The Epoch Times

Federal officials have pushed back against claims the government’s proposed National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) reforms are designed to remove participants from the scheme or create the concept that a disability can be cured.

Appearing before the Community Affairs Legislation Committee in the Senate on June 11, Department of Health, Disability and Ageing officials and NDIS representatives denied that such initiatives would form part of the government’s efforts to curb spending on the program, whose costs have ballooned to nearly $50 billion (US$35.2 billion) a year.