>”Is it reasonable that some kids with some types of autism don’t need to be in the NDIS? Yeah, OK, I’ll go along with that. Can they be in this system called Thriving Kids? Sure. But we haven’t built it yet, and we don’t know what it looks like, and we don’t know where the workforce is going to come from,” she said.
No2Hypocrites on
People pay to be diagnosed as ASD2 while they are ASD1 just to get higher benefits. It’s very hard to track everything is done accurately. It’s not just the NDIS providers.
Beautiful-Affect3448 on
>People with autism who have **lower support needs** will be the largest cohort affected by NDIS cuts with Minister Mark Butler’s decision to remove more than 160,000 people from the NDIS.
Important distinction, emphasis mine.
Wooden-Trouble1724 on
ASD is largely the fad of the day to primarily deny and/or rationalise adverse childhood experiences. A nation’s dependence on something like the NDIS presents as stark cultural failure
Mclovine_aus on
This makes sense, disability funding should be limited and should be distributed by priority. It should always have a cost benefit analysis, there are so many competing and worthy places government funding can be directed.
CrystalPippu on
I can’t even get onto NDIS with my disability, there’s absolutely no support for neurological disabilities in this shit hole country.
Otaraka on
‘The rapid rise in NDIS participation, particularly by children with autism, has occurred in part because disability services outside the NDIS have been absent.’
And the problem here is going to be that they’re going to get rid of one before they get the other up and running. Hopefully they get the transition right but this could be rough.
Spiritual-Olive444 on
The rhetoric around this issue has been absolutely reprehensible. There is an astounding lack of empathy and understanding about what autism even is and how it affects the lives of autistic people.
Instead of focusing on real issues affecting the budget and the economy, people are spreading outright lies that “people with ADHD are using the NDIS to buy televisions” and that people are using NDIS funds allocated for speech therapy on horse riding. Yes, I have actually seen these shared as examples.
People with autism and the wider disabled community are now finding out exactly what Australia thinks of us – that we’re a useless drain on the system who they couldn’t give two fucks about.
In a time where it’s more important than ever to be united, Australians are allowing ourselves to be divided and conquered.
Just wait, it’ll be your turn next.
binnybaby on
I’ve read that the people with lower support needs will be diverted to other schemes (that don’t seem to exist). Is their need for diversion to an alternative stream not explicitly implying that they might actually need the supports they were accessing? I mean if they were all good and don’t need the ndis, then surely they don’t need to be part of a different scheme? How would the different scheme be cheaper than the ndis given the cost of moving people?
But never mind, just axe the participants, don’t axe the plan management company that earns roughly $2000 a year from just one plan for processing four invoices each month from the same providers for the same expenses for the same treatments…
MissLilum on
Expect to see a lot more people on jobseeker or dsp then especially as the new plan for autistic people pretty clearly ends at age 18
GoingUpInFlamez on
Honestly, it’s frustrating. I’m diagnosed with autism but don’t exploit the system. I’ve met many on Discord who can talk and play video games, have hand coordination for work, yet they stay home with two carers earning $70K each annually for cleaning and cooking, while they game without contributing to society. They have mild autism, and I wonder if the difference between us is worth $140,000 a year in carers. It shouldn’t be. If they can game and talk, they could easily find a work-from-home job like others struggling.
I’m not saying they shouldn’t get help, but $140,000 a year is excessive. I’ve met a few like this from Tasmania, and it’s sad. They exploit the system, and no one questions it. They should be functionally assessed, not just based on their diagnosis. I wish I could play video games daily without worrying about a mortgage or work, but that’s not reality. Some kids on the NDIS seem to live in a fantasy, and when they realise they need to work like everyone else, they’ll understand autism is a disability meant to help integrate into society, not live outside it.
iball1984 on
I think the idea of funding based on functional needs assessment makes a lot of sense.
TheHoovyPrince on
I have two youngs cousins on the NDIS but their on the high end of the spectrum so i doubt they get removed but like the article says i can easily see those on the lower end of the spectrum with lower support needs being cut off.
This is personally my opinion but i do believe there are parents (who want that NDIS money) that are faking their kids autism diagnosis or are finding clinicians that will ‘up-diagnose’ the child so they can access financial support. Its going to be tough to figure out who is legitimate and who isn’t but i think any clinician that is ‘up-diagnosing’ children should be investigated for doing so.
Protonious on
As a level two autistic, I would love to see more supports that help our community without assuming we all need support workers or ongoing therapy. I get that group programs or peer support isn’t for everyone either, but the more there is an expectation we all require the ndis it doesn’t help us fit in or feel included, it’s just another form of being othered.
There will always be those autistic people who do require the NDIS, but acting as if all autistic people do is just doing harm to our community.
ZombieOwn4567 on
[ Removed by Reddit ]
mindlessmunkey on
Imagine what we could afford to fund for people in need, if we taxed the rich effectively, stopped paying fossil fuel companies to destroy the world, stopped paying the US billions for submarines we don’t need (and will probably never eventuate anyway), etc etc.
le_random_account on
Ugh. I have a family member with autism whom I support as she has nobody else. She can’t work, can scarcely take care of her own needs and she can’t function with a lot of things life requires. I don’t know what to do now as I was intending to reach out to an NDIS advocate for help but my life is so busy lately I haven’t had a chance to yet.
I love her to bits but I can’t do much more as I’m already stretched so thin just to support us both as the sole income.
This sucks.
MrSweetpotato93 on
There is autism and then there’s autism where people do something odd and say “ I’m on the spectrum hehe” . The latter needs to go.
Edit: make appointment to see doctor, pretend to be special needs, drool a bit, doctor provides proof to NDIA, NDIA approves. It’s that easy.
BarbarousErse on
Some participants are autistic but also multiply disabled and on NDIS for ASD because of the automatic access – it’s hard as fuck to get NDIA to understand that sometimes a person will have multiple comorbid conditions. They fund the conditions they recognise and fuck you if you have a disability that’s not on their list, or you need supports for a disability that’s not listed as your primary one. In a way I support them looking more at functional capacity because disability is complex and each person will have different impacts even if they share the same diagnosis. My trust level is low that they will do it right tho
Jumpingjehosephat99 on
I have two kids with ASD on NDIS plans. The older one has about three years of funding accumulated because he’s not interested in therapy at all anymore. He can get a support worker to take him out to activities but I have to pay for the activities and I can’t afford that all the time. NDIS doesn’t pay for entrance fees and the like.
Anyway, I don’t mind if we lose some funding at this point because we’re not using it all and so many of the services are scams, like $$ for group video game playing sessions or whatever providers are offering that are genuinely extremely low benefit for high cost.
EducationalShake6773 on
We’ll all be ADHD-ridden autists in a few decades at the current rate of growth in diagnoses.
Turns out if you give people free taxpayer-funded personal carers and stimulants for an easily obtained diagnosis, those prove to be pretty strong incentives for doing just that. Who knew.
IceOdd3294 on
My daugher is 14 this year and developmentally 10 years old. She’s level 2 with high IQ and passed all her school tests and exams. She can’t shower herself, she can’t walk busy streets alone (would misinterpret signs and traffic). She won’t be independent until she is at least 25. She is highly incapable of being in school anymore as her anxiety is high. She stims in her room constantly (vestibular movement need). She is visibly autistic.
School is inadequately funded for disabilty, she needs a teacher aide socially and emotionally. She relies on me heavily. She self harms and becomes disregulated with bullying or pressure from staff.
She hates clothing, still walks around almost naked at home.
She will never drive a car. She will most likely never work unless it’s a very small business and she has a support person and no dangerous machines etc.
She has no personal safety yet. She is severely lacking in awareness but has a fully developed adult women’s body – a risk to herself with strangers.
So what happens when she is 18?
Obviously she lives with me, but what about her independence in society
Would you like to spend 24/7 with your mum? No? I didn’t think so.
It’s a huge issue. Who kkkws what happens next.
SHE HAS A HIGH IQ AND COGNITIVELY IS AS SMART AS A REGULAR TEEN, just capacity and emotionally and functioning is far below adequate.
She has no friends and not interested in boys
Our major issue now is sensory – she will scream if a baby cries, or someone sniffs, or teens talk – she has trauma built up from bullying now and she is literally terrified of other kids now. She cannot be in a classroom of teenagers thanks to a brutal situation in grade 6 where her teacher could not tell boys to stop calling her a re_tard or spaz. Really changed her and she’s no longer the same happy girl she is fearful of the world.
————
Someone I know is also level 2 autism and he works, he has friends, he loves fashion and has independent hobbies. He plays basketball. He walks to and from practice and school and is not visibly autistic. He does not stim. He cannot stand school and gets suspended constantly and he stole money from his mum over and over. He also gets into fights woth abuse at school.
Autism is so different for everyone but some kids hardly need thier parents snd they can go to school and have friends and still be level 2.
Mine needs help with shoe laces, dressing, and showering. Cannot play sports ad she is scared of balls (sounds funny but she is terrified of being hit).
It’s so different. I need the NDIS for my child’s future independence.
I’m really most worried about her personal safety and being able to function in society. She doesn’t understand how to socialise at all and she’s at risk without supervision. People don’t understand how serious these things can be.
To most in society she’s a dorky, dweeby, slow person. They don’t care about her except for how it impacts them if she says the wrong thing or stims. Today an elderly man was staring at her because she was stimming and smirking and he must not have known what autism is, so he thinks she’s smirking at him.
To me she’s my baby and I fear for when I’m not around.
I’m a single mum and she has no siblings. This is scary.
Puzzleheaded-Eye9081 on
I kind of expected my son would get cut off at 18 anyway. He’s 15 and has asd level 1, adhd and speech issues. We paid out of pocket for weekly speech, psychology and OT for years before getting on ndis, and even now his funding covers about 2/3 of his therapies with us paying the rest. It’s been nice while it has lasted I guess.
Otherwise_Link_2403 on
As long as they give alternatives to those of us who have “lower support needs” but can’t work and need access to community and therapy.
Otherwise people will fall through the cracks and likely die.
thejoshimitsu on
I’m an adult with autism (diagnosed way before they had levels) and have severe co morbid disabilities. My entire life would fall to pieces if I was kicked off the scheme. I literally am barely functional, find it hard enough to look after myself, can’t drive, need someone to take me everywhere and help me with everything, can’t be by myself and I don’t have family who would be willing to do that for me. I literally require daily assistance just to live my life. So this news is particularly distressing to me.
Billyjamesjeff on
The whopping big elephant in the room is why the diagnosis provided are not considered accurate enough information.
“favoured those with means to obtain a diagnosis” this also stands out. People should not need the “means” to obtain a diagnosis – our public health system should provide equally.
What you have is people with the “means” paying thousands for the diagnosis they want, and people getting rich providing it. Just like ADHD was shown in 4 Corners on Monday.
What it means for autistics is they might get kicked off a scheme that they really need because people are self diagnosing.
I know a autism specialist and she thinks 1/4 kids she sees have a learning disability or behavioural issue rather than autism.
People need to stop shopping for the condition they think is most societally acceptable. There is no shame in any form of disability. But to be frank, they’re fucking it up for everyone else currently.
There’s a reason there aren’t large clinics over diagnosing depression, there’s no money in it. There is how ever a lot of money in ADHD and autism – think about it.
Neither_Bookkeeper48 on
Heard a first hand account of a guy doing uber eats with his support person doing the driving
I’m all for disability support. But make it for those that need it.
lavurnums on
I couldn’t find any mention of this but does anyone know if the cuts will affect DSP as well? While I don’t have the highest support needs I’m in no place to get a job right now and those payments are my lifeline
nathrek on
Privatisation is the root cause of all the problems. Management of participants should 100% be a task of a government department, much like job network providers should all be scrapped and rolled back into the public service.
Will there still be inefficiencies? Yes, because that’s the nature of large organisations, but there will be absolutely way less rorting and fraud.
theseamstressesguild on
“High functioning” – grist for the capitalist mill.
“Low functioning” – drain on the public purse.
30 Comments
The spin
>”We’re providing [states] huge amounts of additional money to run their hospitals, and in return they committed — in writing — to support this disability reform direction and to implement the Thriving Kids deal,” he [Federal Health Minister Mark Butler] [told 730.](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-22/labor-ndis-savings-plan-hinges-on-state-run-supports/106594828)
The reality
>”Is it reasonable that some kids with some types of autism don’t need to be in the NDIS? Yeah, OK, I’ll go along with that. Can they be in this system called Thriving Kids? Sure. But we haven’t built it yet, and we don’t know what it looks like, and we don’t know where the workforce is going to come from,” she said.
People pay to be diagnosed as ASD2 while they are ASD1 just to get higher benefits. It’s very hard to track everything is done accurately. It’s not just the NDIS providers.
>People with autism who have **lower support needs** will be the largest cohort affected by NDIS cuts with Minister Mark Butler’s decision to remove more than 160,000 people from the NDIS.
Important distinction, emphasis mine.
ASD is largely the fad of the day to primarily deny and/or rationalise adverse childhood experiences. A nation’s dependence on something like the NDIS presents as stark cultural failure
This makes sense, disability funding should be limited and should be distributed by priority. It should always have a cost benefit analysis, there are so many competing and worthy places government funding can be directed.
I can’t even get onto NDIS with my disability, there’s absolutely no support for neurological disabilities in this shit hole country.
‘The rapid rise in NDIS participation, particularly by children with autism, has occurred in part because disability services outside the NDIS have been absent.’
And the problem here is going to be that they’re going to get rid of one before they get the other up and running. Hopefully they get the transition right but this could be rough.
The rhetoric around this issue has been absolutely reprehensible. There is an astounding lack of empathy and understanding about what autism even is and how it affects the lives of autistic people.
Instead of focusing on real issues affecting the budget and the economy, people are spreading outright lies that “people with ADHD are using the NDIS to buy televisions” and that people are using NDIS funds allocated for speech therapy on horse riding. Yes, I have actually seen these shared as examples.
People with autism and the wider disabled community are now finding out exactly what Australia thinks of us – that we’re a useless drain on the system who they couldn’t give two fucks about.
In a time where it’s more important than ever to be united, Australians are allowing ourselves to be divided and conquered.
Just wait, it’ll be your turn next.
I’ve read that the people with lower support needs will be diverted to other schemes (that don’t seem to exist). Is their need for diversion to an alternative stream not explicitly implying that they might actually need the supports they were accessing? I mean if they were all good and don’t need the ndis, then surely they don’t need to be part of a different scheme? How would the different scheme be cheaper than the ndis given the cost of moving people?
But never mind, just axe the participants, don’t axe the plan management company that earns roughly $2000 a year from just one plan for processing four invoices each month from the same providers for the same expenses for the same treatments…
Expect to see a lot more people on jobseeker or dsp then especially as the new plan for autistic people pretty clearly ends at age 18
Honestly, it’s frustrating. I’m diagnosed with autism but don’t exploit the system. I’ve met many on Discord who can talk and play video games, have hand coordination for work, yet they stay home with two carers earning $70K each annually for cleaning and cooking, while they game without contributing to society. They have mild autism, and I wonder if the difference between us is worth $140,000 a year in carers. It shouldn’t be. If they can game and talk, they could easily find a work-from-home job like others struggling.
I’m not saying they shouldn’t get help, but $140,000 a year is excessive. I’ve met a few like this from Tasmania, and it’s sad. They exploit the system, and no one questions it. They should be functionally assessed, not just based on their diagnosis. I wish I could play video games daily without worrying about a mortgage or work, but that’s not reality. Some kids on the NDIS seem to live in a fantasy, and when they realise they need to work like everyone else, they’ll understand autism is a disability meant to help integrate into society, not live outside it.
I think the idea of funding based on functional needs assessment makes a lot of sense.
I have two youngs cousins on the NDIS but their on the high end of the spectrum so i doubt they get removed but like the article says i can easily see those on the lower end of the spectrum with lower support needs being cut off.
This is personally my opinion but i do believe there are parents (who want that NDIS money) that are faking their kids autism diagnosis or are finding clinicians that will ‘up-diagnose’ the child so they can access financial support. Its going to be tough to figure out who is legitimate and who isn’t but i think any clinician that is ‘up-diagnosing’ children should be investigated for doing so.
As a level two autistic, I would love to see more supports that help our community without assuming we all need support workers or ongoing therapy. I get that group programs or peer support isn’t for everyone either, but the more there is an expectation we all require the ndis it doesn’t help us fit in or feel included, it’s just another form of being othered.
There will always be those autistic people who do require the NDIS, but acting as if all autistic people do is just doing harm to our community.
[ Removed by Reddit ]
Imagine what we could afford to fund for people in need, if we taxed the rich effectively, stopped paying fossil fuel companies to destroy the world, stopped paying the US billions for submarines we don’t need (and will probably never eventuate anyway), etc etc.
Ugh. I have a family member with autism whom I support as she has nobody else. She can’t work, can scarcely take care of her own needs and she can’t function with a lot of things life requires. I don’t know what to do now as I was intending to reach out to an NDIS advocate for help but my life is so busy lately I haven’t had a chance to yet.
I love her to bits but I can’t do much more as I’m already stretched so thin just to support us both as the sole income.
This sucks.
There is autism and then there’s autism where people do something odd and say “ I’m on the spectrum hehe” . The latter needs to go.
Edit: make appointment to see doctor, pretend to be special needs, drool a bit, doctor provides proof to NDIA, NDIA approves. It’s that easy.
Some participants are autistic but also multiply disabled and on NDIS for ASD because of the automatic access – it’s hard as fuck to get NDIA to understand that sometimes a person will have multiple comorbid conditions. They fund the conditions they recognise and fuck you if you have a disability that’s not on their list, or you need supports for a disability that’s not listed as your primary one. In a way I support them looking more at functional capacity because disability is complex and each person will have different impacts even if they share the same diagnosis. My trust level is low that they will do it right tho
I have two kids with ASD on NDIS plans. The older one has about three years of funding accumulated because he’s not interested in therapy at all anymore. He can get a support worker to take him out to activities but I have to pay for the activities and I can’t afford that all the time. NDIS doesn’t pay for entrance fees and the like.
Anyway, I don’t mind if we lose some funding at this point because we’re not using it all and so many of the services are scams, like $$ for group video game playing sessions or whatever providers are offering that are genuinely extremely low benefit for high cost.
We’ll all be ADHD-ridden autists in a few decades at the current rate of growth in diagnoses.
Turns out if you give people free taxpayer-funded personal carers and stimulants for an easily obtained diagnosis, those prove to be pretty strong incentives for doing just that. Who knew.
My daugher is 14 this year and developmentally 10 years old. She’s level 2 with high IQ and passed all her school tests and exams. She can’t shower herself, she can’t walk busy streets alone (would misinterpret signs and traffic). She won’t be independent until she is at least 25. She is highly incapable of being in school anymore as her anxiety is high. She stims in her room constantly (vestibular movement need). She is visibly autistic.
School is inadequately funded for disabilty, she needs a teacher aide socially and emotionally. She relies on me heavily. She self harms and becomes disregulated with bullying or pressure from staff.
She hates clothing, still walks around almost naked at home.
She will never drive a car. She will most likely never work unless it’s a very small business and she has a support person and no dangerous machines etc.
She has no personal safety yet. She is severely lacking in awareness but has a fully developed adult women’s body – a risk to herself with strangers.
So what happens when she is 18?
Obviously she lives with me, but what about her independence in society
Would you like to spend 24/7 with your mum? No? I didn’t think so.
It’s a huge issue. Who kkkws what happens next.
SHE HAS A HIGH IQ AND COGNITIVELY IS AS SMART AS A REGULAR TEEN, just capacity and emotionally and functioning is far below adequate.
She has no friends and not interested in boys
Our major issue now is sensory – she will scream if a baby cries, or someone sniffs, or teens talk – she has trauma built up from bullying now and she is literally terrified of other kids now. She cannot be in a classroom of teenagers thanks to a brutal situation in grade 6 where her teacher could not tell boys to stop calling her a re_tard or spaz. Really changed her and she’s no longer the same happy girl she is fearful of the world.
————
Someone I know is also level 2 autism and he works, he has friends, he loves fashion and has independent hobbies. He plays basketball. He walks to and from practice and school and is not visibly autistic. He does not stim. He cannot stand school and gets suspended constantly and he stole money from his mum over and over. He also gets into fights woth abuse at school.
Autism is so different for everyone but some kids hardly need thier parents snd they can go to school and have friends and still be level 2.
Mine needs help with shoe laces, dressing, and showering. Cannot play sports ad she is scared of balls (sounds funny but she is terrified of being hit).
It’s so different. I need the NDIS for my child’s future independence.
I’m really most worried about her personal safety and being able to function in society. She doesn’t understand how to socialise at all and she’s at risk without supervision. People don’t understand how serious these things can be.
To most in society she’s a dorky, dweeby, slow person. They don’t care about her except for how it impacts them if she says the wrong thing or stims. Today an elderly man was staring at her because she was stimming and smirking and he must not have known what autism is, so he thinks she’s smirking at him.
To me she’s my baby and I fear for when I’m not around.
I’m a single mum and she has no siblings. This is scary.
I kind of expected my son would get cut off at 18 anyway. He’s 15 and has asd level 1, adhd and speech issues. We paid out of pocket for weekly speech, psychology and OT for years before getting on ndis, and even now his funding covers about 2/3 of his therapies with us paying the rest. It’s been nice while it has lasted I guess.
As long as they give alternatives to those of us who have “lower support needs” but can’t work and need access to community and therapy.
Otherwise people will fall through the cracks and likely die.
I’m an adult with autism (diagnosed way before they had levels) and have severe co morbid disabilities. My entire life would fall to pieces if I was kicked off the scheme. I literally am barely functional, find it hard enough to look after myself, can’t drive, need someone to take me everywhere and help me with everything, can’t be by myself and I don’t have family who would be willing to do that for me. I literally require daily assistance just to live my life. So this news is particularly distressing to me.
The whopping big elephant in the room is why the diagnosis provided are not considered accurate enough information.
“favoured those with means to obtain a diagnosis” this also stands out. People should not need the “means” to obtain a diagnosis – our public health system should provide equally.
What you have is people with the “means” paying thousands for the diagnosis they want, and people getting rich providing it. Just like ADHD was shown in 4 Corners on Monday.
What it means for autistics is they might get kicked off a scheme that they really need because people are self diagnosing.
I know a autism specialist and she thinks 1/4 kids she sees have a learning disability or behavioural issue rather than autism.
People need to stop shopping for the condition they think is most societally acceptable. There is no shame in any form of disability. But to be frank, they’re fucking it up for everyone else currently.
There’s a reason there aren’t large clinics over diagnosing depression, there’s no money in it. There is how ever a lot of money in ADHD and autism – think about it.
Heard a first hand account of a guy doing uber eats with his support person doing the driving
I’m all for disability support. But make it for those that need it.
I couldn’t find any mention of this but does anyone know if the cuts will affect DSP as well? While I don’t have the highest support needs I’m in no place to get a job right now and those payments are my lifeline
Privatisation is the root cause of all the problems. Management of participants should 100% be a task of a government department, much like job network providers should all be scrapped and rolled back into the public service.
Will there still be inefficiencies? Yes, because that’s the nature of large organisations, but there will be absolutely way less rorting and fraud.
“High functioning” – grist for the capitalist mill.
“Low functioning” – drain on the public purse.