18/08/2026
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MEDIA RELEASE
Disability group files Federal Court proceedings as Labor and Coalition move to pass NDIS Bill
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
6.54pm, Tuesday, 18 August 2026
The Australian Neurodivergent Parents Association (ANPA) has moved to file proceedings in the Federal Court this evening concerning the consultation process associated with the Government’s NDIS reforms as a matter of public importance under the Australian Human Rights Comission Act 1986, as Labor and the Coalition move towards passing the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026.
ANPA says the significance of the proceeding is not that it asks the Court to stop Parliament or determine the validity of the Bill. It does not.
Rather, the proceeding raises legal questions about the consultation process that ANPA says has been relied upon as part of the development and justification of reforms now reflected in the Bill.
ANPA says that, if serious questions exist about whether that consultation was lawful, accessible and meaningful, Parliament should not simply assume that the reform process has been adequately informed by the people whose rights and supports will be affected.
The filing comes as the Government and Coalition have reached an agreement facilitating passage of the Bill, with a further 33 Senate amendments negotiated after 30 amendments were agreed in the House.
ANPA is calling on Senators to defer the final vote until the consequences of the legislation, particularly for disabled children and families, have been independently, meaningfully and substantively considered.
ANPA President Sarah Langston said:
“The Government has repeatedly pointed to consultation as part of the process behind these reforms. This evening, we have asked the Federal Court to consider serious legal concerns arising from that consultation process.”
“We are not asking the Court to interfere with Parliament, and the proceeding does not itself determine the validity of this Bill. The issue is different but directly relevant. If the consultation process relied upon to help justify these reforms is under legal challenge, Senators should not simply assume that affected disabled people were meaningfully and lawfully included in the process. We say: we were not.”
“That matters because consultation is not a procedural decoration. Where government relies on consultation to support major reforms, the integrity of that process matters to the legitimacy of the decisions said to flow from it.”
Leading Disability Rights activist Samantha Connor OAM said:
“Disabled Australians, veterans and older people have the right to be safe, supported and free from surveillance and sweeping government powers. Most Australians expect accountability and transparency from our leaders. We should be directly involved in changes to laws that will change our lives. Consultation on these amendments is not optional, and the consultation underpinning this bill is in question.”
ANPA remains deeply concerned that the legislation gives government broad powers affecting how NDIS supports are determined, funded and reviewed, while enabling expanded use of participant information and automated systems without the safeguards disabled people have sought.
ANPA is particularly concerned about provisions affecting parental responsibility and supports for children.
“When support is taken away from a disabled child, the child’s needs do not disappear,” Ms Langston said.
“Where are the safeguards for children? What happened to the principle that the best interests of the child should be paramount?”
ANPA Board member and disability advocate Heidi La Paglia said the consequences would also be gendered.
“When individual support is removed from disabled children, their needs do not disappear. The responsibility is pushed back onto families, and overwhelmingly onto women. That means more unpaid care, less paid work, reduced financial security and greater dependence on partners or family.”
“That dependence matters. For disabled women, NDIS support can provide the practical independence needed to stay safe or leave violence. Where is the gender impact assessment?”
ANPA is also concerned that the Bill creates pathways for people to be moved towards alternative or foundational supports without an enforceable guarantee that the services they need actually exist, are accessible to them, and will be available before their NDIS support changes.
The amendments negotiated today include additional integrity measures and a pathway for participants at high risk to seek an urgent plan variation. Those safeguards are welcome, but ANPA has not seen evidence that they resolve the fundamental concerns raised about children, parental responsibility, alternative supports, review rights and automated decision-making.
“An emergency pathway after somebody is placed at risk is not a substitute for designing a system that prevents the harm in the first place,” Ms Langston said.
“If governments intend to move disabled people away from individual NDIS supports, there must be an enforceable guarantee that the alternative support exists before the NDIS support disappears. Disabled people and families cannot be expected to fall through the gap while governments work out what comes next.”
ANPA says Parliament should also demand clear safeguards around the use of participant data and automated decision-making.
“Parliament should not give the green light to sweeping powers affecting how disabled Australians are assessed, monitored and how our data may be used, while critical details about how those powers will operate remain unresolved,” Ms Langston said.
“These decisions can determine whether somebody can get out of bed, communicate, attend school, work, parent, participate in their community or live safely in their own home. Review rights and meaningful human oversight are not administrative luxuries. They are safeguards against harm.”
ANPA is calling for the Senate to defer the final vote, publish and scrutinise the complete negotiated amendment package with enough time for the Disability community to meaningfully participate, and ensure that the legislation contains enforceable protections for disabled people and children before it becomes law.
“This is not an argument against reform,” Ms Langston said.
“It is an argument against asking disabled Australians and our children to carry risks that governments have not resolved.”
“If Parliament passes this legislation without adequate safeguards, disabled people will use every lawful accountability and review mechanism available to us to protect our rights. The Australian government is on notice tonight: The ANPA does not back down and will not run from the most important fight for our rights in decades.'
ENDS
Media contact:
Australian Neurodivergent Parents Association (ANPA)
Sarah Langston (she/her)
President
