CARERS AUSTRALIA
UNPAID carers could be forced to cut their working hours or take on greater caring responsibilities following the passage of controversial changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme, according to Australia’s peak carers body.
Carers Australia has joined disability advocates in raising concerns about the NDIS Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026, warning reductions in funded supports risk shifting responsibility onto families and unpaid carers.
The organisation’s CEO Joanna Cave said carers would be “dismayed” by the passage of the legislation and argued there was no guarantee alternative services would be ready before existing NDIS supports were removed.
“The Government has refused to guarantee NDIS supports won’t be removed until other services are available, leaving carers to face some really tough decisions,” Ms Cave said.
“Working carers may need to reduce their hours, and full-time carers are working through how they will cope without supports that help the person they care for maintain some independence.”
The warning comes as People with Disability Australia (PWDA) described the passage of the Bill as a “devastating day” for the disability community.
PWDA Acting CEO Megan Spindler-Smith said while amendments made during the parliamentary process would provide protections for some people, the organisation remained concerned that hundreds of thousands could be denied access to the NDIS or lose supports.
A central concern for both organisations is what happens if NDIS assistance is reduced before alternative services outside the scheme are established.
PWDA has questioned how governments will replace what it says amounts to 94 million hours of paid care being removed, while Carers Australia fears some of that responsibility will inevitably fall on unpaid carers.
