The NDIS publishes quarterly data about NDIS participant plans. A4 used these data for the analyses of NDIS costs below.

Following are annual average budget costs for autism in the NDIS from 2019 to 2023 broken down by age.

Laura Tingle

The scheme was overwhelmed by autism cases with nowhere else to go. Creating new services for them is one of the pointiest issues in the review.

One in five children in Australia have disability or developmental concerns, according to the Australian Early Development Census.

The NDIS Review final report is available from https://www.ndisreview.gov.au/resources/reports/working-together-deliver-ndis

It's a 338 page report. There is an infographic that might be a good introduction or summary ... for those who find those accessible.

An Easy Read version is also available. 

Angela Shanahan

From the outset as Minister for the NDIS, The Hon. Bill Shorten MP, said (15/6/2022):

The NDIS will not fulfil the promise if it is the only lifeboat in the ocean for people living with disability.

Minister Shorten is increasingly concerned in relation to Autistic Australians needing NDIS support. He’s used this analogy repeatedly since then.

Australia’s mainstream media are reporting on the story of a 12-year-old girl accused of stabbing a stranger in an apartment, hostel or hotel (reports vary) in Melbourne Vic. The reports include:

MEDIA RELEASE 

17 November 2023

The CEO of A4, a recognised Disability Representative Organisation for autism, has described an ANU researcher’s comments regarding the ‘prevalence of autism’ as flawed. 

The article says:

Australian estimates of prevalence in children are the highest in the world and have grown faster than the global average. Incentives in government policy, specifically the NDIS, is the key factor unique to the Australian context and potentially explains the additional growth in Australian prevalence.