When Karen McKenzie received an unexpected letter from the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) in August, she had to read it three times before it sank in.
Key points:
- Hundreds of people with autism and intellectual disabilities have lost NDIS funding after the NDIA ruled it wasn't "value for money"
- Some parents have quit their jobs or sold their homes to become their children's full-time carers
- The federal government denies it has a "secret plan" to cut funding to people with autism
Her son Jarrod, who has autism and severe intellectual disabilities, needs help to eat, get dressed and use the bathroom, but the NDIS funding that paid for his carers had been cut by more than half.