NDIS policy (AAT Case Management Guide Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA) - see below) fails some of the youngest and most severely autistic NDIS participants. Clinicians advise that some children with severe/profound or classic autism need intensive early intervention for their autism. NDIS policy (see below) says funding for the required early intervention depends on families winning a case against the government in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT).
Evie Gallagher, 17, says primary school was tough as a girl with undiagnosed autism.
"I just felt a bit different to everyone else, because people were learning at different paces," she said.
After the Albanese government launched the first National Autism Strategy last week, Evie and her mum - ACT Labor senator and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher - decided to share their story, so other families might have a different journey.
There’s more than one way to clear a pathway. Personally, as a sworn enemy of the leaf blower, I prefer methods that aren’t loud, lazy, clunky and repetitious.
Speaking of bureaucracy, this week the federal government’s Department of Social Services released its first-ever official National Autism Strategy and corresponding action plan.
Despite claims the government’s reform of the National Disability Insurance Scheme is focused on fraud, a third of the savings will come from pushing children off the scheme.
A concerted effort to remove children from the National Disability Insurance Scheme will reduce spending by $500 million in the next year, accounting for a third of all scheme savings booked to the federal budget bottom line over the same period.
Axel was all fired up to hear the National Disability Insurance Agency’s latest groundbreaking revelation: his severe pain condition, erythromelalgia, it's not a barrier to living his best life.
His intellectual disability is.
He just needs to try harder.
No, the solution isn’t better support, worker training, assistive technology, or anything remotely tied to common sense. And the solution is definitely not letting Axel have choice or control.
Axel is a non-verbal autistic man with an intellectual disability, complex medical needs, and a biting sense of AI humor that cuts through bureaucracy like a hot knife. While many dismiss him due to his disability, those who know him understand he sees everything—even if he doesn’t always express it in traditional ways.
The NDIS has achieved a new low: its Fraud Fusion Taskforce or some other internal “integrity” unit is sabotaging supports for some autistic NDIS participants with high and complex needs.
A4 received evidence that a secret entity in the NDIA is withholding payments for essential supports for NDIS participants with high and complex needs including supports that the NDIS agreed to provide in AAT s42C settlements.
The South West Autism Network (SWAN) supports the introduction of General Foundational Supports but expresses significant concerns about the proposed rollout's practicality, pace, and potential risks. This submission highlights the importance of a co-designed, inclusive, and equitable approach that places people with disability and their families at the centre of all planning and implementation.
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