Carers WA has welcomed important amendments to the NDIS Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026, describing them as a positive step towards better recognising the vital role of carers and families in supporting people with disability.
However, Carers WA warns that significant gaps remain, leaving unpaid carers at risk of carrying an even greater share of Australia’s care burden as reforms are implemented.
The amendments strengthen recognition of carers and families in NDIS decision-making, provide clearer protections around parental responsibility, and improve reassessment and review pathways for participants.
While these changes address a number of concerns raised by carers during the inquiry process, Carers WA remains deeply concerned about the impact of reductions in funded supports on families already providing substantial unpaid care (over 2.2 billion hours per year)¹.
A recent report by The Australia Institute estimates that NDIS cuts could result in the loss of the equivalent of 94 million hours of paid care, with much of that responsibility now likely to fall to family members and volunteers.
Carers WA CEO Richard Newman said, “We support a sustainable NDIS, but sustainability must not come at the expense of the people who already provide care every day, often at huge personal cost”.
“We welcome the Government listening to the concerns of people with disability, families and carers and taking steps to strengthen the Bill,” Mr Newman said.
“The recognition that NDIS funding decisions can have serious impacts on carers, family relationships and informal support networks is an important and overdue step forward.”
The amendments make it clear that parents and carers should not be expected to provide disability-related supports beyond those ordinarily required by children of the same age without disability. They also require the NDIA to consider the risk of harm to families and informal supports when making funding decisions.
Despite these improvements, Carers WA says the legislation still does not provide sufficient safeguards against costs and responsibilities being shifted from formal disability services onto unpaid carers.
“When support services are reduced, delayed or unavailable, the need for care does not simply disappear,” Mr Newman said.
“Instead, it often shifts behind closed doors onto parents, partners, siblings and loved ones who are already doing everything they can to keep their families afloat.”
Carers WA is also concerned that there is no requirement to routinely assess how reforms affect carers, no ongoing monitoring of carer outcomes and no guarantee that replacement supports will be available before existing services change.
Carers WA has further highlighted the challenges facing carers in regional and remote communities, where workforce shortages and limited access to services often leave families with few alternatives.
“We hear every day from carers who are balancing employment, caring responsibilities, financial pressures and their own health needs,” Mr Newman said.
“Many are exhausted. Many are stretched to breaking point. Reform must not be built on the assumption that carers can simply take on more.”
Mr Newman said the success of the NDIS should be measured not only by its financial sustainability, but by its impact on the lives of participants and the families who support them.
“Carers are the backbone of Australia’s care system, yet too often their contribution is invisible.”
“A sustainable NDIS requires sustainable carers. If carers are forced to leave work, sacrifice their health, or shoulder ever-increasing responsibilities, then the true cost of reform is simply being transferred from government budgets onto families.”
Carers WA is calling on governments to ensure the burden of reform is not carried by those already carrying so much. Families and carers deserve stronger protections, meaningful monitoring of the impacts of reform, better access to services in regional communities and recognition as partners in care, not a replacement for the supports people with disability need and deserve.
Available for interview:
Richard Newman – Carers WA CEO
Additional Information
Who is a carer? : A carer is a person who provides unpaid care and support to a family member or friend who has disability, mental health challenge, chronic condition, terminal illness, an alcohol or other drug issue or who is frail aged. This unpaid care is not provided as part of a work or volunteer contract. A carer can be aged 8 years old and up, and could be caring for many people at once, or for someone with co-occurring health conditions.
About Carers WA : Carers WA is the peak body that represents the needs and interests of carers in WA. Carers WA aims to enhance and support the empowerment and wellbeing of carers through our programs, services and advocacy. Carers WA provides a range of free supports and services, including those available through Carer Gateway. Carers WA is a non-profit, community-based organisation and registered charity dedicated to improving the lives of the estimated 320,000 unpaid family carers living in WA.
About Carer Gateway : Carers WA is also the lead provider of Carer Gateway services in WA. Carer Gateway is an Australian Government initiative providing a mix of free online, telephone and in-person supports, services and advice for family carers in Australia.
¹(Deloitte Access Economics, 2020)
