WWDA warns NDIS bill could deepen gendered exclusion

Women With Disabilities Australia has warned that proposed NDIS reforms could deepen existing exclusion unless the government undertakes a comprehensive gender impact analysis and co-designs changes with women, girls and gender-diverse people with disability.

In a May 2026 submission on the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026, WWDA argues that women and girls with disability already face structural barriers to diagnosis, evidence gathering, support access and safety. The organisation says the bill risks worsening those barriers if support is reduced or shifted outside the NDIS without safeguards.

The submission says women make up more than half of people with disability in Australia but just over a third of NDIS participants. That disparity is central to WWDA’s argument: reforms that look neutral in legislative language may land unevenly in a system where assessment, documentation, unpaid care and safety risks are already gendered.

WWDA also warns of cost shifting. If formal supports are narrowed or removed, the need for support does not disappear; it can move onto unpaid carers, who are disproportionately women. The submission links that risk to isolation, reduced participation and increased safety concerns, particularly for people already facing family violence, economic insecurity or barriers to independent living.

The government has framed the bill as necessary to secure the NDIS for future generations, improve integrity and ensure the scheme remains available for people with permanent and significant disability. The department should be asked how the bill has been assessed for gendered impact, what safeguards will apply to women and girls moved out of the scheme, and how unpaid care burdens will be monitored.

This sidebar should run only after the main legislative explainer has established what the bill does. Its value is to show that the reform debate is not only about aggregate participant numbers or costs, but about who is already least likely to get support and who may absorb the consequences if formal supports are withdrawn.

What is confirmed

What remains unclear

WWDA says the NDIS reform bill could affect women and girls with disability differently because they already face barriers to diagnosis, support and safety. The group wants the government to check the gender impact before the bill goes ahead.

Sources

Women With Disabilities Australia: Gendered Risks of the NDIS Amendment Bill 2026. https://assets.wwda.org.au/uploads/2026/05/NDISBill-GenderedRisk-May2026_22052026.pdf

Parliament of Australia Bills Digest: National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026. https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/bd/bd2526/26bd065

Department of Health, Disability and Ageing: NDIS Amendment Bill page. https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/ndis-legislation-changes/amendments/ndis-amendment-securing-the-ndis-for-future-generations-bill-2026