16 April 2025

Thank you to everyone who participated in our recent survey on NDIS advocacy priorities. Your feedback is crucial in shaping our campaigns and making sure the voices of people with disability are heard loud and clear.

Based on your responses, here are the top 5 priorities you identified for NDIS advocacy:

1️⃣ Choice and Control over Providers (58%)
People are saying loud and clear: don’t take away our right to choose. There’s strong opposition to restricting supports to only registered providers.
2️⃣ Reform the NDIS Support Lists (58%)
The lists are too rigid. They limit flexibility and don’t reflect people’s real, individual needs.
3️⃣ Concerns about Support Needs Assessments (49%)
There’s deep worry about how these assessments could be used unfairly or harmfully.
4️⃣ Genuine Co-Design Needs Time (46%)
Rushed reforms won’t work. Co-design must be real – and that takes time.
5️⃣ Protect the Right Not to Be Forced into Group Homes (29%)
People with disability want to decide where we live and who we live with

These results send a clear message to political leaders: the NDIS must return to its original promise of choice, control, and respect for the rights of people with disability. Uphold what made the NDIS transformative and what we advocated for – an NDIS that shifted the power from the bureaucracy, from providers and towards people with disability. Recognise and respect people with disability as experts in our own lives.

People with disability are saying loud and clear that recent changes have made the NDIS more complicated, more bureaucratic, and less responsive to our individual needs. We need to stop adding layers of red tape and give back choice and control to the people with disability.

People with disability should be in charge of where and how we live, who we live with, and how we are supported. That is the NDIS we were promised and that is the NDIS that we will keep fighting for.

Every Australian Counts is committed to advocating for these priorities. Your stories and insights are vital in our continued efforts to make the NDIS meet the needs of our community. We’ll keep raising these issues with policymakers and keep you updated on our progress.

As part of this, we will take these priorities to the key political parties and seek clear commitments on how they will address the concerns of our community and will let you know what they have to say in our next newsletter. We want to help you decide who gets your vote on May 3. 

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the EAC Pre-Election Forum with Senator Jordon Steele-John!

It was a great opportunity to hear directly from Senator Steele-John as he shared his vision for the future of the NDIS and addressed questions from the community. Thank you to everyone who participated and made the forum a success.

If you missed the forum or want to revisit the conversation, you can now watch the full recording here.

With the Federal Election coming up, this is your chance to make your voice heard and ensure that your vote counts for people with disability.

We’ve put together a handy guide to help you navigate the election and make an informed choice. You’ll find:

• ✅ Key voting dates to remember
  

• 📍 How to find your local MP or candidate
  

• 📝 Sample questions to ask about NDIS issues
  

• 💌 Templates for writing emails or letters to your MP
  

• 🌐 Links to resources and assistance for accessible voting
  

Your vote can help shape the future of the NDIS and make sure the voices of people with disability are at the forefront of the conversation.

Visit our guide to get informed and get involved.

Together, we can make sure disability rights are part of the election conversation. Your voice counts – make it heard!

Changes to NDIS Quality and Safeguards

In this episode of the Reasonable & Necessary podcast, Dr George sits down with Louise Glanville, Commissioner of the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, and Natalie Wade, the Associate Commissioner.
They dive deep into the future of the NDIS Commission, the upcoming changes to NDIS regulation and more.

Check it out by clicking on the image below.

NDIA announces co-design reset

The NDIA says it’s reshaping how it works with people with disability to design changes to the NDIS. From April 2025, four new co-design groups will replace existing ones, focusing on early reforms. Every Australian Counts welcomes this step - but we’re calling for broad, genuine engagement that truly reflects the diversity of our community.

New! Financial Literacy Resources for NDIS Self-Managers

Are you self-managing your NDIS plan - or thinking about it? This suite of free, easy-to-understand Financial Literacy resources were co-designed by people with disability to ensure they are practical, easy to use, and relevant. The resources have been created the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO) as part of a project funded by Ecstra Foundation, to support NDIS Self-Managers to use their funds effectively.

You’ll find:

• A full online course with step-by-step guides

• Accessible fact sheets, including an Easy Read introduction

• A video series with standalone Auslan translations

• The ABCs of Self-Management to guide you through each part of the process

📚 Explore the Financial Literacy Resources

We’d love to know what you think!
💬 Take the feedback survey
📝 Take the Easy Read version of the survey