Longstanding disability advocates lose funding as NDIS participants reel from cuts

As people with disability adjust to the biggest-ever cuts to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), longstanding advocacy organisations supporting them through the change are now facing their own funding reductions.

The end of this month will see the decades-old government program that funds disability advocacy organisations replaced with a new one.

Several longstanding organisations across multiple states have been told by the Department of Health they will not be part of the new funding process.

One of those organisations, Villamanta Disability Rights Legal Service in regional Victoria, said it was now losing 30 per cent of its total funding, with the “immediate and significant” impact to result in job losses and a dramatic reduction in the support available to people with disability.

CEO Annie Nash said it meant Villamanta could no longer accept new clients at a time of unprecedented demand made worse in recent months by widespread cuts to the NDIS.

“This is a win for every dodgy provider unlawfully evicting an NDIS participant from their home,” she said.

“It is a win for every person using guardianship or administration powers to commit family violence against a person with disability.

“It is a win for every disability service that has caused a loss to an NDIS participant or is pursuing them for an unlawful debt.”

Ms Nash said the decision was difficult to understand given a review carried out by the Department of Health in March recognised Villamanta as a leader in the sector that provided an “invaluable service”.

“So many of our supporters have come out in the last 24 hours … We’re getting inundated because we’re trusted, we’re respected and we provide high-quality support,” she said.

Disability Advocacy Network Australia acting CEO, Cherry Baylosis, said the changes were “out of touch” with what people with disability needed right now and many advocates were already unable to keep up with demand.

She said many advocates were a lifeline for people, assisting them through difficult times such as hospital visits and finding emergency accommodation.

“Advocates are the person who will stand in somebody’s corner … without that we can expect to see people navigating a crisis without appropriate support,” Ms Baylosis said.

“It means people are potentially going to be left on their own … or responsibility will be placed on families and carers who are often already overrun”.

The Department of Health did not directly answer questions about how many advocates had lost funding or whether the reallocation of funds was made strategically to prevent people with disability from seeking support.

In a statement, a spokesperson said the new funding model was in response to disability royal commission recommendations.

“Up to $184 million (GST exclusive) was available over six financial years (2026–27 to 2031–32),” they said.

“The open competitive grant opportunity allowed both existing and new advocacy organisations to demonstrate the capabilities required to deliver the new program.”

The spokesperson said organisations with funding under the current model would continue to receive it until February 2027 to support the transition to the new program.

The Albanese government’s overhaul of the now more-than $50 billion NDIS is expected to see 240,000 participants removed from the scheme over the next four years, saving more than $38 billion.

Cuts to a category of funding allowing participants to pay for therapies and another for support workers to take them to appointments, work and social activities, began on October 1.

The NDIS, which now supports more than 782,000 participants, has been growing at 10.5 per cent per year.

That is about half the rate it was when Labor was elected in 2022, but the Albanese government hopes its changes will help slow the scheme’s growth to its target of 2 or 3 per cent per year.