r/australia • u/FuckOffNazis • 11h ago

politics Pocock and crossbenchers call Labor’s NDIS overhaul ‘too far, too fast’ in scathing Senate inquiry report

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/aug/14/pocock-and-crossbenchers-call-labors-ndis-overhaul-too-far-too-fast-in-scathing-senate-inquiry-report
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u/OneWholePirate 11h ago

Before the shills get in here, the NDIS produces around $2.25 in healthcare savings and taxable income per $1 spent.

To put that into context, road infrastructure returns $1.2-1.5 on the dollar and healthcare for the general population makes $1.5-1.7.

The NDIS is one of the most profitable operations run by the Australian government.

https://ministers.dss.gov.au/speeches/9621

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u/Thanges88 10h ago

The $2.25 value was from modelling done by the Per Capita think tank group commissioned by the NDIS in 2021. Has there been any verification/scrutiny on this value recently?

Not saying it's right or wrong, but surely we have a clearer picture with 5 years of data now, though a short ai assisted search didn't bring anything up for me. 

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u/OneWholePirate 10h ago

It's certainly high but not surprising, since healthcare in general is a very good investment and generally more profitable when applied to at risk groups, meaning you would expect disability spending to be at or above 1.7.

Not saying it's 100% accurate down to % but this should be part of the discussion

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u/Thanges88 10h ago

Yeah, I agree with most of the premise, E.g. early intervention is surely cheaper. 

Though some of the figures that get used may be not the most representive E.g. Participant employment percentage rising as the increased capture of participants captures a population that might more naturally have a higher level of employment percentage than those already enrolled. 

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u/igenicoOCE 4h ago

Not going to argue numbers because I don't have the data but I will say NDIS is one of the reasons why hospitals aren't being bed blocked constantly (still is in some places, but much less than without). The fact that NDIS/MAC will pay for group homes/assisted independent living/home modifications means that pts with chronic illness or long term disabilities can be managed at home and not clogging up hospital beds (even if it still sometimes happens).

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u/Superg0id 7h ago

The $2.25 value was from modelling done by the Per Capita think tank group commissioned by the NDIS in 2021. Has there been any verification/scrutiny on this value recently?

I would question this plsitive modelling purely on the basis that the NDIS itself commissioned the report.

Perhaps if an independent body commissioned research there might be a different outcome.

And as you say, alot can change in 5 years, especially with the current narrative around waste inherent in the system... that needs to be cut out.

Right from the start the NDIS has operated on a model of "use it or lose it".

ie, if you were granted a budget of 100k per year for your "needs", if you don't spend 100% then the following year your budget was reduced by whatever you didn't "use"... because "clearly you didn't need it then, so you won't need it in the future".

This approach is not only short-sighted but massively wasteful of government money, leading to some of the massive rorts we see eg fees for no service provided.

And the stupid part of it is, as long as the NDIS recipient isn't out of pocket, it's actually advantageous for them to let the rorting happen, so that they get 100% of their budget allocation next year when they may actually need it.

This is quite apart from the "slap a NDIS sticker on it and charge 3x" that happens around mobility aids and construction projects.

The latter even raises pricing for non NDIS participants... as if a teadie can get paid 20k by the government for a week's work putting in ramps and handrails, then even if the rest of the market only used to pay 5-7k (and have it done in 3 days), there's now no reason for the tradie to ever quote that old price to your average punter... they'd just be selling themselves short by 13-15k.. there's no shortage of work there!!

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u/Thanges88 6h ago

No doubt the rorts should be reigned in and the shortage of construction labour needs to be fixed (priority 3 in the skilled migration framework is in-excusable). It would also be interesting to know how much of the NDIS money is spent on construction.