Yesterday's implementation of cuts to the NDIS will devastate access to critical services for people living with disability.  

Despite the APA and many other allied health bodies raising overwhelming concern for participants and providers, the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) has proceeded with changes based on flawed, limited data and developed without sector consultation.

The NDIA has admitted issues with the data underpinning these decisions. Nevertheless, the changes have come into effect, and participants and providers alike are grappling with what these changes mean for their care, services and long-term viability – many being forced to make difficult decisions in response to the immediate disruption these changes have caused.

In recent weeks, the APA has heard from thousands of National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants, carers, clinicians and everyday Australians who recognise just how dangerous these cuts are. The APA’s petition calling for the NDIA to reverse the price cuts, restore travel funding and urgently index the price guides for allied health services has already attracted over 54,000 signatures and every day, the APA receives messages from people across Australia who say these cuts will have catastrophic and life-threatening consequences for their well-being.      

The APA and our members have met with countless government officials, including the office of the Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, members of the opposition, as well as the NDIA directly, to share these concerns and to make clear these cuts will force many healthcare providers working within the scheme to close their doors.

In these meetings, the APA and members have communicated that physiotherapists have already endured five years of price stagnation, that the flawed data used by the NDIA to make this decision ignores an existing 13.3 per cent shortfall between operating costs and price limits and that indisputable evidence from independent consultancy Nous Group shows NDIA rates are not above market rates for physiotherapy. 

Despite this, and to the APA’s great concern, the NDIA remained insistent in their intent to implement these changes.  

It is not too late for the NDIA to reverse course, and the APA stands ready and willing to consult with the NDIA to implement change which does not put the well-being of some of Australia’s most vulnerable people at risk.  

The APA will not step back, and we will continue to meet with government, agency leaders and sector partners to engage in data-driven, evidence-based conversations which propel the sector towards a sustainable path forward for all involved parties.

There are ongoing avenues to pursue. We are actively engaging across Parliament, with strong support from a range of ministers and Senators. With Parliament returning on 22 July, this issue will remain high on the national agenda.

The APA also continues to call for an independent review into how these decisions were made. Transparency and meaningful consultation are essential, especially when the stakes are this high.

The APA recognises how critical these coming days and weeks are for the many physiotherapists working in the sector.  

We ask that you continue to support our campaign, encourage your participants to engage and that we move forward together. You can also support the APA’s work by contributing to this survey, enabling us to collect current data on how you are moving forward during this period. We will keep you updated on new developments as they arise and will have more information to come.