Labor’s NDIS overhaul faces delay as Coalition and Greens consider teaming up to slow bill’s passage

Lead

The Australian government is facing a potential delay to its planned overhaul of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), with the Coalition and the Greens signalling they could team up in the Senate to extend inquiries into the legislation. The move threatens Labor's hopes of passing the NDIS changes and its first budget bill before parliament rises for the winter recess on 2 July.

Health Minister Mark Butler has doubled down on plans to pass the contentious NDIS changes as early as this month, warning the opposition against using the bill as a "pawn in a bigger chess game." But disability advocacy groups, NDIS providers, and state and territory disability ministers have roundly criticised the proposed changes at public hearings, arguing they cannot replace disability supports for the more than 200,000 participants expected to be shifted off the scheme by 2031.

Coverage comparison

Reporting on the story has focused on the political manoeuvring around the NDIS bill and the broader tax changes, with coverage from the ABC and The Guardian highlighting different aspects of the conflict.

The ABC reported on Shadow Treasurer Tim Wilson's criticism of the government's two-day Senate inquiry into its budget measures, which Wilson said was "running roughshod over democracy." The outlet also covered a fiery exchange between Wilson and Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth on Channel Nine, during which Wilson accused Labor of lying about taking changes to capital gains tax and negative gearing to the last election.

The Guardian's coverage centred on the potential alliance between the Coalition and the Greens, noting that both have criticised Labor's truncated timeline to pass NDIS, negative gearing, and capital gains changes. The Guardian also reported that the Greens want Labor to halt its plans to rush the NDIS cuts through the Senate, urging a longer inquiry process as the government seeks the minor party's support for its tax and housing changes.

Key claims

• Shadow Treasurer Tim Wilson says the two-day Senate inquiry into the government's budget measures is "running roughshod over democracy." (ABC)
• Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth and Shadow Treasurer Tim Wilson clashed on Channel Nine about the Senate inquiry. (ABC)
• The Coalition has not given up on trying to extend the brief, two-day hearing into what the ABC described as "the largest shake up of Australia's tax system in years." (ABC)
• Mark Butler has doubled down on his plans to pass the NDIS changes as early as this month, warning the opposition against using the bill as a "pawn in a bigger chess game." (The Guardian)
• The Greens want Labor to halt its plans to rush NDIS cuts through the Senate later this month, urging a longer inquiry process. (The Guardian)
• Treasury modelling shows that almost 60 per cent of the overall savings from the NDIS changes would come from cutting participant community participation and therapy budgets ($13.2 billion over four years) and tightening access through a new functional capacity test ($9.3 billion). (ABC)
• NDIS Minister Jenny McAllister repeatedly rejected accusations from Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John that the government was misrepresenting the target of its cuts. (ABC)

Perspectives

Government (Labor): Mark Butler argues the NDIS changes are necessary reforms that should not be delayed, saying a six-month extension to the inquiry could cost the budget billions and prolong poor services. He said he was "utterly convinced" the plan was right and didn't rule out amendments. NDIS Minister Jenny McAllister defended the government's approach, rejecting claims it was misrepresenting the cuts as fraud crackdowns.

Opposition (Coalition): Shadow Treasurer Tim Wilson criticised the government's haste, calling the two-day inquiry "running roughshod over democracy" and accusing Labor of lying about taking changes to capital gains tax and negative gearing to the last election. He said the Coalition would seek "maximum leverage" to scrutinise the tax changes, not ruling out seeking the Greens' support for a longer inquiry.

Greens: Greens treasury spokesperson Nick McKim said his party opposed the NDIS changes and wanted to further probe the cuts. The Greens have long supported winding back negative gearing, CGT, and family trust concessions, and while they voted for the tax legislation in the lower house, senior party sources say the government has not made the case for rushing those changes through parliament. The Greens have told Labor it would be a "red line" if the NDIS bill were pushed through in the next sitting fortnight.

Other voices: Disability advocacy groups and NDIS providers roundly criticised the proposed NDIS changes at public hearings, and state and territory disability ministers argued they could not replace disability supports for the more than 200,000 participants expected to be shifted off the scheme by 2031.