The Curtin Student Guild has appeared before the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee inquiry into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026, warning that the proposed changes could push people with disability further away from education.
Accessibility Officer Mia Antenucci appeared on behalf of the Guild alongside Accessibility Collective member Caitlin Hindley, representing Curtin students with disability and carers.
In her opening statement, Mia warned that many students cannot afford the diagnosis or treatment they need and that requiring people to undergo treatment before receiving support would delay essential care.
“Requiring treatment delays care. Not having access to appropriate mobility aids or therapies causes lifelong damage,” Mia said.
“This is not only morally wrong, but incredibly financially irresponsible. Delaying support causes greater harm and creates additional costs that could have been avoided if people received care at the appropriate time.”
The Guild also raised concerns that functional capacity assessments may fail to recognise how inaccessible university environments affect students with disability. Curtin has approximately 7,000 students with disability, representing around 11 per cent of its student population.
Mia also warned that removing children from the NDIS could restrict their access to education and prevent more people with disability from reaching university.
The Guild’s submission calls for the Bill not to be passed in its current form, raising concerns about reduced access, unnecessary reassessments, automated decision-making, cuts to social and community participation supports and the removal of children and young people from the NDIS.
The Guild will continue standing with students with disability and demanding that any reform of the NDIS is transparent, rights-based and shaped by people with disability.
