The Australian Senate has commenced hearings regarding a comprehensive bill intended to reduce expenditures within the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

澳洲參議院已開始就一份旨在減少國家殘疾保險計劃（NDIS）支出的全面法案進行聽證。

The proposed legislation seeks to establish a sustainable fiscal framework for the NDIS, which currently maintains a valuation of $50 billion. Central to this initiative is the granting of expanded discretionary powers to the NDIS Minister, enabling the unilateral reduction of funding for specific support categories. Specifically, the explanatory notes indicate an initial intent to decrease social and community participation budgets by 50% and capacity-building budgets by 10%. Furthermore, the bill introduces ministerial authority to impose funding caps and regulate provider pricing.

擬議中的立法旨在為目前價值 500 億美元的 NDIS 建立一個可持續的財政框架。該倡議的核心是賦予 NDIS 部長擴大的酌情權，使其能夠單方面削減特定支持類別的資金。具體而言，解釋性說明指出，初步意圖將社會和社區參與預算減少 50%，以及能力建設預算減少 10%。此外，該法案引入了部長權限，可對資金設定上限並監管提供者的定價。

Eligibility criteria are slated for tightening via a new assessment tool effective from 2028. Access will be contingent upon the presence of a 'severe' and 'permanent' disability, with permanence requiring the exhaustion of all evidence-based treatments, irrespective of a participant's financial or geographical constraints. Additionally, the legislation posits that individuals whose needs are serviceable by alternative systems, such as aged care or workers' compensation, should be excluded from the scheme. This shift in eligibility is projected by the Grattan Institute to reduce the participant population to 598,000 by 2030/31, contributing to an estimated $11 billion of the $16.6 billion in forecast savings for 2029/30.

資格標準計劃透過 2028 年起生效的新評估工具予以收緊。獲准進入的條件將取決於是否存在「嚴重」且「永久性」的殘疾，而永久性要求在不考慮參與者的財務或地理限制的情況下，已耗盡所有基於證據的治療方法。此外，該立法認為，如果個人的需求可由其他系統（如老年護理或勞工補償）提供服務，則應被排除在該計劃之外。Grattan 研究所預計，資格條件的轉變將使參與人數在 2030/31 年減少至 598,000 人，在 2029/30 年預計 166 億美元的節省中貢獻約 110 億美元。

Administrative reforms include the authorization of automated decision-making processes for objective claims processing. While the government asserts that human delegates will retain override capabilities, advocacy groups have expressed concern regarding the lack of specificity in these automated powers. Moreover, the bill formalizes a presumption of parental responsibility for substantial care, potentially shifting the burden of support from the state to informal caregivers. To address fiscal leakage, the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) would receive enhanced investigative powers, including search and seizure authority and the ability to impose fines for provider non-compliance.

行政改革包括授權自動化決策流程以處理客觀的索賠。儘管政府聲稱人類代表將保留覆核能力，但倡議團體對這些自動化權限缺乏具體說明表示擔憂。此外，該法案將父母承擔重大照顧責任的推定正式化，有可能將支持負擔從國家轉移至非正式照顧者。為了解決財政流失，國家殘疾保險署（NDIA）將獲得強化的調查權，包括搜查與扣押權，以及對不合規提供者處以罰款的能力。

Stakeholder positioning reveals a significant divergence in perspective. The administration maintains that the measures are compatible with human rights and necessary for institutional longevity. Conversely, disability advocacy groups and the NDIS advisory committee characterize the changes as a 'reverse means test' that disproportionately penalizes vulnerable populations. Women With Disabilities Australia has further noted that the resulting care burden will likely fall disproportionately upon women, potentially necessitating their withdrawal from the workforce.

利益相關者的定位顯示出視角的顯著分歧。政府堅持認為這些措施與人權兼容，且對於機構的長期生存至關重要。相反，殘疾倡議團體和 NDIS 諮詢委員會將這些變化描述為一種「反向資產調查」，對弱勢群體造成了不成比例的懲罰。澳洲殘疾女性組織（Women With Disabilities Australia）進一步指出，由此產生的照顧負擔可能會不成比例地落在女性身上， l可能導致她們退出勞動力市場。

The Senate inquiry is scheduled to report by June 16, with the final legislation subject to potential amendments to secure cross-party support.

參議院調查預計將於 6 月 16 日前提交報告，最終立法可能會為了獲得跨黨派支持而進行修正。