The Guardian’s recent reporting on proposals to introduce computer-generated NDIS plans appears to signal a substantial change in the way participant budgets may be determined. Disability Representative Organisations (DROs) emphasise that reforms require the highest standards of scrutiny, transparency and safeguards to ensure they do not undermine the rights and experiences of people with disability.

Our concerns about the use of automation in New Framework Planning are compounded by changes to review pathways, which appear to narrow the grounds on which decisions can be challenged and limit the scope of the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART), which cannot vary a participant’s plan and can only trigger a reassessment by the original decision-maker. This would significantly limit participants’ ability to correct errors or challenge flawed assumptions. At the same time, there is currently no clear guarantee that written evidence provided by participants will be considered in these processes. We are deeply concerned that these changes, combined with increasing automation, will create significant risks, particularly for people with the highest support need.