Health and Community Solutions

03/06/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined our community forum last week on the proposed NDIS changes.
More than ever, our community is showing up, asking questions, sharing experiences, and standing together to protect the NDIS.
We know there is a lot of uncertainty right now. That's why it was so important to hear directly from Senator Jordon Steele-John, Belinda Kochanowska from Intrepidus Law, and Naomi Anderson from Villamanta Disability Rights Legal Service about what's at risk, what these changes could mean, and what we can do next.

If you couldn't make it, or you'd like to watch it again, you can access the recording here:
🎥 Watch the forum recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZLGZZx3y8s

The conversation doesn't stop here.
📣 Contact decision-makers: https://eac.good.do/stopfixprotect/

Together, we will keep pushing for an NDIS that delivers fairness, dignity, choice and control for people with disability.

If the NDIS changes feel overwhelming, you're not alone. Support is available: Lifeline 13 11 14 | Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636

Join the EAC mailing list: https://everyaustraliancounts.com.au/join-every-australian-counts/
Donate: https://everyaustraliancounts.com.au/donate/

[Image description: Promotional graphic for an Every Australian Counts community forum. The graphic features the title "NDIS Cuts: What's at Risk + What We Do Next" and photos of Senator Jordon Steele-John, Belinda Kochanowska from Intrepidus Law, and Naomi Anderson from Villamanta. A large red button reads "Watch Now". The Every Australian Counts logo appears at the top left. A red patterned border runs down the right-hand side of the graphic. ]

Mark Butler MP
Jenny McAllister
Senator Jordon Steele-John
Melissa McIntosh MP

03/06/2026

FPDN's submission to the proposed National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 raises significant concerns regarding the cumulative impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability, their families and communities.

While some amendments raise immediate concerns and others may appear administrative or technical in isolation, the combined effect of the reforms risks significantly increasing exclusion, disengagement and inequity for people already experiencing systemic disadvantage.

Read the submission here:https://fpdn.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/FPDN-Submission-NDIS-Amendment-Bill-Jun-2026.pdf

Image description (alt text): A magenta tile with subtle Aboriginal artwork patterns in the background. At the top center, the First Peoples Disability Network logo appears inside a white rounded box. Below the logo, a white banner contains the dark magenta text “FPDN SUBMISSION.” The bottom half of the tile has a white background with dark magenta text that reads: “National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026.”

02/06/2026

The reforms mark the system’s first overhaul in three decades. Details below.

02/06/2026

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has weighed in on the imminent wage decision. More below.

02/06/2026

01/06/2026

SOURCE - PWD
How does a Bill become Law?

A Bill is a proposal for a law or amendment to a law.
It must first be agreed to by the House of Representatives (aka the Lower House).
Then agreed by the Senate.
Then signed as law (given Royal Assent) by the Governor-General to become an Act of Parliament.

Any amendments to the Act (like the current NDIS Amendment Bill ) are subject to this same process.

The Parliamentary Education Office has a range of resources to help you understand how Parliament works: https://buff.ly/W6WnX80

Image description in comments.

01/06/2026

How does a Bill become Law?

A Bill is a proposal for a law or amendment to a law.
It must first be agreed to by the House of Representatives (aka the Lower House).
Then agreed by the Senate.
Then signed as law (given Royal Assent) by the Governor-General to become an Act of Parliament.

Any amendments to the Act (like the current NDIS Amendment Bill ) are subject to this same process.

The Parliamentary Education Office has a range of resources to help you understand how Parliament works: https://buff.ly/W6WnX80

Image description in comments.

01/06/2026

Accessible homes don’t just benefit people with disability; they also support ageing Australians, families, and future tenants and buyers.

Small Changes, Big Difference is a campaign which provides clear guidance on how accessibility modifications can be requested and installed in private rentals, and how property owners can adopt best practice.

You can check out the campaign and even share the materials yourself at this link: https://qdn.org.au/home-mods/

This is how property owners, investors, and property managers can play a critical role in making rental housing more accessible, inclusive, and respectful.

Developed by Queenslanders with Disability Network (QDN) in collaboration with people with lived experience of disability, The REIQ, industry representatives, the Department of Housing and Public Works (DHPW), and other key industry peak bodies, the campaign promotes consistent and accurate guidance across the sector.

01/06/2026

Changes to the obligations and support for Aussies on payments like Job Seeker will be formally announced today.

01/06/2026

A POLITICAL TARGETING MACHINE DISGUISED AS PROCESS — STILL RUNNING AFTER ELECTION DEFEAT

This is a political network that doesn’t switch off when elections end, leaders fall, or voters move on.

It just recalibrates.

James McGrath and Peter Dutton are not just “colleagues.” They are long-standing factional allies embedded in the same political machine — a machine built on loyalty, protection, and mutual defence that has shaped internal LNP power struggles for over a decade.

When the 2018 leadership crisis hit, McGrath didn’t stay neutral. He didn’t observe. He didn’t hesitate.

He resigned from government and threw himself into backing Dutton’s leadership push — publicly, deliberately, and at full political cost.

When internal battles hit again in 2021, the support flowed back the other way. Dutton backed McGrath to secure his Senate position. Loyalty reinforced. Faction secured. Power protected.

When Dutton became Opposition Leader in 2022, McGrath wasn’t just “supporting the team” — he was inside it. Part of the messaging. Part of the defence strategy. Part of the political attack structure that shields leadership and targets opponents.

And when the Coalition lost in 2025 and Dutton lost his seat, you might expect that cycle to end.

It didn’t.

Because the structure doesn’t depend on who holds office. It depends on who holds influence.

Even outside parliament, the political alignment, the defensive positioning, and the targeting of opponents continues to orbit the same factional centre of gravity.

So when McGrath refers a political opponent to the AEC in 2026 over a disputed enrolment technicality involving a demolished property being rebuilt into an accessible home — people are right to ask what is actually going on here.

Is this about genuine electoral integrity?

Or is this part of a continuing political culture where factional loyalty survives elections, where old leadership battles are still being fought through new targets, and where political opponents remain under constant scrutiny long after the public has moved on?

Because if this is what politics becomes — a closed loop of allies defending allies, escalating disputes, and extending internal factional wars into public institutions — then it stops looking like democracy in any meaningful sense.

And starts looking like something else entirely.

A system that protects itself first.

And explains itself later.

People don’t have to accept that as normal.

They can see it. And they can call it out.