{"id":27892,"date":"2026-06-09T13:09:33","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T13:09:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/27892\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T13:09:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T13:09:33","slug":"ndis-reforms-unions-demand-labor-abandon-workers-comp-restrictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/27892\/","title":{"rendered":"NDIS reforms: Unions demand Labor abandon workers\u2019 comp restrictions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Unions are demanding Labor abandon plans to restrict NDIS access<\/a> for those also receiving funding through workers\u2019 compensation schemes, warning the proposed reforms risk \u201cdisadvantaging injured workers\u201d and calling on the government to \u201cmaintain the status quo\u201d.<\/p>\n

As disability advocates and industry leaders prepare to lay out their mounting concerns<\/a> over Labor\u2019s landmark NDIS reforms at a parliamentary inquiry this week, the Australian Council of Trade Unions warned against policies seeking to reduce duplication between different taxpayer-funded support schemes. <\/p>\n

Of the nearly 8300 NDIS participants<\/a> also receiving workers\u2019 compensation, more than 2600 have acquired brain injuries, while 1280 have spinal injuries and 1200 are listed as having \u201cother physical\u201d conditions.<\/p>\n

But the ACTU said Labor\u2019s current approach<\/a> in seeking to restrict NDIS access for those receiving workers\u2019 compensation was \u201cproblematic\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ACTU is concerned that the proposed exclusion has not adequately considered its practical consequences and will disadvantage injured workers with ongoing support needs,\u201d a submission to the committee scrutinising the bill said. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a matter of fairness. Workers who acquire a disability through work should not be treated less favourably than others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Labor\u2019s NDIS legislation, which is central to achieving its $185bn in projected savings, proposes more explicit exclusions of people eligible for compensation after suffering a workplace injury or vehicle accident. \u201cThese measures achieve legitimate public policy aims of avoiding the duplication of benefits, ensuring that public resources are allocated efficiently,\u201d the bill introduced to parliament last month states.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout such a rule, there is a continued risk that the NDIS becomes the default funder for impairments where another scheme is responsible, thereby undermining the integrity of the compensation system and increasing sustainability risks for the NDIS.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the ACTU argued there was legislation already in place seeking to prevent duplication between various support schemes, accusing the government of going \u201cwell beyond\u201d that goal in the bill as currently drafted.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt excludes all people eligible for workers compensation from accessing the NDIS, even after they\u2019ve exhausted their entitlements under workers\u2019 compensation,\u201d the ACTU said.<\/p>\n

While Labor\u2019s legislation notes there would be \u201cvarious safeguards\u201d enforced as part of the new eligibility rules and that the proposed exclusion would be \u201capplied narrowly\u201d, the national union urged for the \u201cstatus quo\u201d to be maintained.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaintaining the status quo would continue to allow duplication of funding to be addressed through existing offset and recovery mechanisms, while ensuring that workers who are not actively receiving workers\u2019 compensation, or whose entitlement is disputed, are not left without access to necessary supports,\u201d the ACTU submission said.<\/p>\n

As part of sweeping new powers proposed as part of Labor\u2019s reforms, the bill also gives substantial discretion to the NDIS Minister and disability agency\u2019s chief executive in who will be excluded from the disability program and what support services will be funded.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis approach will be problematic, particularly in situations where there is no accepted workers\u2019 compensation claim or where liability has not yet been established,\u201d the ACTU said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn such cases, individuals could be excluded from the NDIS based on a presumed or contested connection to work, despite not receiving workers\u2019 compensation benefits and having no clear avenue for support. In short \u2013 and alarmingly \u2013 a worker will be worse off in these situations simply because their impairment was work-related.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond those with physical conditions receiving workers\u2019 compensation and NDIS funding, more than 1000 people with psychosocial disabilities, such as \u00adbipolar, are also accessing both schemes. <\/p>\n

Psychosocial injuries, often caused by workplace bullying or harassment, constitute the fastest growing category of claims in state run compensation programs, prompting governments to pass laws tightening access.<\/p>\n

NSW last year increased the injury threshold for a worker to receive long-term payments, while requiring those with workplace bullying claims to first take their case to the Industrial Relations Court.<\/p>\n

Amid an eligibility crackdown in state and federally run support scheme, expert bodies and advocates have warned of disastrous consequences for those with acute mental illnesses in particular.<\/p>\n

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists raised alarm with the Albanese government\u2019s proposal to overhaul NDIS eligibility by testing a person\u2019s \u201cfunctionality\u201d, which could mischaracterise the seriousness of a psychosocial disability because such conditions fluctuate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that a condition is episodic does not make it any less disabling. In fact, it is often the episodic nature of these illnesses that makes ongoing support so important,\u201d RAZCP president Astha Tomar said ahead of fronting the Senate committee on Tuesday. \u201cOur concern is that the current changes risk narrowing access to the scheme before alternative supports are available, and before the new assessment framework has been properly tested.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new assessment framework is strikingly similar to the independent assessments proposed under the Morrison government but opposed by Labor at the time, and is scheduled to go live in April.<\/p>\n

Dr Tomar criticised the lack of modelling provided by government on how many of the 80,000 NDIS participants with a psychosocial disability might exit the scheme under the changes. \u201cWithout this data, it is very difficult for the committee or the sector to understand the likely impact of the reforms, or to plan for additional demand on already stretched state mental health services,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Sarah<\/a>Sarah Ison<\/a>Senior Political Reporter <\/p>\n

Sarah Ison is the senior political reporter in The Australian\u2019s Canberra press gallery bureau, where she covers a range of rounds as part of the federal political beat, including social affairs, health and the NDIS. She also acts as bureau chief weekly as part of her role. Sarah was a federal political reporter with The West Australian\u2019s Canberra team between 2019 and 2021, before which she worked in the masthead\u2019s Perth newsroom. Sarah made her start in regional journalism at the Busselton-Dunsborough Times in 2017.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Unions are demanding Labor abandon plans to restrict NDIS access for those also receiving funding through workers\u2019 compensation…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27893,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[25759,25756,25755,22,23,133,5402,25733,21,2184,25758,25744,25737,25732,25745,25736,25743,25757,25746,25747,25762,25752,25738,120,25731,25760,3217,25751,25740,25734,25739,25753,25742,25749,25735,20110,24636,25754,24060,25748,25741,14669,25750,7070,25761],"class_list":["post-27892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-acute-mental-illnesses","tag-alternative-supports","tag-assessment-framework","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-australian-capital-territory","tag-australian-council-of-trade-unions","tag-austrlia","tag-canberra","tag-changes-risk","tag-compensation-schemes","tag-compensation-system","tag-contested-connection","tag-continued-risk","tag-disability-agency","tag-disastrous-consequences","tag-independent-assessments","tag-industrial-relations-court","tag-injured-workers","tag-laws-tightening","tag-mounting-concerns","tag-national-union","tag-oceania","tag-ongoing-support","tag-ongoing-support-needs","tag-parliament-house","tag-physical-conditions-receiving","tag-practical-consequences","tag-psychosocial-disabilities","tag-psychosocial-disability","tag-recovery-mechanisms","tag-reforms-risk","tag-risk-narrowing-access","tag-run-compensation","tag-sarah-ison","tag-senior-political-reporter","tag-state-mental-health-services","tag-status-quo","tag-substantial-discretion","tag-support-schemes","tag-support-services","tag-taxpayer-funded-support-schemes","tag-workers-compensation","tag-workplace-bullying"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27892\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}