MEDIA STATEMENT: Response to Minister Butler’s National Press Club Speech, 20 August 2025

MEDIA STATEMENT: Response to Minister Butler’s National Press Club Speech, 20 August 2025

Bunbury WA, 22 August 2025. Advocacy WA, representing thousands of people living with disability and their families in regional WA, welcomes some aspects of Minister Mark Butler’s address to the National Press Club on 20 August 2025, but highlights issues that are yet to be addressed. The Minister’s announcement of early intervention supports for Australian children living with mild forms of Autism or developmental delay, is welcome. Earlier access to tailored therapies in schools and community settings will have long term benefits for these children.

Advocacy WA welcomes the government promise to invest in fraud detection and prevention and to reform the provider registration environment. Minister Butler’s speech was a welcome departure from previous language coming from government that demonised people living with disability, laying blame on them for unsustainable growth in the scheme. The new measures should help protect participants’ plan funding and ensure high-quality service delivery.

Also welcome is the establishment of the NDIS Reform Advisory Committee to bring people with lived experience, providers, and government together in co-designing ongoing reforms, including responses to the Disability Royal Commission. If done properly, meaning co-design includes co-decision making, the combined knowledge and experience of these groups should result in meaningful and impactful reform

Strengthened integrity measures and the new advisory committee reflect our call for transparency, quality and genuine co-design — “nothing about us without us.”

What was not welcome was talk of further cuts to the scheme. People living with disability in rural settings in WA have the lowest plan utilisation rates because there are so few service providers and allied health professionals in their communities. Recently announced pricing cuts are only going to exacerbate this issue. Advocacy WA calls on the Minister to review rural pricing and ensure those living in regional Australia are able to access the same level of supports as their city counterparts.

We look forward to working hand in hand with government to refine these reforms, ensuring no Australian with disability is left behind. Advocacy WA remains committed to a fair, sustainable, and participant-driven NDIS for every Australian living with disability.


Advocacy WA

Stuart Schonell

CEO

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