IPA urges government to curb NDIS spending

The Institute of Public Accountants has urged the government to manage spending in the National Disability Insurance Scheme through stronger financial controls and a focus on outcomes.

The industry body said that improved oversight, stronger safeguards against waste, better planning and pricing integrity would make the program more fiscally sustainable.

“NDIS participants deserve a scheme that is stable, well-managed and built to last,” IPA chief executive Andrew Conway said.

“Every dollar spent must deliver genuine outcomes for people with disabilities while respecting governments’ responsibility to taxpayers.”

The IPA urged the government to align funding with participant needs and outcomes, strengthen pricing and payment integrity, reduce fraud and waste and support a sustainable workforce.

“Fiscal responsibility is not about limiting support – it’s about securing the future of vital government programs such as the NDIS,” the industry body said in a statement.

Ahead of the 12 May budget, Treasurer Jim Chalmers flagged that NDIS reform would make up a key part of the government’s savings package.

“Our highest priority in the NDIS is providing a high standard of support and care, and that means we need to be able to pay for it,” Chalmers said during a Canberra press conference on Monday (20 April).

He added that the NDIS was “growing too fast for Australians to afford,” noting that it would cost $49 billion this year and was forecast to climb to $62 billion in 2028–29.

“We need to make sure that it is sustainable, and that’s what our efforts are all about.”

“This has been a really big part of our pre‑budget deliberations. It is easily the most important part of the savings package that we will present on Budget night.“

To enable this, the federal government has announced an initiative called Thriving Kids, which will support children aged 8 and under with low- to moderate-support needs.

“We’ve all got an interest in making sure that we provide that high standard of care in a way that we can afford, in a sustainable way, so that the important work of the NDIS and all the people who work in the NDIS and benefit from the NDIS and are supported by the NDIS are done so in a way that we can continue to afford,” Chalmers said.