Indonesia · Business

NDIS Bill for Non-Citizens Set to Surge to $53 Billion

By Alistair Sterling

November 15, 20261 min read

NDIS Bill for Non-Citizens Set to Surge to $53 Billion. (AI Illustration)

Australia's National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is facing a fresh round of scrutiny over the cost of supporting non-citizens, with the bill for that group set to surge to $53 billion.

The attention comes as changes to the scheme near final passage. The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing said legislation to secure the future of the NDIS has now passed the Senate.

Calls to slow down

Not everyone wants the changes rushed. The Australian Human Rights Commission has urged the federal government to "hit pause" on the NDIS reform bill.

The commission's call puts the rights of people with disability at the center of the debate, at the point when the legislation is moving through Parliament.

Who pays

The government's argument is that the changes are needed to keep the scheme going. Analysts are asking who carries the cost of making it "sustainable", an issue raised in commentary as the changes were set to pass.

That question applies to the $53 billion projection for non-citizens as much as to the wider scheme. The reporting so far does not set out the period that figure covers or how it was calculated.

The Senate vote leaves the human rights commission's request for a pause as the main open challenge to the legislation.

National Disability Insurance Scheme