30 June 2026
The federal government wants the power to suspend NDIS supports when participants fail to respond, yet many Australians who are blind or vision impaired still cannot independently access the communications they are expected to answer.
The concern follows proposed changes that would expand powers to suspend participant plans where participants are deemed “uncontactable” or fail to respond to requests for information.
Blind Citizens Australia CEO Deb Deshayes said the reforms expose a glaring double standard at the heart of the NDIS.
“The government is demanding greater responsiveness from participants while many Australians who are blind or vision impaired still cannot independently access the communications they are expected to respond to,” Deshayes said.
“You cannot hold people accountable for responding to communications that arrive in inaccessible formats, through inaccessible systems, or in ways that do not align with their communication preferences.
“For years, people who are blind or vision impaired have reported receiving inaccessible letters, PDFs, forms, portal notifications and other communications from the NDIS. These are not isolated incidents. They are systemic failures that continue to undermine participant independence and engagement.”
Blind Citizens Australia says participants who are unable to access information independently risk being incorrectly labelled as “non-responsive” or “uncontactable”, despite making every reasonable effort to engage with the scheme.
“The government cannot claim participants are failing to engage when the agency has failed to communicate accessibly in the first place,” National Policy Committee Chair Stefan Slucki said.
“If a participant never receives information in a format they can read, understand and respond to independently, that is not participant non-compliance. That is administrative failure.
“Participants should not face suspension of vital supports because the system responsible for contacting them has not met basic accessibility obligations.”
In our submission to government, Blind Citizens Australia argues that inaccessible communication is creating many of the inefficiencies the NDIS is trying to fix.
When participants cannot access information independently, delays become inevitable. Staff spend more time following up, support coordinators and advocates are brought in to help, and simple administrative tasks become unnecessarily complicated.
“Accessible communication is not an optional extra. It is one of the simplest and most effective ways to improve participant engagement, reduce delays and make the system work more efficiently,” Slucki said.
Blind Citizens Australia is calling on the government to rule out plan suspensions where accessibility barriers may be preventing participants from responding.
The organisation is also calling for accessible communication to be embedded across all NDIS systems, so participants can receive, understand and respond to information independently.
“The solution is straightforward,” Deshayes added.
“If the government expects participants to respond promptly, it must first ensure they can access the information being sent to them.”
Media Contact:
Amila Dedovic – Communications Coordinator
amila.dedovic@bca.org.au
0403 967 406