News
NDIS participants are suffering serious harm after having self-management removed, restricted or refused without a fair process, according to a new report from disability-led organisation Self Manager Hub.
The organisation is calling on the Australian Government to implement the report’s 20 recommendations.
Self-Management Taken Away: Evidence of Harm and Procedural Unfairness in NDIA Decision-Making found that 94% of affected participants had no chance to respond before the decision was made. Only one in 53 said the evidence relied on was fully explained.
The report is built on the experiences of people with disability and their families. It draws on Self Manager Hub’s 2026 survey of 266 people, a peer workshop and participant case studies. Of those surveyed, 54 said their self-management had been removed, restricted or refused.
Participants describe decisions that disrupted essential supports almost overnight.
“I found out on a Saturday that self-management had been removed. I then went without supports for three months,”
Survey Respondent
Another workshop participant described how being accused made them feel: “I was told either I am a thief or I am incompetent, take your pick. It is devastating.”
Among affected respondents:
- 83% reported more stress or anxiety
- 62% reported worse health or wellbeing
- 58% reported delays to supports
- 38% lost support workers
Karen, an NDIS participant, says she has spent four years dealing with compliance action. She says it began when a planner wrongly told her that directly employing support workers was fraudulent. A $21,000 debt was later withdrawn without explanation, but she says her record was not corrected and self-management has not been restored.
“It feels like it will hang over me for the rest of my life as a NDIS participant,”
Karen - survey respondent
The report finds participant experiences fall short of the NDIA’s own published guidance. That guidance says the agency will talk with participants, consider their circumstances and track record, and look at support options before deciding a risk can’t be managed. The accounts were not independently verified against NDIA records.
Dr George Taleporos, Chief Executive Officer of Self Manager Hub, said unfair decisions were undermining the principles the NDIS was built on.
“Choice and control are foundational principles of the NDIS. They recognise our right as people with disability to make decisions about our own lives and how we are supported,” Dr Taleporos said. “Rushed unfair decisions to remove self-management are dismantling essential, individualised support arrangements built over years.”
Dr George Taleperos - CEO Self Manager Hub
Self Manager Hub’s immediate priorities include:
- an independent review of integrity-related decisions and an audit of integrity flags
- fair process, including notice, clear reasons and evidence, a chance to respond, and support before any restriction
- protection of essential supports while concerns are examined, with rapid review
- formal recognition of direct employment, Services for One and participant-controlled entities as legitimate ways to organise supports
“We are calling on the Government to implement the recommendations, with clear responsibilities and timeframes, and to work with people with disability and our families on the changes,”
Dr George Taleperos
The full report is available at selfmanagerhub.org.au