‘Am I disabled enough?’ The question autistic participants are asking after NDIS overhaul

SMH · Natassia Chrysanthos, Broede Carmody · Monday 27 April 2026

‘Am I disabled enough?’ The question autistic participants are asking after NDIS overhaul

The NDIS has 760,000 participants, more than 300,000 of whom have autism. Those people and their families are the most anxious after Labor announced an overhaul of the scheme.

Three hundred thousand autistic Australians now wondering if they're disabled enough — a question the scheme was specifically designed to never make them ask. Labor's overhaul has the same logic as fixing a leaky roof by making the rooms smaller. The bill blew out because nobody costed it properly, and now the people who didn't write the budget get to audition for their own support.

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