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Herald Sun
2 days ago
- Health
- Herald Sun
‘Tighten the criteria': Autism accounted for 70 per cent of new NDIS participants in 2024
Don't miss out on the headlines from Illness. Followed categories will be added to My News. Around 70 per cent of people who joined the National Disability Insurance Scheme last year had a primary diagnosis of autism, and most were children, it has been revealed. As Health and Disability Minister Mark Butler prepares to give a speech on the future of the $46 billion scheme on Wednesday, a Nine Newspapers' analysis of government data has highlighted the challenge posed by the rapid growth in autism diagnoses. Autism Awareness Australia chief executive Nicole Rogerson told the masthead that the Albanese government would have to 'tighten the criteria' for NDIS eligibility or Australians 'are going to start losing faith in this system'. 'We have a number of Australian children who are not thriving,' she said. 'Their parents have concerns about their development, and those kids need support. Was the NDIS designed to support those children? No, it wasn't. But you can't blame their families for seeking an autism diagnosis that gets them the support they think they need. We are encouraging the government to make brave choices here, and show leadership.' Autism Awareness Australia CEO Nicole Rogerson. Picture: Supplied According the most recent quarterly NDIS figures released last week, the total number of participants with approved NDIS plans reached 739,414 as of June 30 — about 2.8 per cent of the population — a 12 per cent year-on-year increase. Eleven per cent of children aged five to seven are now on the scheme — 13.7 per cent of boys and 6.4 per cent of girls. Of the 78,600 participants who signed up between June 2024 and June 2025, 56,000 had autism as their primary diagnosis, bringing the total to 294,960, or 40 per cent of the scheme's participants. Those with intellectual disability, the second largest primary diagnosis, make up 13 per cent of the total, or 96,016 people. Developmental delay, the next most common reason participants joined the scheme last year, saw 5500 children added, bringing the total to 83,443. Get all the latest Australian news as it happens — download the app direct to your phone. Health Minister Mark Butler. Picture: Martin Ollman/NewsWire Both autism and developmental delay have higher diagnosis rates in boys. The scandal-plagued NDIS, rolled out nationally in 2020, has rapidly blown out to $46.3 billion last financial year and is growing at 10 per cent per year. That was despite the federal government clamping down on spending and eligibility requirements to bring the total to $520 million less than forecast. Treasury forecasts spending on scheme, now the third largest budget expense, will soon overtake the age pension and defence, as the Labor government scrambles to rein in growth to under 8 per cent per year. While the average annual payment for participants with autism is $36,000 a year, compared with $65,800 across all disability groups, according to Nine Newspapers, the sheer number of autism cases is putting a strain on the scheme's budget. In 2023, federal and state governments agreed to fund the creation of a new tier of services outside the scheme for those with less profound disabilities, dubbed 'foundational supports', as recommended by the NDIS Review. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Picture: Valeriu Campan/NewsWire Foundational supports would be run in places like schools, childcares and community centres. The new system was intended to roll out on July 1 but was delayed as funding arrangements have yet to be finalised. 'Foundational supports are a good idea. I think that's broadly accepted, but … we don't know what they look like yet,' Ms Rogerson told the ABC last month. 'The autism community is nervous because the NDIS has been a one-stop place for us to get children the services and supports they need. To be told that could be no longer true for some, builds some anxiety in those families.' Speaking to Sky News on Monday ahead of Labor's three-day Economic Reform Roundtable in Canberra, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stressed the need for further reforms. 'We need to make sure the system's sustainable,' he said. 'The NDIS was never envisaged that 40 per cent of the population would be on it. It's about giving people support who need it.' Mr Butler, in his first speech since taking over the NDIS portfolio in May, is expected to make significant policy announcements at the National Press Club on Wednesday. Originally published as 'Tighten the criteria': Autism accounted for 70 per cent of new NDIS participants in 2024
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Health
- News.com.au
‘Tighten the criteria': Autism accounted for 70 per cent of new NDIS participants in 2024
Around 70 per cent of people who joined the National Disability Insurance Scheme last year had a primary diagnosis of autism, and most were children, it has been revealed. As Health and Disability Minister Mark Butler prepares to give a speech on the future of the $46 billion scheme on Wednesday, a Nine Newspapers' analysis of government data has highlighted the challenge posed by the rapid growth in autism diagnoses. Autism Awareness Australia chief executive Nicole Rogerson told the masthead that the Albanese government would have to 'tighten the criteria' for NDIS eligibility or Australians 'are going to start losing faith in this system'. 'We have a number of Australian children who are not thriving,' she said. 'Their parents have concerns about their development, and those kids need support. Was the NDIS designed to support those children? No, it wasn't. But you can't blame their families for seeking an autism diagnosis that gets them the support they think they need. We are encouraging the government to make brave choices here, and show leadership.' According the most recent quarterly NDIS figures released last week, the total number of participants with approved NDIS plans reached 739,414 as of June 30 — about 2.8 per cent of the population — a 12 per cent year-on-year increase. Eleven per cent of children aged five to seven are now on the scheme — 13.7 per cent of boys and 6.4 per cent of girls. Of the 78,600 participants who signed up between June 2024 and June 2025, 56,000 had autism as their primary diagnosis, bringing the total to 294,960, or 40 per cent of the scheme's participants. Those with intellectual disability, the second largest primary diagnosis, make up 13 per cent of the total, or 96,016 people. Developmental delay, the next most common reason participants joined the scheme last year, saw 5500 children added, bringing the total to 83,443. Both autism and developmental delay have higher diagnosis rates in boys. The scandal-plagued NDIS, rolled out nationally in 2020, has rapidly blown out to $46.3 billion last financial year and is growing at 10 per cent per year. That was despite the federal government clamping down on spending and eligibility requirements to bring the total to $520 million less than forecast. Treasury forecasts spending on scheme, now the third largest budget expense, will soon overtake the age pension and defence, as the Labor government scrambles to rein in growth to under 8 per cent per year. While the average annual payment for participants with autism is $36,000 a year, compared with $65,800 across all disability groups, according to Nine Newspapers, the sheer number of autism cases is putting a strain on the scheme's budget. In 2023, federal and state governments agreed to fund the creation of a new tier of services outside the scheme for those with less profound disabilities, dubbed 'foundational supports', as recommended by the NDIS Review. Foundational supports would be run in places like schools, childcares and community centres. The new system was intended to roll out on July 1 but was delayed as funding arrangements have yet to be finalised. 'Foundational supports are a good idea. I think that's broadly accepted, but … we don't know what they look like yet,' Ms Rogerson told the ABC last month. 'The autism community is nervous because the NDIS has been a one-stop place for us to get children the services and supports they need. To be told that could be no longer true for some, builds some anxiety in those families.' Speaking to Sky News on Monday ahead of Labor's three-day Economic Reform Roundtable in Canberra, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stressed the need for further reforms. 'We need to make sure the system's sustainable,' he said. 'The NDIS was never envisaged that 40 per cent of the population would be on it. It's about giving people support who need it.' Mr Butler, in his first speech since taking over the NDIS portfolio in May, is expected to make significant policy announcements at the National Press Club on Wednesday.
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
Seven in 10 new NDIS participants have autism
Seven in 10 people who joined the National Disability Insurance Scheme in the past year had a primary diagnosis of autism, and most were children, in a fresh sign of the challenges facing Health and Disability Minister Mark Butler as he seeks to secure the future of the $46 billion scheme. An analysis of government data by this masthead reveals that 56,000 of the 78,600 participants who signed up to the NDIS between June 2024 and June 2025 had autism as their main diagnosis. It brings the total number of people using the NDIS for autism support to 295,000 – about 40 per cent of the scheme's 740,000 participants. The next most common reason that participants joined the NDIS last financial year was for developmental delays, with 5500 being children. At the same time, there were 4405 new participants with intellectual disability, 1618 people with hearing impairment, 1077 people with multiple sclerosis, 870 people with acquired brain injuries and 829 who joined after suffering strokes. As Butler prepares to give a national address on the future of the NDIS on Wednesday – his first speech since taking over the portfolio in May – the figures are a stark indication of how a scheme designed to support Australians with the most profound lifelong disabilities has become a de facto support system for struggling children. Families' reliance on the NDIS for early intervention is a key reason the scheme is on track to become the federal government's third-biggest budget item. It grew by more than 10 per cent last year, even as the government clamped down on spending and delivered the program at $520 million less than forecast. Loading The chief executive of Autism Awareness Australia, Nicole Rogerson, said the Albanese government needed to make difficult decisions when it came to NDIS eligibility, or else 'the Australian people are going to start losing faith in this system'. 'We have a number of Australian children who are not thriving. Their parents have concerns about their development, and those kids need support. Was the NDIS designed to support those children? No, it wasn't. But you can't blame their families for seeking an autism diagnosis that gets them the support they think they need,' she said. 'We are encouraging the government to make brave choices here, and show leadership ... [They are] going to have to tighten the criteria.
Sky News AU
2 days ago
- Health
- Sky News AU
Shock NDIS figures reveal more than 71 per cent of new participants have autism diagnosis, sparking calls for reform
Shocking new figures show that more than 71 per cent of new NDIS participants have joined the scheme due to an autism diagnosis, sparking calls for the $46 billion program to be reformed. An analysis of the National Disability Insurance Scheme by The Age has revealed 56,000 of the 78,600 people who signed up to the NDIS in the 12 months leading to June 2025 had autism as their primary diagnosis. The number of new NDIS participants with autism was more than 10 times higher than the next most common reason, with 5,553 joining due to a developmental delay, 4,406 due to an intellectual disability and 1,618 due to a hearing impairment. Other reasons included multiple sclerosis, 1,077, cerebral palsy, 533, a spinal cord injury, 309, and down syndrome, 84. The new figures bring the number of NDIS participants with autism to 295,000, almost 40 per cent of the 749,000 people on the scheme. They have also renewed concerns about the sustainability of the NDIS, which is already one of the biggest items in the federal budget and sparked calls for reform. Responding to the reports, Autism Awareness Australia chief executive Nicole Rogerson said the government needed to 'tighten the criteria' for people to be eligible for the NDIS or else the Australian public would 'start losing faith in this system'. Ms Rogerson said she did not blame the parents and families who were trying to get the support they felt they needed, but added the government needed to 'show leadership'. Concerns about the growth of autism diagnosis and the NDIS are not new. In 2023 then NDIS minister Bill Shorten flagged changes to address the issue, warning the NDIS 'can't be a surrogate school system'. 'The (NDIS) was designed for people who need assistance with core functioning, with the most profound disabilities. I don't think the scheme was ever intended just to say, 'I have a diagnosis, therefore I'm on the scheme',' Shorten said at the time. Those comments came after Mr Shorten, who played a key role in the development of the NDIS a decade earlier, said that rather than focus being placed on the diagnosis, it ought to be a matter of how much the autism effected the person's learning. 'We just want to move away from diagnosis writing you into the scheme because what (then) happens is everyone gets the diagnosis.' His acknowledgement came after a number of experts raised concerns about how NDIS eligibility criteria was distorting autism spectrum disorder diagnoses. At the time of diagnosis, patients with autism spectrum disorder are classified as level one (requiring support), level two (requiring substantial support) and level three (requiring very substantial support). As paediatrician Professor Gehan Roberts explained at the time, the fact NDIS support was only offered for levels two and three was leading to a distortion in diagnoses. 'When funding access is based on arbitrary lines in the sand like it is currently, prevalence of level 2 and 3 ASD diagnoses increases and level 1 plummets,' he said. 'As a healthcare provider, we go into bat in an advocacy role for our patients. If a family with no other means to access support has been told by a disability service provider there's no other way it can provide support services other than through the NDIS, that's when the pressure comes on the clinician to make a diagnosis at a level that will allow services to continue.' Mr Shorten said that he had no doubt early intervention was an 'excellent tool to help kids' the problem was the NDIS was 'in danger of becoming the only lifeboat in the ocean'. 'We've got to have a conversation in Australia about helping kids with milder forms of developmental delay who don't need to be on the NDIS,' he said.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
Seven in 10 new people joining NDIS for autism
Seven in 10 people who joined the National Disability Insurance Scheme in the last year had a primary diagnosis of autism, and most were children, in a fresh sign of the challenges facing Health and Disability Minister Mark Butler as he seeks to secure the future of the $46 billion scheme. An analysis of government data by this masthead reveals that 56,000 of the 78,600 participants who signed up to the NDIS between June 2024 and June 2025 had autism as their main diagnosis. It brings the total number of people using the NDIS for autism support to 295,000 – about 40 per cent of the scheme's 740,000 participants. The next most common reason that participants joined the NDIS last financial year was for developmental delays, with 5500 being children. At the same time, there were 4405 new participants with intellectual disability, 1618 people with hearing impairment, 1077 people with multiple sclerosis, 870 people with acquired brain injuries and 829 who joined after suffering strokes. As Butler prepares to give a national address on the future of the NDIS on Wednesday – his first speech since taking over the portfolio in May – the figures are a stark indication of how a scheme designed to support Australians with the most profound lifelong disabilities has become a de facto support system for struggling children. Families' reliance on the NDIS for early intervention is a key reason the scheme is on track to become the federal government's third-biggest budget item. It grew by more than 10 per cent last year, even as the government clamped down on spending and delivered the program at $520 million less than forecast. Loading The chief executive of Autism Awareness Australia, Nicole Rogerson, said the Albanese government needed to make difficult decisions when it came to NDIS eligibility, or else 'the Australian people are going to start losing faith in this system'. 'We have a number of Australian children who are not thriving. Their parents have concerns about their development, and those kids need support. Was the NDIS designed to support those children? No, it wasn't. But you can't blame their families for seeking an autism diagnosis that gets them the support they think they need,' she said. 'We are encouraging the government to make brave choices here, and show leadership ... [They are] going to have to tighten the criteria.
