The Coalition has hinted at a more aggressive approach to containing the cost of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in comments treasurer Jim Chalmers says would “send a shiver up the spine” of people relying on the $47bn program.
Shadow finance minister Jane Hume stated on Sunday that more could be done to curb the scheme’s rapid growth.
In the previous year, Labor and the Coalition enacted laws to overhaul the NDIS to limit annual growth to 8% by 2026-27 after warnings that the scheme would cost $100bn annually.
The latest report on the NDIS scheme’s identity expected the growth rate to fall to 8.4% in 2025-26, down from 12% this year.
Hume remarked, “The NDIS is an area in the budget that has run out of control – it was growing at 14% per annum. It has been brought back down to 8%. We believe more can still be done.”
Hume did not specify a particular NDIS cost target when asked but argued government spending should not exceed broader economic growth in the long run.
Chalmers responded, “If spending growth was tied to GDP growth, there would be huge cuts to the NDIS. That would send a shiver down the spine of many people relying on the program.”
However, Coalition sources have confirmed that the opposition does not plan to limit NDIS growth to GDP, clarifying that Hume’s comments were related to overall government spending, not expenditure on individual programs.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/mar/23/jim-chalmers-says-coalition-hints-at-aggressive-ndis-cuts-will-send-a-shiver-up-the-spine-of-recipients
