Community Access Isn't Just Fun. That's Why the 17 November Vote Matters.

When people hear "community access", a lot of them picture a day out. A coffee, a walk on the beach, maybe a movie. And when the government talks about cutting it, that's the picture it relies on.

I run a disability support business on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast, and I can tell you that picture is wrong.

What community access actually looks like

On any given week, our support workers are taking people grocery shopping. Helping someone get to the GP, or to a therapy appointment they'd otherwise miss. Supporting someone to catch the bus, pay at the counter, or find their way around a shopping centre on their own one day. Getting people to volunteering and work experience.

Yes, sometimes it's a coffee. And why shouldn't it be? Meeting a friend for a coffee is an ordinary part of life for everyone else. Nobody calls it a luxury when it's you or me.

It's also worth being clear about what the money pays for. We bill for the support worker's time. The coffee, the groceries and the movie ticket are paid for by the participant, the same as anyone else.

What's being cut

From 1 October 2026, the National Disability Insurance Scheme (Support) Determination 2026 started cutting budgets for social, economic and community participation by 50 per cent, and improved daily living skills by 10 per cent. It applies as plans are created or reassessed, and from 1 February 2027 as plans are renewed. The NDIA has said this change isn't a reviewable decision.

Half. For a lot of the people we support, that's not trimming the extras. That's the difference between getting to their appointments and not.

So what are we supposed to do? Leave people at home, unable to get to the doctor, the shops or anywhere else?

It doesn't just disappear

The government's own Impact Analysis for these reforms admits the cuts could "elevate the risks of injury, neglect and social isolation". It also flags that workers may leave the sector. It doesn't put a dollar figure on any of that.

Those costs don't vanish. They move. To hospitals, to families who have to drop work hours to fill the gap, and to the person themselves when the skills they've built start slipping.

And there's the local economy. Community access pays local support workers, who spend their wages locally. Participants spend money at local cafes, shops and businesses every time they go out. A sector-commissioned report by Per Capita for National Disability Services estimated $2.25 comes back for every dollar spent on the NDIS. Cut the support, and that spending goes with it.

What the 17 November community access vote is

A notice of motion has been given in the Senate to disallow the Support Determination, to be moved on 17 November 2026. If the Senate agrees to it, the determination stops having effect.

I'm not going to pretend it's a sure thing. The bill behind these cuts passed with support from both major parties, so a disallowance needs senators to change their minds. That's exactly why it's worth speaking up now.

What you can do

If you're a participant, a family member, a support worker or just someone who thinks this matters, contact your Queensland senators before 17 November. Tell them what community access actually does in your life, or in the life of someone you love. A short, real story is more powerful than any statistic.

You can find your senators' contact details on the Parliament of Australia website.

If you want more background, read what we found when we read the Senate Committee's final report and our earlier piece on the NDIS cuts.

If you want to see what community access looks like in practice, read about our community participation support on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast.

📍 Based on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast

📝 Get in touch with the Loving Life team here.

A note in the interest of honesty: Loving Life Support Services is an unregistered NDIS provider, and community access is a big part of what we do. These cuts affect our business. They affect the people we support far more.

This is an opinion piece, written 26 October 2026. Details of the Support Determination and the disallowance notice are from the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, the NDIA and the Parliament of Australia Disallowance Alert. The Impact Analysis quote is from the Department's NDIS Reforms Impact Analysis (May 2026, updated 1 July 2026). The $2.25 figure is from a Per Capita report commissioned by National Disability Services.