NSW - Gadigal/Sydney Women's March For The NDIS

Starting at Sydney Town Hall and marching to NSW Parliament House!
𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗚𝗬𝗡𝗬. 𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗚𝗬𝗡𝗬. 𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗚𝗬𝗡𝗬.
When governments cut disability support and call it reform, disabled people and women pay first.
This national mobilisation is led by The Australian Neurodivergent Parents Association and Disabled women.
𝗪𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻.
𝗪𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁.
In June, The Australian Senate will debate the 2026 draft NDIS bill and the reform package.
The bill and rules strengthen the role of “family” and “informal supports” in funding decisions. The legal foundation is NDIS Act s 34(1)(e), which asks what it is reasonable to expect families, carers, and communities to provide. The accompanying draft child rules treat ordinary parental care as the baseline for children under 18.
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲𝘀:
supervision and monitoring
personal care and daily living activities
emotional support
behaviour support and management
transport to school, appointments, and activities
general day to day care expected of a parent
NDIS support is then framed as needs beyond what a parent is “normally” expected to provide.
𝗜𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆-𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻.
𝗠𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀. 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀. 𝗦𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀. 𝗔𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀.
It also puts pressure on the heavily female disability workforce. Allied health professionals, support workers, support coordinators, and small providers whose jobs depend on funded support.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗦 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗷𝗼𝗯𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸.
Women-led and mother-led allied health businesses are being squeezed by pricing that does not match inflation or the real cost of delivering services. And now, support work is on the chopping block, with Mark Butler announcing a 30 percent cut to support work - which early estimates say could slash over 250,000 jobs from the NDIS.
Mostly, held by women.
These are flexible jobs we have have relied on to balance paid work with caregiving. Jobs that made independence possible, in our local communities. Jobs that reduced reliance on partners and Centrelink. Jobs that helped us leave violence; build savings; and build our lives.
When these jobs go, women are pushed back into unpaid care, financial insecurity, and dependence.
And for many Disabled women, losing support also means losing independence, employment, parenting stability, economic security and safety.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗦 𝗕𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿-𝗻𝗲𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆.
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝗿, 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻.
This mobilisation is grounded in international human rights law.
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) protects women’s right to equality, economic participation, and freedom from discrimination and violence.
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) protects the right of Disabled people to live independently, participate in society, and access the supports required to do so.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿.
You cannot achieve gender equality while withdrawing disability support; and you cannot uphold disability rights while relying on unpaid labour from women.
𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀
1. Equal Rights Require Real Support
Rights mean nothing without the support needed to live, work, parent, and participate.
2. You Can’t Build Equality on Unpaid Care
Gender equality collapses when systems rely on women to absorb unpaid labour.
3. Support Is Safety. Independence Is a Right
Without funded, individualised support that is attached to review rights, women and Disabled people lose safety, autonomy, choice and control. We lose the right to self-determine and shape our own fates.
4. Our Fates Are Woven Together
Cuts to support harm Disabled people, women, workers, and families together.
𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀
1. Remove the expansion of parental responsibility from the Bill
Women are not a free labour force. Most carers are women, and cost shifting onto families is cost shifting onto women.
2. Fix allied health pricing
Index NDIS pricing to inflation and cost of living. Women workers deserve to make ends meet.
3. Protect support work in the NDIS
Support workers are the backbone of the NDIS and most are women. No cuts to community and social participation.
4. Stop the cuts
Without support, Disabled women cannot work, are not safe, and are excluded.
5. Protect individualised early intervention in legislation
Cuts to early intervention hit women and girls first and worst.
6. No FCAs or SNAs; no automation in the NDIS
Standardised assessment tools are shown to fail to recognise and respond to Disabled women and girls, especially those with complex, dynamic or masked Disability presentations. Automation will spread this bias through the whole system. We won't stand a chance.
7. Protect women’s economic capacity, participation and security
Cuts to support push women out of work and into unpaid care, poverty, and dependence. Women lose income, superannuation, and independence.
𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲?
Everyone!
Disabled women
Women carers
Mothers, grandmothers, aunties, sisters
Allied health workers
Support workers
Support coordinators
Women in the care economy
Families and allies
If your labour, livelihood, family, or safety is being treated as expendable, this is your fight.
Women are tired. We stand with each other, we stand with Disabled people, and we are standing to fight this misogynist law.
You make us do too much labour, Albo. We won't let you make us do more.
🤜 ♥