Coalition rhetoric on NDIS ‘blowout’ cools as election looms but critics say crucial support still being cut

‘Without the NDIS I would not be able to work’. says Elly Desmarchelier, spokesperson for advocacy organisation, Every Australian Counts. Photograph: Cassidy Cloupet

Only 12 months ago government frontbenchers from the prime minister down were warning the national disability insurance scheme was becoming too costly. They promised to “fully fund” it but insisted sustainability reforms were needed.

But despite this concern about the cost of a scheme that provides life-changing support to more than 500,000 people, the NDIS has not become the political football it was during and after last year’s budget period.