In September 2023, Peter* asked the National Disability Insurance Scheme for a new wheelchair.
Peter was in pain. His body was deteriorating rapidly.
His muscles, including around his spine, were atrophying due to a neuromuscular condition known as spinal muscular atrophy type 2.
The wheelchair that he was using had become completely inadequate. In crucial respects, it had become dangerous.
It could not be positioned to support his disfigured spine, meaning Peter could not get in a safe position to eat without choking. He had lost so much strength in his dominant hand that he could no longer use the joystick to control the chair’s movements.
It was so old that the armrests would jam up, constantly, and couldn’t go up ramps without sliding backwards. On some right turns, the chair would either grind to a halt or turn in random directions, meaning Peter required constant supervision.
In a detailed and exhaustive report, his occupational therapist provided clear and compelling evidence as to why a change in his NDIS plan was needed to fund a new chair.
Then, Peter waited.
The months came and went. He heard nothing.
By the time 2024 rolled around, his therapist began pushing for answers. Peter was told to get more evidence, despite the exhaustive report already submitted at a cost of more than $1,000.
It took six months for the funding request to be approved. The process is supposed to take 28 days. Further delays by the equipment supplier extended the wait.
When the wheelchair arrived, it was obsolete. Peter’s body had changed so much in the interim that it was no longer suitable.
Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email“I have had numerous visits from OT’s over the last 18 months and to this day the wheelchair still doesn’t fit my needs and I am still in my original wheelchair from 2023,” he tells Guardian Australia.
“It is ridiculous that a $75,000 wheelchair has been sitting in the hallway because NDIS have dragged their feet.”
100-day delays
Peter’s experience is not unique.
Internal NDIS documents, released under freedom-of-information laws, show delays in processing changes to support plans have ranged from three weeks to more than three months.
Of the 34,121 requests for plan changes active in mid 2025, 20,475 had already taken between 22 and 111 days. More than 800 had taken 112 days or more.
There were similar delays for more minor requests for plan adjustments, known as plan variations.
Other records shows the number of open plan variation requests in the last quarter of 2024-25 was at 14,000 – almost triple the previous quarter.
Dr George Taleporos, the independent chair of Every Australian Counts, the grassroots campaign behind the creation of the NDIS, says the delays could be devastating for participants.
“People often request a plan variation because they urgently need a home modification, an essential piece of equipment such as a wheelchair, or because their health has deteriorated and they need more support,” he says.
“When those requests are left unresolved for months, people can be left without essential housing, equipment or supports. It can push people with disability and families to breaking point, and lead to hospitalisation, injury or death.”
The National Disability Insurance Agency says its ability to process plan changes had been boosted by the addition of 1,000 staff. It was now making more decisions than ever before, a spokesperson says.
“The NDIA’s priority is ensuring all participants can access the disability-related supports they need in a timely manner,” a spokesperson says. “This includes implementing initiatives to reduce participant wait times and respond to requests as quickly as possible.”
The number of plan change requests on hand has reduced significantly, down by about 38% since September 2024, the spokesperson adds . The median number of days taken to complete a plan change was 42, down from 66 in December 2024.
“The agency continues to prioritise access requests, first plans and plan change requests for participants with significant changes to their circumstances to ensure they are not placed at risk.”
But Taleporos says the scale of the backlog shows the scheme was being administered in a way that failed to recognise the “unpredictable reality of our lives”.
“We do not know when our wheelchairs will break down, when our health will deteriorate, or when a family member will no longer be able to support us,” he says.
“Yet our plans are becoming less flexible and the rules around how we use our funding are becoming more restrictive.”
Revelations about the backlog have also added to concerns about the sustained government drive to cut costs from the scheme.
Multiple reports from participants, advocates and experts show the drastic impact the belt-tightening is having on the lives of NDIS participants.
Taleporos says the NDIA requires proper resourcing to reduce the backlog “as quickly as possible”.
“The government should also examine the impact of restrictive funding periods and support lists, which have made it harder for people to manage unexpected challenges and changing support needs,” he says. “We need to return the NDIS to the key principles of choice and control that it was built on.”
* not his real name
