Australians with disability urge the federal government to stop cuts to vital health services amid NDIS overhaul
Physiotherapists, psychologists, podiatrists and other professionals warn the cuts will threaten independence, dignity and even safety for many NDIS participants.
Among those affected is 55-year-old Megan Fitzgerald, who lives with cerebral palsy.
For years, she has relied on weekly visits from a physiotherapist to maintain her independence.
'I'm wanting to keep myself as independent and fit as possible and keep my body moving, and it's not happening,' Fitzgerald told 7NEWS.
Funding cuts have meant she has to make her own way to centres and it's already impacted her mobility.
'I found my body getting stiffer, not having the regular movements, not being able to move,' she said.
But Megan Fitzgerald is not alone.
Taylor Lahoud, 29, who has a newborn at home, cares for his mother, Rosanna, who suffered brain damage after being hit by a car decades ago.
He says therapy changed her life.
But when services began to be cut, her health deteriorated.
'It definitely was helping when we were coming here and they were coming to the home more often. It made a big difference. Mum was actually able to walk a lot more ... now she's pretty much in the wheelchair 99 per cent of the time,' Lahoud told 7NEWS.
'You've got some people out there with all this funding and other people without it. It's so inconsistent, it's like a slap to the face.
'This is a program that's meant to help people but it's so skewed and it's just so backwards. It does not feel like there was any thinking or planning to anything that's going on.'
Four-year-old Primrose Peach also benefits greatly from NDIS-funded services.
Primrose has a rare genetic condition that currently prevents her from walking or talking.
She receives intensive therapy to help with speech and mobility.
Mum Tahlia said further cuts to the sector will have severe consequences.
'Primrose is so close to walking, but without these services, she probably won't be walking for years ... services like this are integral to her development,' she said.
From next week, NDIS funding will be reduced across the board.
Hourly rates for allied health professionals including physiotherapy, dietitians, speech pathology, occupational therapy and psychology will be cut by up to $10.
Travel expense reimbursements will be slashed by 50 per cent and a seven-year freeze on pricing adjustments will remain in place.
Physiotherapist Melissa McConaghy said the changes will decimate an already distressed market.
'At the end of the day, it will be the participants that lose out,' she said.
However, the federal government insists the cuts are necessary.
Health Minister Mark Butler said: 'We want to make sure that NDIS participants are not paying above the odds for therapy and for their support. We want to make sure that taxpayers are getting value for money.'
But experts argue that the short-term savings will ultimately lead to greater costs, as vulnerable Australians who lose access to support services will likely end up in hospital-further straining the healthcare system.
'Physiotherapists can be life-saving. We keep people independent, we keep them mobile and we keep people out of hospital. We are already seeing cuts in the market that is leading to hospitalisations for chest infections, for pressure sores, for falls. We are just going to see so much more of this down the track,' Melissa McConaghy told 7NEWS.
Paediatric therapist Louise Conn said it was really important to have an increased level of early intervention, to prevent further issues down the track.
'It's going to make a huge difference in terms of access to families to all sorts of programs like this and particularly for any allied health, particularly occupational therapists and speech pathologists who go out into the community and see families in their home settings, in school settings and beyond,' Conn said.
'This is going to make a huge, huge difference to what we're able to provide to these families.'
In just over a week, more than 50,000 Australians have signed a petition urging the federal government to halt the changes — and consult meaningfully with the sector.
Advocates are now calling for an immediate review — before people with disability are left without the essential support they rely on.
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