The NDIA is responsible for supporting people with disability, yet they are increasingly conducting planning meetings without any prior notice. This is a harmful and unacceptable practice.

On Friday the 12th September, Rodney—an NDIS participantwith an intellectual disability,  whom I am assisting —received what he thought was a routine call from the NDIA. Without warning, that call was deemed to be his planning meeting. If I had not seen his text message telling me that the NDIS had phoned him and asked him to add me to the call, his meeting would have gone ahead without any advocate, preparation, or opportunity to present his needs.

This is not an isolated case. The same happened to me and to my son Lachlan during our plan reviews. In both of our cases, I was not even aware that the meetings were taking place. The NDIA planner went around me and contacted our coordinator directly, holding the meetings without my knowledge or involvement. This was done despite my coordinator’s objection and explicit request that I be included. As a result, plans were made about our lives without my input, knowledge, or consent.

Participants also report that NDIA planners and Local Area Coordinators (LACs) sometimes call for what is described as a simple “check-in.” However, those calls are then used to make changes to a participant’s plan without the participant’s informed knowledge, involvement, or consent. This is misleading, disempowering, and deeply unfair.

This practice:

• Prevents participants from gathering supporting evidence and information.
• Denies them the opportunity to have advocates or support people present.
• Allows “check-ins” to be misused as covert planning meetings.
• Undermines procedural fairness and transparency.
• Directly contradicts the NDIA’s own legislation, guidelines, and stated commitment to participant choice and control.
• Leaves vulnerable people—often with limited capacity to self-advocate—at serious risk of losing supports they rely on.
• Potentially Disability Discrimination.

These practices breach both the NDIS Act 2013 and the NDIA’s Operational Guidelines. The Act establishes that participants must be given:

• Choice and control in the planning process (s.3(1)(e), s.4(8)).
• A reasonable opportunity to involve others in decision-making (s.17A).
• Procedural fairness in reviews and decision-making (s.4(9)).
• The NDIS Participant Service Charter commits the NDIA to giving participants clear, timely information and respecting their right to prepare and include advocates.
• The Operational Guideline – Planning requires that participants are informed of their planning meeting, told what it will involve, and supported to prepare and bring anyone they wish.
• The Operational Guideline – Changing your Plan makes clear that a participant must consent to plan changes.

While the legislation doesn’t set an exact number of days, the NDIA’s own policies require that notice be given so participants can collect reports, prepare evidence, and organise support people. By conducting unannounced planning meetings or using “check-in” calls to make changes, the NDIA is acting contrary to both the spirit and the letter of its governing laws and guidelines.

 

Our Demands

We call on the NDIA and the Minister for the NDIS to:

1. End the practice of unannounced planning meetings immediately.
2. Prohibit planners and LACs from making plan changes during “check-in” calls unless the participant has been clearly told in advance that the call will be a formal plan review, and has consented.
3. Introduce a minimum notice period (e.g. at least 14 days written notice) for all planning meetings.
4. Ensure participants are informed of their right to have a support person or advocate present before a planning meeting is scheduled.
5. Require planners, as a minimum standard, to explicitly ask the participant at the start of any call whether they would like to include anyone else (such as a family member, coordinator, or advocate) before proceeding.
6. Require planners to ask the participant if there is any extra information they wish to submit to ensure the participants readiness, and gain informed consent to begin the meeting.
7. Train NDIA staff to uphold these requirements consistently across Australia.

Why This Matters

People with disability deserve dignity, respect, and the ability to prepare for decisions that affect their lives. Unannounced meetings or disguised “check-ins” strip away those rights and protections. The NDIA is meant to empower people, not catch them off guard.

By signing this petition, you are standing up for fairness, transparency, and respect for all NDIS participants.

It is time to hold the NDIA accountable. Planning meetings must never be sprung on participants without notice, nor hidden within so-called “check-in” calls that change people’s plans without their knowledge or consent.