NDIS Reform in Australia: Malakai Tava’s Personal Experience Living with Quadriplegia

After my spinal cord injury in 2003 in Mooloolaba, which left me a quadriplegic, I began advocating for people with disability straight from the hospital. In 2004, reforms were introduced specifically for people living with spinal cord injuries in Queensland. They were not perfect, but they were well-intentioned and represented progress in the right direction.

So when I first heard about the NDIS being introduced nationally, I fully supported it. In fact, it was one of the most positive things I had ever heard from the federal government. What encouraged me most was the idea that young people with disabilities would no longer be forced to live in aged care facilities simply because they required high levels of support. Instead, they could remain at home with their families, participate in their communities, and pursue their goals with hope for the future.

I still remember my first NDIS assessment. I had reports from my occupational therapist and physiotherapist, and my NDIS Coordinator was present at my home when two NDIS planners attended the meeting face-to-face. Both of them were amazed by the extent of my disability and how I was able to independently drive my wheelchair using chin controls.

That meeting gave them a genuine understanding of my daily life and support needs. As a result, my first NDIS plan included the supports I needed to live comfortably in the community with my wife and daughter. For the first two years, every plan reassessment followed that same personal process, and it worked.

But since assessments and planning processes have increasingly been outsourced and shifted online, without ever meeting participants in person, my plan outcomes have suffered significantly.

Now I find myself constantly fighting for supports that I was previously approved for, despite the fact that my condition has naturally deteriorated over time. Every review and appeal process results in the NDIS spending unnecessary funding on coordinators and allied health professionals rewriting and resubmitting reports that were already provided and supposedly reviewed in the first place.

Instead of cutting NDIS funding, the government should return to a system where decision-makers meet participants face-to-face.

Let them sit across from people with disability and explain why they supposedly do not need or deserve basic supports that allow them to live with dignity.

Another essential reform is requiring all service providers to be NDIS registered, regardless of the type of service they offer.

This single change would dramatically reduce fraud within the system. Those looking to exploit the NDIS would be far less willing to invest the time, money, evidence, compliance, and accountability required to meet proper registration standards.

The money saved by preventing fraud could then be redirected back into participant plans — supporting the people who genuinely rely on these services to live meaningful and dignified lives.

Too many policy decisions are being made without a real understanding of disability. If more politicians spent even one day alongside someone living with a disability, they would better understand the reality of these support needs and why they matter so deeply.

At the end of the day, we are all human beings. We are all equal. A compassionate society looks after one another, especially those who face challenges beyond their control.

At Spinal Home Help, our team has deep, hands-on experience with the specific realities of Spinal Cord Injury care, the routines that can’t slip, the transfers that require real skill, and the kind of trust that only comes from consistent, familiar faces.  

If you’re ready to explore what a change could look like, we’d love to hear from you.  

📩 Contact us:  

📞07 3189 3414 
📍 www.spinalhomehelp.com.au 
📧 admin@spinalhomehelp.com.au 

Kelly SHH