NDIS reform must be built for a multicultural Australia  

SSI welcomed the government’s $200 million Inclusive Communities Fund but said the investment must be culturally responsive. 

“The NDIS belongs to every Australian with disability, regardless of where they were born or what language they speak at home. Any reimagining of this scheme must start from that premise, or it will only deepen existing inequities” said SSI Executive General Manager of Service Delivery Eric Harper. 

“We know that when the NDIS works as intended, it returns $2.25 back into the economy for every dollar invested. Ensuring the scheme works properly for multicultural communities is not a competing priority to economic responsibility,” he said.  

Echoing Minister Butler’s calls for the scheme to provide genuine connection and community support, Mr Harper said the focus must be on how to spend well. 

“A scheme that is truly fit for purpose for a diverse Australia must prioritise culturally responsive care — and right now, that means addressing why people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds make up only 9 to 10 per cent of participants when they should represent closer to 22 per cent,” he said. 

“Our National Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Disability Reform Committee is bringing together a wide network of services, peak bodies and community organisations to provide collaborative input into disability reform. A key focus is the Thriving Kids program — multicultural children are currently half as likely to access early intervention supports as other children. 

“For Thriving Kids to achieve its objectives, culturally responsive care cannot be an add-on, it must be built in,” Mr Harper said. 

Mr Harper also said mainstream community supports — delivered by trusted, locally connected and culturally informed organisations — must be rebuilt for multicultural people with disability, particularly those who will no longer be eligible for the scheme. 

Abrahim Darouiche, accessibility and inclusion advocate, and member of SSI’s CALD Disability Reference Group said that “support from the scheme allows me to work, stay connected to my community and protect my mental health.” 

“Without it, I would face serious isolation and depression, with no one to turn to. It would really impact my mental health and ability to participate socially and economically.” 

Nidhi Shekaran, another member of the Reference Group and lived experience consultant and advocate added that, “people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities living with disability face a significant gap in understanding how to access support, navigate the system, and connect with the right services. Lower rates and access reflect the lack of culturally responsive services, not a lower level of need.  

“Cutting this funding would only deepen existing barriers for people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities living with disability, making an already difficult situation unmanageable,” Ms Shekaran said.

 About SSI: 

Settlement Services International (SSI) delivers a range of human services that connect individuals, families, and children from diverse backgrounds with opportunities – including settlement support, disability programs, community engagement initiatives and training and employment pathways. At the heart of everything we do is a drive for equality, empathy, and celebration of every individual. 

Media enquiries: 

Jordan Wise | Senior Communications Officer 

M: 0481 484 761 | press@ssi.org.au