We are going to see changes and shifts in the coming few years

Currently, we are seeing changes and shifts within the health systems we rely on. This is going to have a large impact on the rural and remote communities that rely on supports through schemes such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), Medicare rebates and access to short- and long-term services. This means for many communities in the Riverina and Central West, many may struggle to access services.

We are already seeing out mental health system under tremendous pressure. Community health has been overloaded and short staff, finding NDIS supports rurally is a major challenge, and even access to comprehensive autism assessment usually means locals travel several hours (many don’t know that this is available in the community).

Riverina counselling as a result will open to Medicare support with a gap fee. Due to these changes, many people no longer get intensive support or funding in the therapy space where it is vitally important. This means at least people can access some support or potentially use a hybrid approach between different models of care.

We have already Medicare open more speech therapy sessions in March 2026, which could signal new changes and greater pressures under other services, such as the NDIS, where this is offered. More and more participants and carers are telling me people are not getting much funding, or they are being requested to access a GP Mental Health Care Plan (MHTP) as these services are offered under the Medicare system.

We also have no idea what the new I-CAN assessment process or the Thriving Kids program will look likes in its roll out and implementation. This has left many with an uncertain future in these spaces due to not knowing the longer-term impacts. We do know children in the ECEI space (under 9) will likely be the first to be reassessed and moved onto different areas for that support, if deemed so by the NDIS. The likelihood is, this will expand over and through time as new services and supports appear elsewhere, as the Government is trying to reduce spending on the NDIS.

Even though a MHTP only giver 10 sessions per year (from 20 during the COVID pandemic), at least this is something people can choose to access should there be further cuts, though, 10 sessions can be extremely limited to someone needing consistency, and longer-term support.

This is what many clients on the NDIS need due to past trauma experiences, to feel safe enough to be able to open, learn new skills and develop these over time.