Dietitians Australia provided an initial response (submission #642) and we would welcome the opportunity to present at the upcoming hearings in Canberra (30 and 31 July 2026) and Western Australia (6 August 2026).
 

Given the potential impact on NDIS participants, we believe it would be vital to have Accredited Practising Dietitians, working at the coalface in Western Australia and across other states and territories, provide practical and clinical insights into how the proposed amendments will affect participants’ access to safe, effective and disability-specific nutrition and dietetic therapy supports, particularly for people with complex feeding, hydration, swallowing, enteral nutrition (tube feeding into stomach or bowel), sensory, behavioural and functional capacity needs.

What can an Accredited Practising Dietitian do for people with disability?

Accredited Practising Dietitians support one of the most fundamental activities of daily living, eating and drinking, for people whose disability directly impairs their capacity to do so safely, adequately, and independently. The therapeutic support APDs provide enables and equips participants living with disability to engage in therapy, education, employment, family routines, and community participation. Nutrition and dietetic supports are functional, capacity-building, and disability-specific. When removed or reduced, the consequences extend across every domain of a participant's daily life, negatively impact the success of allied health therapies and will likely increase, not decrease long-term scheme costs. Figure 1 shows the typical therapy of an Accredited Practising Dietitian for people with disability and provides examples of risks associated with the Amendment Bill.

To learn more, please download our full submission.