2GB Mornings with Luke Grant - 14 April 2026

Melissa McIntosh MP

Shadow Minister for Families and Social Services

Shadow Minister for NDIS

Shadow Minister for Women

Federal Member for Lindsay

 

14 April 2026

 

Transcript

 

2GB – Mornings with Luke Grant

 

Topics: NDIS

 

E&EO …

 

Luke Grant:

It’s been clear for sometime that the NDIS scheme has it’s issues well intentioned, no one would argue against that, and for many people, it's been a lifeline and life changing. and in a country as rich as ours, it's kind of one of the things we should be able to do, right? But you can't just say motherhood and apple pie stuff, you've got to be fair dinkum. The scheme is bloated, growing at a rapid rate, much faster than what was initially indicated, and that makes it simply unsustainable. And along with all of that, is the ongoing cheating that never, ever seems to be fixed. Maybe that's a comment about how much it is rorts, that you think when you expose a rort that well, that must be the end of it, until the next one comes along, which is, you know, is kind of the next thing. It's costing around $50 billion and that number's growing. A crackdown is looming we're told, with reports that Health and Disability Minister, Mark Butler has launched a new razor gang to slash costs. The Opposition are backing a crackdown calling for a focus on leakage from the scheme with a better payment system and stronger provider registration. Melissa McIntosh is the Shadow Minister for the NDIS, and I'm delighted to say that Melissa McIntosh is on the line, good morning.

 

Melissa McIntosh:

Good morning, thank you, I think, more than bloated, it’s exploded.

 

Luke Grant:

Yeah, well…

Melissa McIntosh:

It’s a disaster.

 

Luke Grant:

That's probably, probably fair comment, and we, I don't know if we need to do this, but we always seem to have a conversation around this. It starts with the fact that the NDIS, for many, has been a game changer, a game saver perhaps. It’s nice to be able to do this. Am I right for saying this is not what we intended when we said, let's do this?

 

Melissa McIntosh:

Yeah, you're right. And there's a real balance between what we need to be sensitive and compassionate about those who need it most, and this is what it was set up for - people with severe disability. Around 400,000 was the estimate, at about $13 billion at the time, and that has just grown exponentially - now nearly 800,000 people and $50 billion. So, it is really I want to say a train wreck now, and the people that do need it, this is the issue that need it most are getting their plans cut, with no consultation. So, it's not even serving its original purpose, and I'm getting extraordinary stories told to me, real life stuff around a woman who has to gaffa tape her prosthetic leg to herself because she can't get NDIS, a blind who can't get into his house safely. So, you've got people in need, and then you've got this huge amount of rorting, $5 billion the government is spending of taxpayers money on what you just described - the rorting in the system. And the government, and the coalition's willing to do it alongside them, needs to take it seriously and stop it.

 

Luke Grant:

Did you say someone, a gentleman, has to use duct tape to put his prosthetic leg?

 

Melissa McIntosh:

Yeah, it's a woman. She contacted my office in distress, she's been waiting and pushed aside multiple times. She has a prosthetic leg. She had them amputated when she was younger due to meningitis, and this is she can't get around. She's waiting for funding to get a new leg.

 

Luke Grant:

So I guess they give you the leg and a voucher of Bunnings. It's just appalling. I don't reckon, and look, I'm a conservative supporter in politics, and as much as I'd like to see the conservative side of politics do a bit better in the polls and then get back into government and actually do something. Every time a Liberal or National Party MP talks about fixing the broken NDIS, you'll be referred to as someone without a heart. Someone that just wants to cut the scheme, who's been opposed to it from the beginning. So, I think the only ones that will actually get this done is the ALP, as much as I think they've stuffed most things up, they've touched. But you're coming out today and you're supporting aren't you, the notion of cutting this? Because at the end of the day, whether it's politics or not, it's the right thing to do.

 

Melissa McIntosh:

So yeah, it's really interesting. It's Labor right now that that's cutting unfairly. Cutting the plans of people who need it most, and letting the rules continue. So yes, I absolutely do support reducing the growth of the NDIS, but doing in a way that is sustainable. When you've got 94% of providers that are unregistered, that means there's no checks and balances, there's no minimum standards. These people are up close face to face with people with severe disability, and they've got no qualification. So, of course there's going to be rorting in the system, and it just blows my mind coming into this role a few weeks ago that there isn't a registration process already.

 

Luke Grant:

Yeah.

 

Melissa McIntosh:

Silly things going on, like the government spending $60 million a year fighting participants in the Administrative Review Tribunal and losing 75% time. So, all this money is going to lawyers. There is so much that can be done before you start really looking at the impact on participants. Just cleaning up the system would be a really great start.

 

Luke Grant:

If you if you've got a provider to register, what are they going to do? They're going to say - oh, look, the extra costs involved, that'll cost us, the scheme more. I mean, I don't know this. I'm just thinking that would be an unintended consequence. How do you tidy that up without adding more to the cost of it?

 

Melissa McIntosh:

Well, I think potentially, and the government hasn't given any indication of how they would address this, potentially a tiered registration system. So if you are providing something that says personal contact is a high form of registration, than somebody that's providing a piece of equipment that is maybe not too complex. So it does go into a lot of detail, but I think the reality is we can't let it continue like this. If it's $5 billion this year, there's an estimation that it's going to grow to $8 billion of rorting being spent on taxpayers money on these laws, and this is going to continue to grow because people are manipulating the current system, because the checks and balances aren't in place and vulnerable people at the heart of it, you've got to remember that it's just that the core of the system is going rotten.

 

Luke Grant:

Yeah, what do you make of means testing the NDIS? Is that something that the Coalition would look at?

 

Melissa McIntosh:

I know the government floated this last week. It was Mark Butler, and it actually caused a lot of anxiety across Australia, in the disability community, and they immediately go to, what does that mean? That I can't pay, can't get access to things that we really needed, and we can't afford that ourselves, personally. And then the Prime Minister has slammed the door shut on that. So they're not going to do means testing. If there was means testing, and there's no evidence to show that it would actually reduce costs or bring any relief to the budget, there seems to be a lot of work to do behind it. I don't think doing that prior to the budget there is enough time, there's been zero consultation with Australians, but it is a potential for the future, but there's no evidence to show that it's successful.

 

Luke Grant:

Right. I know the Guardian reported that an NDIS sustainability Task Force has been established. I'm not sure we've heard from Government about that. It's a group giving advice about cost cutting options. I think it's led by former Treasury official Anthea Long if you believe the reporting, it began on January 30, a meeting between the PM, State Premiers and Health Minister Butler. What do you make of these reports?

 

Melissa McIntosh:

Well, another task force. The government actually hasn't responded to a review into the NDIS that is now two years overdue, and that was an independent review. So, I don't know if another meeting is going to fix this thing. It's the government's favorite thing to do is have a task force, have a roundtable, have another meeting with very little outcomes. What we need to do, I think, is focus on the things that can be done and that's the minimisation of the rorts, getting providers registered, stop spending money unnecessarily fighting participants, and return the funding to the people with the most severe disability. It should be about quality, not quantity. That was the whole aim, quality of service and quality of life.

 

Luke Grant:

I so agree with that. It's about quality. There's also this Thriving Kids program that was to begin but is now delayed, and that's due to the States and Territories - to deliver general parenting support, local information, advice and targeted allied health supports to keep some children off the NDIS. Are you happy with that program? Have you been shared enough information to make a proper evaluation as to whether this is a good or not such a good thing?

 

Melissa McIntosh:

I think the intent is worthy, but there's been no detail and there's still two States - Victoria and Queensland yet to sign up to the program. It was due to start in July this year, but it's delayed to October. First there is no detail on how it will work. Second, providers have been given zero information. So, this is another anxiety conjuring exercise from the government, and another cost shifting exercise to get money out of the budget, out of the NDIS budget, to another place. This is the other issue, the States exited disability services, which meant that the NDIS has been the last frontier for support for people with a disability for a long time now, and that has been part of the issue as well. There's question marks around this too. Is it going to be successful? So, we don't know. The long way around getting an answer, is zero detail from the Government on how this is going to work.

 

Luke Grant:

Do you agree with my initial observation that of the two major parties, it's Labor that is most likely to be able to get a reduction in the cost and get this thing back on track, because if you're to touch it, then they’ll just play politics with you.

 

Melissa McIntosh:

Yeah, and I think I hope not. I feel I'm coming at this with compassion and sincerity, and I really care about people. I think it's a misconception that the Liberal Party or the Coalition don't care about people and that we're only interested in figures. It was Labor that cut psychology sessions in half for Australians. They're just very good at manipulating the story, perhaps they are better than us at that. I would like to see it done now. I don't think it can wait. It needs to be done with urgency, to fix it and doing it together is a good thing, regardless of who is in Government, and the Coalition will surely work in a bipartisan way, because that's going to be the best outcome for Australians. Enough politics gets played and when people at the other end are vulnerable and they get hurt, even now with the anxiety about talking about cuts, we've got to rise above politics and just get this thing fixed.

 

Luke Grant:

Spot on. Nice job. Good to chat. Melissa, thanks so much.

 

Melissa McIntosh:

Thank you. You too.