Independent Advisory Council to the NDIS
2024-25 Year in Review

Our acknowledgement and commitment to accessibility

The efforts of people with disability make the Independent Advisory Council (IAC)’s Year in Review possible. We acknowledge and pay respects to fellow Australians with disability. 

We also acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land, sea, and community. We pay our respects to their Elders, past and present. 

 

The Review

The purpose of this Year in Review is to let the disability community and Australian people know about the important work the IAC has done over the past year.

We have been guided by our 2025-26 Work Plan and our Operating Model. The Work Plan and Operating Model maintain the accountability, integrity, and performance of our work.

 

Principal Member’s reflection

It is my pleasure to present the Independent Advisory Council Year in Review for 2024–25. This is where we share our important work and achievements from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025. This includes our work to fulfill the IAC’s legislated role of advising the Board of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA). 

This year, the IAC continued its advisory work, with the support of our Reference Groups. This work included:  

  • We prepared our ‘End of life care, not the end of care: Palliative support and the NDIS’ advice for the Board to consider in the latter part of 2025  

  • The IAC endorsed our ‘NDIS guiding principles and measures of success’ advice; we are expecting the Agency response soon 

  • We endorsed our ‘Participants who are ageing’ advice in preparation for next steps to the Board 

  • We began work on new ‘Justice’ and ‘Home and Living Framework’ advice to the Board.  

The IAC launched the First Nations Reference Group with its first in-person meeting held in Melbourne in February 2025. This Reference Group provides expert advice to the IAC to ensure First Nations people with disability can live how they choose, participate in their community, and have access to culturally safe disability services and supports. The group endorsed their Terms of Reference and Cultural Protocol in February and have since been increasing their understanding of the NDIS, the First Nations Strategy and what they are experiencing in their communities. 

Co-design continues to be a priority for the IAC. Our members work with the NDIA, participants, disability representative and carer organisations to co-design NDIS reforms. This year we supported ongoing improvements to the NDIA’s co-design approach. 

It is excellent to see the NDIA foster such a strong commitment to co-design, and for the IAC to be held as a trusted partner in this work.  

We have worked closely with the NDIA on co-designing reform, alongside Disability Representative and Carer Organisations (DRCOs) and individual participants in various working groups. This work will continue with ongoing feedback to guide the NDIA on the change, and how it impacts NDIS participants. 

Our latest Work Plan will guide us on the work we will do from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026. The changes occurring in the NDIS, brought about by the NDIS Review and the changes to the NDIS Act 2013 and rules, have heavily influenced this Work Plan. Through it, we aim to deliver advice to the NDIA Board that impacts and improves the NDIS for the best participant outcomes. 

 

Council membership 

We have seen several changes to the IAC membership. Earlier this year, Mr Gavin Burner, a member of the IAC and Co-chair of the Intellectual Disability Reference Group, passed away. Gavin strengthened our representation of people with intellectual disability over his time on the IAC and IDRG. His contributions were highly valued, and we will miss him. 

The IAC farewelled longstanding members, Sylvana Mahmic, Adjunct Associate Professor Jennifer Cullen AM, Mr James Manders and Dr George Taleporos. I would like to acknowledge their significant contributions to the IAC and wish them all the best for their future endeavours.  

IAC members Dr Leighton Jay, Dr Sharon Boyce, Mr Mark Tonga, Ms Patricia Malowney OAM and Ms Samantha Paior were all re-appointed to the Council. We also welcomed Mr Vaughn Bennison, Associate Professor Lorna Hallahan, Dr Gill Hicks AM MBE, Mr Andrew Vodic, and Ms Jane Wardlaw. These members were all appointed by the then-Minister for the NDIS in December 2024.  

The IAC formally wound up the Home and Living Reference Group at its 18 June meeting. The Reference Group had been an important part of the IAC’s operations for several years, where it provided advice on best practice home and living supports and innovation models; advice which helped build participant capacity, independence and inclusion. The Group’s membership has always provided invaluable insights that helped guide IAC advice and NDIS policy to improve the lives of Australians with disabilities. I would like to thank the members of the Group for their years of service, and for their insights, advice, and guidance. 

I would like to thank the NDIA Board, and the broader NDIA, for the continuing way they engaged with us throughout the past year. The Board always receives our advice cordially and in the spirit of collaboration. I note the ongoing way in which they actively seek ways to bring our recommendations to life.  

I am grateful for the way the disability sector actively supports the IAC. These various government agencies and organisations continue to provide strong and impactful support for the work we do. The sector trusts our advice, and they provide invaluable input.  

In closing, I want to highlight that sharing our collective knowledge and insights on disability is highly valuable. But it is only by working together that we can make true changes and improvements to the lives of the disability community. This is something which will benefit all Australians.  

Ms Leah van Poppel 
Principal Member and NDIA Board member 
November 2025 

 

Our important advisory role

The IAC was established as part of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Act 2013. Our statutory role is to give advice to the NDIA Board, both at their request and on our own initiative.

We bring lived experiences of disability into the boardroom of the NDIA through our advice. Section 144(1) of the NDIS Act outlines that our advice should draw attention to the most important issues affecting people with disability. Our advice allows us to speak up for people with disability and put participants at the centre of the NDIS.

 

Reference groups

IAC membership

IAC Members bring their advice to life through their skills, experience and knowledge about different areas of disability.

Follow the link to read more about the current IAC Members as of 30 June 2025.

IAC Reference Groups

IAC Reference Groups are an invaluable source of further expertise for our advice also help us represent the diversity of people with disability as part of the IAC. They have been determined as part of our own procedures, to give advice and feedback in relation to issues and opportunities across 4 focus areas. They add valuable expertise to the IAC’s advice around the areas of:

 

Work Plan

The IAC has a Work Plan for 2025-26.

The Work Plan is available as an information sheet:

This Work Plan is guiding us on the work we are doing during 2025-2026. It focuses on 6 priorities:

  1. NDIS program of change

  2. Home and Living

  3. Planning and support in emergency and extreme weather events

  4. NDIS and Justice issues

  5. Inclusion in community through the NDIS – Barriers and solutions to achieving outcomes

  6. Building the support workforce and markets in remote and regional areas.

As part of this plan, IAC aims to deliver advice to the NDIA Board that improves the NDIS for the best participant outcomes.

We also aim to strengthen community ties and trust through our Work Plan. We do this by working with:

  • Disability Representative and Carer Organisations (DRCO)

  • state and territory disability councils, and

  • the broader disability community.

We will also work together as part of the NDIA’s co-design work.

IAC Work Plans have also been written for the 4 Reference Groups in Easy Read.

 

Promoting our work

This year we have continued to share accessible information about our work to raise awareness and understanding of the IAC. We did this through:

  • Releasing 29 bulletins about IAC and IAC Reference Group meetings to the public

  • Providing Easy Read meeting packs for the Intellectual Disability Reference Group’s face-to-face meetings.

  • Releasing and promoting IAC’s Work Plan to the public

  • Releasing our Annual Report to the public

  • Updating online platforms to ensure up to date and accessible information

 

Year in Review

2024

July

  • The IAC and its 4 Reference Groups met in Melbourne. This was the first time the IAC and its Reference Groups have held a joint forum. The event allowed the IAC and its Reference Groups to deliberate on its Work Plan for 2024-25.

August

  • The Home and Living Reference Group met, discussing the prevailing community sentiment around the release of the Australian Government’s response to the final report of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability.

  • The IAC met, where Members shared their views on how to prioritise areas of advisory work, set out in the 2024-25 Work Plan. They agreed to strengthen overarching governance arrangements to better link the IAC with its Reference Groups.

  • Similar concerns were aired at the Equity and Inclusion Reference Group meeting, where Members reported widespread uncertainty within the community regarding the broader program of reforms.

September

  • The IAC met in Perth and online. The NDIA’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and members of the strategic leadership team were in attendance.

  • The IAC Children, Young People and Families Reference Group meets to start development of ‘Improving the NDIS for children and young people: the importance of being guided by their voice’ advice.

October

  • The Children, Young People and Families Reference Group met via videoconference .

  • The IAC Intellectual Disability Reference Group holds its second meeting for 2022-23 and discussed progress on the NDIA’s Supported Decision-Making Policy and Home and Living Framework.

November

  • The IAC endorsed its advice about participants who are ageing, titled ‘Age is not a number’, and commenced development of an Agency response to the advice.

December

  • Mr Vaughn Bennison, Associate Professor Lorna Hallahan, Dr Gill Hicks, Mr Andrew Vodic, and Ms Jane Wardlaw were all appointed to the IAC.

  • The IAC met, and welcomed the NDIA’s Board Chair, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and Deputy CEO Service Design and Improvement. 

  • IAC holds further discussions about the ‘Improving the NDIS for children and young people: the importance of being guided by their voice’ advice.

2025

January

February

  • The First Nations Reference Group was formed, meeting for the first time in Narrm, Melbourne and online. All of the NDIA’s Deputy CEOs introduced themselves to Members, who were then presented an overview of the NDIA’s First Nations Strategy.

  • The Equity and Inclusion Reference Group met online.

March

  • The Home and Living Reference Group met online

  • The Board presented its Enhancing NDIA Practice in Behaviour Support to the Agency, which offered a response.

April

  • The Intellectual Disability Reference Group meets. Members shared community concerns about participants waiting long times for access decisions and plan reassessments.

May

  • The IAC endorses its ‘Improving the NDIS for children and young people: the importance of being guided by their voice’ advice.

  • The IAC discuss their Work Plan for 2023-24.

June

  • The First Nations Reference Group met in Gimuy, Cairns and online. A forum was also held to hear from representatives of the Gimuy/Cairns First Nations community

  • The Home and Living Reference Group met online on 18 June - this was the final meeting of this Reference Group

 

Advice to the NDIA Board

This year, our advisory efforts encompassed:

  1. Submission of the Improving equity in the NDIS (DOCX 307KB) advice to the NDIA Board, accompanied by an Agency Response.

  2. Creation and endorsement of the advice ‘Improving the NDIS for children and young people: the importance of being guided by their voice’.

  3. Development of ‘Enhancing behaviour supports in the NDIA’.

  4. Tracking how the NDIA is implementing our advice, including reporting, and monitoring the progress of historical and current IAC advice.

Over the years, we have generated a broad range of advice accessible on IAC’s website.

We remain committed to a planned redesign and redevelopment of the IAC website. The website and its content will meet the highest accessibility standards and user experience.

 
 

Easy Read

The IAC will publish Easy Read and Auslan versions of this Year in Review, as part of its commitment to accessibility.