People with disability appointed to advise NDIS regulator
A new NDIS Advisory Council made up of people with disability and sector leaders will provide direct input into how the Scheme is regulated, with a focus on safeguarding, quality and lived experience.
People with disability will play a more direct role in shaping how the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is regulated, following the appointment of a refreshed Advisory Council to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.
The independent council, made up of disability advocates, leaders and people with lived experience, will provide advice to the NDIS Commissioner on issues affecting participants, service quality and safeguarding across the Scheme.
The move is intended to strengthen how the regulator engages with people with disability, embedding lived experience more directly into decision-making at a national level.
The Advisory Council has been established under the NDIS Act and brings together members selected through a national expressions of interest process, ensuring perspectives from across Australia are represented.
Lived experience at the centre
NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commissioner Louise Glanville said the Council would play a critical role in shaping regulatory priorities and improving outcomes.
“The Commission’s Advisory Council strengthens how we engage with people with disability and embeds lived experience into everything we do,” she said.
Members bring experience across disability rights, advocacy, service delivery, policy and governance, with many drawing directly on their own lived experience of disability or caring.
A shift towards stronger safeguards
For Advisory Council member Carolyn Frohmader, the role comes at a critical time for the sector.
“In the context of the Disability Royal Commission findings and Australia’s obligations under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the NDIS Commission has a vital role not only in improving service quality, but also in safeguarding people with disability from all forms of violence, abuse and neglect,” she said.
She pointed to ongoing concerns about exclusion and inequality across parts of the system.
“Too many people with disability continue to live and work in segregated settings where their voices are excluded and their rights overlooked.”
Focus on practical change
Fellow Council member Alan Blackwood said the group would focus on real-world improvements.
“I look forward to discussing practical solutions in the complex environment we live and work in to ensure we deliver real improvements in the lives of people with disability and their families,” he said.
What this means in practice
The Council does not make decisions, but it does influence them.
Its role is to advise the regulator on where the system is working, where it is falling short, and what needs to change. In a Scheme still under pressure to improve consistency, safety and outcomes, that input matters.
Whether it leads to meaningful change will depend on how that advice is used.
For more information, visit NDIS Commission | Consultative Forums 2026 – 2028