The federal government has been accused of misrepresenting cuts to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) as an anti-fraud crackdown, while in reality pursuing major savings through reductions in participant support packages.

Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John and NDIS Minister Jenny McAllister engaged in a heated exchange during Senate estimates, just days before public hearings into legislation linked to the scheme’s largest-ever proposed changes.

Treasury modelling presented in the Senate shows that of the projected $38.1 billion in savings over four years, only a small portion—around $0.9 billion—would come from fraud-related and pricing reforms. In contrast, the majority of savings are expected to result from reduced community participation and therapy budgets, as well as tighter eligibility criteria under a new functional capacity test.

The government has repeatedly cited fraud as a key reason for the overhaul, following concerns raised in a previous inquiry about significant funding losses due to “integrity leakage.” However, Senator Steele-John argued that the figures suggest participants themselves are bearing the bulk of the financial impact rather than fraudulent providers.

In response, Senator McAllister defended the reforms, stating that it was misleading to focus on individual line items and that the overall package would still help reduce fraud. She added that while some savings would be realised through fraud prevention, much of the benefit would go directly back to participants with disability rather than returning to government revenue. The inquiry is ongoing.