Families concerned over axing of local NDIS-funded program

An NDIS-funded service supporting people with a disability will be discontinued after the provider confirmed it was no longer viable, citing upcoming changes to NDIS funding.

Aspire Support Services' Lifestyle & Learning Service supports around 110 people in the Albury-Wodonga region via group day programs, including activities like woodwork and cooking, to help those with disability gain confidence and skills.

However, Aspire, which merged with fellow provider Personnel Group in 2025, announced it would discontinue the service from August 28 after consulting independent advisors.

Personnel Group CEO John Gibbons said that despite ongoing investment in the service, it was not sustainable.

"As a not-for-profit organisation, we need to carefully balance our impact in the community with the funding available to us,"

he said.

"The service continues to run at a significant loss, and proposed changes to NDIS funding from 1 October 2026 will further impact our operating environment."

Mr Gibbons said the decision was not a reflection on the service or staff, and Aspire would help transition families to other local providers.

"Our priority over the coming weeks is the people affected, and the service will continue without interruption until it closes," he said

"We remain committed to people with disability in our region, and to supporting everyone affected by this change with the care they deserve.”

He said the provider would make no changes to accommodation, plan management or family services.

Clients could struggle with change

Colleen Severs, whose 35-year-old son has been an Aspire client for nearly 18 years, said the service helped her son with a range of living skills, from cooking to sports.

While she said Aspire had been very supportive and communicative with her family about the changes, she had concerns about how it could affect those with different needs.

"There's a lot of other clients who really struggle with change [and will] struggle with behavioural issues, which when you change their environment is a bit of a trigger," she said.

"Not every provider gives you those same opportunities, so it's going to be a matter of finding one that's going to match [for them]."

Ms Severs said she was concerned about what may happen if other local providers made similar cuts.

"We may end up with very few providers and the demand is still there, it's going to be a growing need,"

she said.

Regional families hardest hit

Disability and mental health advocate Hollie-Ann Newman is based in Albury and said she moved there three years ago from the Gold Coast because of housing affordability and the access to supports and activities for disabled families.

Ms Newman, who serves on the board of the Australian Neurodivergent Parents Association, said her family did not have any informal or family support, and relied on preschool, Aspire and other NDIS providers to help her son participate within the community.

"We have the understanding of his diagnoses, language, tools and skills to support our son and ourselves," she said.

"It's currently funding his transition to school, which for a child with his profile is a huge, high-stakes step that needs specialist support to get right."

She said if the proposed NDIS cuts from the federal government occur, she feared regional communities would be the hardest hit.

"Waitlists that are already long in regional communities like ours will only grow as more families are pushed toward the public system instead of private [or] NDIS-funded providers,"

Ms Newman said

"The cuts will hit the workforce hard, and support work is a heavily feminised workforce [with] reduced hours, smaller providers collapsing, and support jobs disappearing.

"In a regional economy like ours, that's a meaningful chunk of local jobs and services gone."