Queensland reports highest number of NDIS-related GoFundMe accounts
Data collected by GoFundMe reveals a 17 percent year-on-year increase in NDIS-related fundraisers as the federal government tightens guidelines on the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
As the Federal Government pushes ahead with plans to overhaul the National Disability Insurance Scheme meaning more than 160,000 people now face losing funding â many in the scheme are already turning to public fundraising for assistance.
Fundraising platform GoFundMe revealed that in the year to March 2026, thousands of donors donated more than $2.5 million to NDIS-related fundraisers.
Over that time, the number of fundraisers mentioning the NDIS rose by eight percent year-on-year, following a seven percent increase in the previous year.
Queensland was found to be the state with the highest number of fundraisers citing gaps in NDIS funding, followed by New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia. NSW reported the highest funding total raised.
Federal Health and NDIS Minister Mark Butler this month announced eligibility changes and cracking down on ârortersâ and âlowlifesâ were part of an overhaul of the national scheme that is currently on track for a $13 billion cost blowout.
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He said eligibility to access NDIS services will âno longer be based on diagnosis aloneâ, and instead use âstandardised evidence-based assessments of a personâs functional capacity to determine access to the schemeâ.
This was expected to see people cut from NDIS access projections, with Butler saying âthe number of people on the scheme will be reduced to around 600,000 by the end of the decade instead of growing to well over 900,000 on current projectionsâ.
Each person currently supported by the NDIS would be reassessed; currently, there are 760,000 people on the NDIS.
Legal director of programs at Queensland Advocacy for Inclusion Sian Thomas said the increase in NDIS-related fundraisers was unsurprising.
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âOver the past 12 months, demand for our services has almost doubled, and we are increasingly forced to turn away participants who urgently need support at the [Administrative Review] Tribunal,â Thomas said.
QAI is an independent not-for-profit advocacy organisation and specialist community legal centre for people with disability, supporting NDIS participants to appeal NDIS decisions in the Administrative Review Tribunal.
Thomas added that QAIâs casework has numerous examples of significant and distressing funding gaps for people with complex support needs.
âJust one current example is a family where a 73âyearâold mother is still working every weekend to meet the substantial care needs of her son in his forties because of significant gaps in funding. This just isnât what we expect from the NDIS,â Thomas said.
Lilia Villela, senior communications manager at GoFundMe, said it was inspiring to see the community support with the future of the NDIS being reimagined.
âAs conversations around the future of the NDIS continue, we are seeing just how critical community support is for Aussies living with disability, particularly when it comes to bridging funding gaps,â Villela said.
âItâs inspiring to see communities stepping up to help improve someoneâs quality of life â whether itâs chipping in for extra support, a modified vehicle, an electric wheelchair or essential home modifications.â
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