Albury 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. He explained that the service continues to run at a significant loss, and proposed changes to NDIS funding from 1 October 2026 will further impact their operating environment.

While a client 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, when her 35-year-old son who has been an Aspire client for nearly 18 years has been helped by the service to have been equipped with a range of living skills, from cooking to sports.

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. She said if the proposed NDIS cuts from the federal government occur, she feared regional communities would be the hardest hit, as waitlists that are already long in regional communities will only grow as more families are pushed toward the public system instead of private [or] NDIS-funded providers.