Aug 12, 2026 – 9.00amThe National Disability Insurance Scheme has gone from nothing to the third-most expensive government program, behind only federal payments to the states – to pay for hospitals and schools – and the age pension.One way to rein in the scheme’s $56.1 billion cost, suggested by One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, is to “means test” it. After all, Australia has means-tested the age pension and unemployment benefits for decades, so why not the NDIS?Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles
Means testing the NDIS is overrated, and two numbers show why
More than half of all NDIS spending goes to just 10 per cent of mostly low-income disabled people, undermining the argument for means-testing the scheme.
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