Disability groups say federal budget funding cuts will leave them less able to support vulnerable Australians as the government rolls out widespread changes to services and supports.
The Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO) says some of the groups it represents are on "life support" with their funding cut to $143,000 per organisation each year, which staff say is not enough to continue advocacy and education work.
AFDO has received $1.718 million over two years, across six organisations, but that will result in an almost $60,000 cut in funding each year when split across the consortium.
Some of the federation's members — which include Blind Citizens Australia, Deaf Australia, and Brain Injury Australia — have had to make staff redundant and are considering further job cuts as they try to work out how to divide the smaller pool of funding between organisations.
The federal government has separately dedicated $10.6 million over the next two years for 11 disability representative organisations including AFDO to co-design changes to the NDIS.
But organisations say their work goes well beyond the scheme.
Last year's disability royal commission heard that unreliable, fluctuating funding to disability advocacy groups was leaving unmet demand and suggested funding be increased.
The federation includes 37 organisations, but only six are funded via the consortium with others attracting funding elsewhere.
In response, Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said the grants round was competitive and merit-based, with several groups in the consortium receiving separate funding.
'Absolutely devastated': organisations consider redundancies
AFDO's NDIS adviser Mary Henley-Collopy said it was completely unrealistic to expect her organisation to operate on $143,000.
"We're expected to run an organisation, we're expected to keep the lights on, we're expected to pay staff and why should these staff be on minimal payments because we can't afford it?" she said.
"We're absolutely devastated, angry, frustrated and just wondering what is our future?"
Since the funding cut, AFDO have had to make five of its staff redundant with two more opting to resign.
Six of the group who've no longer got jobs are people with disabilities.
Ms Henley-Collopy said the government's budget restraint shouldn't come at the cost of people with disabilities.
"I know the cost of living is really tough on everyone, and people with disabilities are included in that as well… no one is immune from the cost of living issues but when it starts hitting the grassroots organisations that do their best to support us it's just exhausting."
Ms Henley-Collopy said those at risk of redundancies are staff with disabilities.
"That is frightening and if that doesn't make people angry, I don't know what will."
Blind Citizens Australia CEO Deb Deshayes, said the funding change would limit the group's ability to support blind and vision-impaired members.
"We don't want to lose anyone, we want to continue to do the level of work and advocacy and representation for all of our members that we currently do," she said.
"But I'm struggling to really understand how we can actually do that with that level of funding.
"We celebrate our 50th year in March 2025, it's heart wrenching to think that that could potentially look very different based on the lack of funding.
"We have to redesign our organisation and that means then limiting the level of support that we can provide to our members in the community who are blind or have a vision impairment."
Cut comes as big changes on the way for disability community
AFDO CEO Ross Joyce said the cuts appeared to indicate the work of disability groups was undervalued.
"We're calling on the minister to have an urgent meeting with us, to actually sit down at the table, hear from us and our member organisations about the implications that this has for our operation and for our ability to contribute into the enormous amount of review and service changes that are going to be required over the next five to 10 years," he said.
AFDO contributed to the disability royal commission and the NDIS Review, both of which put forward recommendations to shape the sector.
The government is due to respond formally to both.
Mr Joyce said the funding cuts will limit the capacity to contribute to any changes.
"We're not just talking here about the NDIS, that's just one part of it, it's social services, it's across education, employment, transport, and others."
Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth did not respond directly to questions about how AFDO will now struggle to operate but, in a statement, acknowledged disability representative organisations are vital in supporting people with disability.
She said her department undertook an open, competitive and merit-based $10 million grant round to select organisations to receive funding under the Disability Representative Organisation program.
"Several groups currently represented by the AFDO consortium will be funded in their own right as standalone Disability Representative Organisations, including those representing people with psychosocial impairments, people with autism, people with Down Syndrome and DANA who represent people engaging with individual disability advocacy supports.
"Since coming to government we have doubled funding to Disability Representative Organisations because we understand the vital role they play in representing the voices of people with disability to government."
One in two turned away in advocate shortage
It comes as more than a dozen advocacy groups have written to the Victorian Disability Minister Lizie Blandthorn asking for emergency funding.
They say while the cost of running their services and demand have risen their funding has not.
The groups behind the letter include Regional Disability Advocacy Service, Victorian Advocacy League for Individuals with Disability (VALID) and Star Victoria.
In her role as the executive officer at Star Victoria, Denise Boyd has worked supporting people with intellectual disability to navigate the child protection and education systems for the last five years.
She said many small advocacy bodies were already operating in a deficit and unless something was done soon others would also be at risk.
"Organisations are going to have to wind back their service or in some cases may need to close down altogether," she said.
She said that nationally every second person with a disability is already being turned away due to the lack of available advocates.
And she's concerned the gap could widen.
"That lack of advocacy support is leaving people with disability in crisis," she said.
"We need to make things better and we need to start now."
The sector is about to undergo a huge period of transformation thanks to changes recommended by the review into the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and the federal government is due to hand down its response to the disability royal commission in coming months.
One of the proposals is to set up foundational supports; services run by the states and territories outside the NDIS.
Denise Boyd says advocacy would potentially form part of those foundational supports and while discussion is ongoing over how that will work emergency funding would help them continue to operate effectively.
She said it was a false economy to not provide emergency transitional funding to see organisations through until the foundational supports were up and running.
"We risk losing skilled advocates from the workforce and then having to try and put it all back together again once the new system is in place," she said.
Jeff Smith from the national peak body, Disability Advocacy Network Australia said the gap between demand and supply has been a problem for a long time.
"(Some advocacy groups) are reaching a point where there's just nothing left to give," he said.
"We're all going to lose out as a society and people with disabilities are going to lose out."
He agreed further investment was needed particularly as sector-wide change is on its way.
"We are seeing a situation which replicates what's happening in Victoria and where many across the sector are feeling demoralised and at a crisis point," he said.
He said advocates played a vital role in "walking alongside" people with disability.
"Both the … Disability Royal Commission and the NDIS Review identified the absolutely crucial role of advocacy in helping people to navigate the systems in their lives [like] finding housing [or] navigating through the health system," he said.
"At the same time, the federal budget did not recognise the primacy of that role."
In a statement a Victorian government spokesperson told the ABC it had boosted funding for disability support advocacy groups by 50 per cent over the past five years "to help them meet the increased demand and cost to deliver these important services."
"In response to the Disability Royal Commission and NDIS Review we are currently negotiating the future service delivery and funding model, including for foundational supports with the Commonwealth and other states."
In a separate statement, Ms Rishworth said the federal government understood the importance of supporting people with disability in defending their rights and seeking advice.
"The Commonwealth has doubled systemic disability advocacy funding and extended targeted funding for Indigenous community advocates to ensure access in remote areas."