The good, bad and ugly of disability legislation – recommendations from Philip Hodges

As a child, Philip Hodges experienced up to thirty seizures per day, but as he explains ahead of the National Disability Summit, the injustices he experienced because his epilepsy were equally disabling.

At the time, Philip’s condition was poorly understood, and his school declared themselves unable to accommodate him.

Philip only made it to grade five, before he was placed in the care of a charitable organisation, where he alleges he became a target for sexual abuse, because of his vulnerabilities.

The alleged injustices did not stop there.

After departing for England with his family, Australian-born Philip was denied re-entry into Australia on the basis of his disability.

Having left the country on his mother’s passport, his re-entry was subject to Australia’s discriminatory health criteria for migrants, which have since been outlawed.

His family fought to overturn the decision and, although successful, the experience left an indelible mark.

It was not until Philip joined General Motors in his late twenties that his life began to turn around.

“That’s where I got my real education,” Philip said. “I was working with different cultures and learned five languages on the job.

“I ended up learning Italian, Greek, Polish, Serbian, Sinhala, because I would sit in with all the other immigrants to have free English class lessons on how to write and how talk.”

Foray into disability work

With his newfound confidence – and with decades of injustice behind him - Philip found himself drawn disability work.

Initially working with children, he later became employed as a Panel Secretary under the Community Visitor’s Scheme in Victoria, where he was tasked with making sure disability houses and organisations were up to standard.

“I would teach the Community Visitor’s how to read between the lines of day and staff reports. And if they encountered any complications, I would deal with the CEO on their behalf.”

Philip later took on a nursing placement at the Royal Talbot, where he specialised in challenging behaviour. Here Philip helped coached a patient with severe distress, whose care warranted extra time and staffing.

“I got all the doctors and nursing staff to leave the room while I had a chat to the patient. Because of this, we were able to cut down the time it took to change his dressings from around one hour to 12.5 minutes. It came down to communication really,” he said.

Philip later became a representative for an organisation with the NDIA, where he felt confident to take on complex and dismissed cases.

Now retired, he is advocating with NDIS reform and has one clear message for the sector. “People with disability are exactly that: people,” he said. “We are not numbers.”

At the same time, Philip acknowledges the sector’s financial struggles and claims the current system is not sustainable.

He says balancing human centricity with budgetary constraints will be a juggling act - but that three key changes could help:

Recommendation #1 - A three-tiered system

Philip is pushing for a three-tiered system which distinguishes low, medium, and high support needs, prioritising those on the latter end of the spectrum.

He highlights that the NDIS was originally built for those with high support needs and has since opened its doors to other levels of disability.

“Ideally, the NDIS should be focussed on severe disability – as originally intended - because, under the Commonwealth Medical Instrument Act, the state government was supposed to be looking after those with low support disabilities.

“The NDIS can't afford to pay full package costs to everyone, so it's a matter of balancing things out,” he said.

However, even a state-led system for low-support individuals could struggle without reform, Philip warned.

“We would need a universal programme to cover all jurisdictions, as states inherently only have responsibility for themselves.

“And with state governments handing the responsibility back to the Commonwealth, they’re going to have to start local support services, like we did under the old ISP packaging system, before the NDIS came in.”

Recommendation #2 – Prioritise communication

Throughout his career, Philip has worked with challenging clients and says good communication has been at the heart of each successful outcome. He claims disability workers need specialised training to comprehend the nuances involved.

“Workers need to adjust the way they talk to the clients, because each client is unique. You can't use your dominant voice all the time. It just shuts the clients down and it causes more problems.

“When you build up trust with clients, you'll get a lot more from them. They won't recluse into their room.

“This is what I'd really like to see changed.”

Recommendation #3 – Uphold service provider accountability

Additionally, Philip says service providers must be held responsible for financial misconduct, which he claims is causing widespread harm to people with disability.

In his involvement with the NDIA, Philip prioritised well-meaning suppliers.

“If I can see a service provider struggling, but doing their best, I'll push for extra funding to go to them, because at least I know they're doing the best they can.

“At the end of the day, NDIA funding is public money and it needs to be accounted for correctly. We also need to look after people with a disability - whether through the NDIS or the state. They deserve a chance and a better life.”

More insights from Philip

Sharing more on his lived and professional experience - and all it has taught him about disability reform - Philip Hodges will present at the upcoming National Disability Summit.

This year’s event will be held 17-18 September 2026 at The Crown Promenade Melbourne.

Learn more and register your tickets here.