Undesirable Present and Future of Disability Support in Tropical Far North Queensland, Australia

This paper examines the undesirable present and potential future of disability support in tropical Far North Queensland (FNQ), Australia, focusing on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Ethnographic research reveals three key challenges: bureaucratic complexity, inequality caused by tropical rurality, and neoliberal systemic exploitation. The NDIS's neoliberal, market-driven approach has inadvertently led to fraudulent practices and inadequate service provision in FNQ. Recent legislative changes, including the NDIS Amendment Bill 2024, consolidate existing problems rather than offer reform, presenting a vision of an undesirable future. The paper also argues that the NDIS's social model of disability falls short due to overemphasis on individual autonomy. This paper thus discusses the undesirable shape of tropical disability futures in Far North Queensland, Australia.