About Us & Media Releases
The Principal Solicitor of Intrepidus Law is Belinda Kochanowska.
Belinda completed a Bachelor of Law and Graduate Diploma PLEAT at the University of Queensland in 2003 and was admitted to the Supreme Court of Queensland in 2003. Belinda’s 20 year legal career ranges from being a solicitor in top tier private legal practice, a lawyer in government (both State and Commonwealth) and as a corporate in-house Lawyer at various corporate entities, publicly listed and government owned, and a not-for-profit human rights organisation. Belinda has built a specialisation in NDIS Law and Appeals at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
Being a mother of an NDIS Participant and a solicitor provides Belinda with an unrivaled combination of the lived experience of all aspects of the NDIS, disability human rights, lived experience of disability, and legal expertise.
Are you looking for an NDIS lawyer servicing Australia-wide? Contact us today!
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Media releases
Media Release – 30 May 2024
Intrepidus Law is concerned about the impact of the amendments to the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 as proposed by the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No. 1) Bill 2024 [Provisions] (the “Bill”). In particular, Intrepidus Law is concerned about the impact to women.
Intrepidus Law wrote today to Shadow Minister for the NDIS. Michael Sukkar MP and Senator Hollie Hughes and Senator Reynolds expressing these concerns.
Our correspondence is below:
30 May 2024
Dear Shadow Minister Sukkar
Copy: Senator Reynolds
Senator Hughes
I am writing as Principal of Intrepidus Law, to further press the concerns I expressed to the Senate Standing Committee at the public hearing into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No. 1) Bill 2024 [Provisions] (the Bill) . I am also writing as a mother of a disabled child, and a female voter.
It is critical that the proposed Bill is rejected.
This Bill, if passed, will not only have a negative impact on disabled women, but significantly, the hundreds of thousands of female voters who care for people with disability – the hard-working unpaid carers of this country, the large majority of whom are female, who are often ignored when considering the real impact of the NDIS and its review.
This large cohort of female voters are the ones who will indirectly and directly take the brunt of this Bill, if passed. They are the women who take on much unpaid disability care and the enormous administrative load of dealing with a bureaucracy such as the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), as they endlessly fight for supports for their disabled family member or child (including adult children) and fill in the gaps in disability support with unpaid care.
If passed, this Bill will only serve to increase that administrative load, stress and unpaid care provided by those many women in this country, as they will be forced to provide even more unpaid support because of reduced or inappropriate plans, with no procedural fairness to appeal bad NDIA decisions that will impact their lives.
This cannot be good for productivity in this country, as it will force many female voters to quit their employment to fill the gaps in support needs for their disabled family member and increase the administrative load the Labor government will create with this Bill, threatening the financial security of those women.
I respectfully plea that the significant impact of this Bill on the large cohort of female voters who support disabled family members in this country be seriously considered as a reason to reject the Bill.
Yours faithfully
Belinda Kochanowska
Principal | Solicitor | Intrepidus Law
belinda@intrepiduslaw.com.au
https://intrepiduslaw.com.au/
media Release – 22 May 2024
Principal of Intrepidus Law, Belinda Kochanowska, appeared before the Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs Legislation Committee to give evidence to the committee’s public hearing regarding the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No. 1) Bill 2024 [Provisions].
Intrepidus Law rejects this Bill as presently drafted due to significant concerns regarding its limitation on Human Rights, procedural fairness and appeal rights. The recording of Belinda Kochanowska’s evidence to the Senate Standing Committee can be viewed here: