Children with autism are being used as scapegoats for spiralling NDIS costs, an independent support co-ordinator says, as an inquiry begins into changes to the system. The federal government hopes moving some children with autism and developmental delays off the National Disability Insurance Scheme will rein in spending and ensure the scheme's sustainability. But the plan had used autistic people as a scapegoat for the scheme's increasing costs and excluding autism was more than short-sighted, Ange McArthur said. Almost two dozen submissions were made, many of them voicing strong concerns about the proposed changes. They described lengthy and invasive assessments to access support under the current arrangement, but warned the proposed changes risked creating a "two-tier" system.