Federal Member for Throsby Stephen Jones today visited members of the Illawarra Support Amputees Family & Friends (SAFF) at Port Kembla Hospital to mark the start of National Amputee Awareness Week.

"We've made big steps in reducing road accident and trauma-related amputations over the past decades", said Jones.

"But there is still a lot of work to do in preventing the loss of limbs from various cancers, smoking and chronic diseases like diabetes."

Stephen Jones spoke with Port Kembla Hospital Physiotherapy Manger, Marnie Jones and members of the local amputee community to discuss their issues and concerns.

"One of the biggest concerns for amputees today is the cost of their prosthesis. New pieces can be anywhere up to $100,000.

"This is a significant barrier for someone who has lost a limb and is also dealing with a loss of income and costly medical bills.

"It's great to see that there are organisations like SAFF that are committed to helping our local amputees in difficult situations but more still needs to be done.

"Last week in Parliament, Labor blocked the Abbott Government's unfair cuts to the Disability Support Pension and the Carer Payment that would have hit thousands of amputees and their carers across the country.

"I'm calling on the Government to rethink their out-of-touch priorities and commit more support to amputees and their families, including the rollout of Labor's National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

"The NDIS is an once-in-a-lifetime reform that will fundamentally change the lives of thousands of Australians with disabilities, including amputees.

"The Government must stand by its pre-election commitment of no cuts, no delays."