A guide to funding changes for NDIS Supports.
In the 2026-27 Budget, the Australian Government announced it would reset funding for some NDIS supports from 1 October 2026.
This will reduce the amount available in participant’s plans for:
- social, economic and community participation supports by 50%,
- improved daily living skills supports by 10%.
These changes will be introduced gradually over 12 months from 1 October 2026.
Participants will be notified before their plan is changed.
Participants can continue using their current plan and supports until their plan is changed.
Safeguards are in place to ensure participant safety and wellbeing.
Why the Government is making this change.
Over time, funding for social, economic and community participation and improved daily living skills supports has grown exponentially.
These supports have been funded at a higher level than any similar programs.
These changes will make the NDIS more consistent with other support programs.
It will also help ensure the NDIS can continue to support people with disabilities for generations to come.
How this change will be implemented.
Participant support budgets for these supports will be changed for all participants between 1 October 2026 and 30 September 2027.
From 1 October 2026
- New participants will follow the usual planning process to create their first plan.
The funding change applies as soon as the new plan commences.
- For existing participants, the funding reset will be applied during the plan reassessment.
This might be through an unscheduled, NDIA CEO-initiated or scheduled reassessment.
o Participants can request an unscheduled reassessment when there is a significant and ongoing change in their support needs.
The NDIA will have 90 days to decide whether they are eligible for the reassessment.
o For CEO-initiated or scheduled reassessments, the NDIA will contact participants 2 to 3 months prior to schedule the reassessment meeting.
o Participants can choose if their reassessment is done by phone, video call, or face-to-face.
o The reassessment will consider if a participant’s support needs have changed and if changes are needed to make sure the plan meets their needs.
o When participants receive their reassessed plan, they will be told how much their funding for social, economic and community participation and improved daily living skills supports has been reduced.
- This process will continue until 30 September 2027.
From 1 February 2027
- All participants who receive funding for these supports and have not had a plan created or reassessed since 1 October 2026 will have their plan renewed by 30 September 2027.
- The NDIA will contact participants 60 days before their plan renewal.
- Participants don’t need to give the NDIA any extra information.
- When participants receive their reassessed plan, they will be told how much their funding for social, economic and community participation and improved daily living skills supports has been reduced.
All participants will be able to work with providers to maximise how they use their budget.
Participants will gradually transition to the new way of planning (called ‘new framework planning’) from 1 April 2027.
This change will not apply to new framework plans.
What safeguards there are for participants.
- The funding reset only applies to social, economic and community participation and improved daily living skills supports.
Funding changes will not impact any other parts of participants’ plans.
For example, critical supports will not be impacted.
This includes:- Supports in home
- Home and vehicle modifications
- Personal mobility equipment and transport
- Consumable products to help with incontinence and menstruation
- Specialist Disability Accommodation.
These critical supports will not be impacted.
- Some subgroups of supports within the impacted support categories will not be affected.
These supports are essential to the health, safety and wellbeing of participants.
These subgroups are:- Supports in employment
- Disability-related health supports
- High intensity supports
- Intensive and complex behaviour supports
- Customised and wearable technology
-
Hearing services.
- Participants cannot request a review of this change.
However, participants can request an unscheduled plan reassessment at any time if they experience a significant and ongoing change in their circumstances, support needs or functional capacity.
Participants affected by fraud, a crisis or an emergency can also contact the NDIA to discuss whether changes to their plan are needed. - A new plan variation pathway has been created for high support needs participants with 24-hour disability support needs.
A separate guide explains how this pathway will work.
This is the summary of a guide to funding changes for NDIS Supports.