Last week was a big week of NDIS reform with the ‘Securing the NDIS for Future Generations’ Bill becoming law.
While this is the biggest change to the Scheme in years, it’s important to remember that these reforms won’t take effect all at once.
This week, from Thursday, 27 August, some of the initial administrative changes will begin.
A quick note about this article
We know there's a lot of information to process, especially with all the commentary happening in the news, on social media and even among our family and friends about these reforms.
Our goal is to share the news about changes in the Act as clearly and factually as possible, without guessing about details that haven't been finalised yet.
How these changes work in practice will be guided by upcoming NDIS rules, guidelines and consultations. We'll share updates as we learn more.
So, how did we get here?
In May, the Labor government introduced the NDIS Amendment Bill.
Since then, the Bill has been through the House of Representatives, the Senate and a Senate inquiry which received a huge response, with over 4000 submissions and 6 public hearings over 13 weeks.
On 14 August, the committee tabled its final report and recommended the Bill be passed, despite the concerns raised by the disability community that the proposed changes could severely restrict access to supports and reduce participant choice.
In total, 63 amendments were made to the legislation covering a range of areas including: Scheme access, plan reviews, action against fraud and pricing.
On Thursday, 20 August, the Governor General gave Royal Assent, meaning the Bill became an Act, and ultimately, the law.
What NDIS changes are happening first?
Here is a summary of the first changes that come into effect on Thursday, 27 August. The official overview of the NDIS amendments can be found on the government's website.
For participants and people applying to the NDIS
- ‘Functional capacity’ now has a legal definition: You may have heard the term ‘functional capacity’ in the past, however it had never been formally defined in the legislation. From 27 August, ‘functional capacity’ has a legal definition in the Act.
- Plan reassessments: If you need an unscheduled plan reassessment, you’ll generally need to show a significant or ongoing change in your functional capacity and support needs. The NDIA will have up to 90 days to make a decision about your request.
- Supports will need to be directly related to the eligible “impairment/s” you receive NDIS funding for: This change requires that funded supports must address a need that comes directly from “an impairment or impairments” that meet the NDIS disability requirements for you. This means support needs which relate to impairments that do not meet the disability requirements or early intervention requirements won’t be funded by the NDIS, even where those impairments affect your day-to-day life.
- Access decisions: For new access requests, the NDIA now has up to 90 days to make a decision, an increase from the previous 21 days.
- Criminal convictions and managing funding: If the NDIA CEO is aware of certain convictions, restrictions will apply. However, the CEO is not expected to proactively check the criminal history of every participant or nominee.
Changes to how the Scheme is administered
- NDIS pricing: A new legal framework will give the Minister responsibility for NDIS pricing determinations. This doesn’t mean NDIS prices will automatically change on 27 August.
- Automation: The Act will allow certain administrative actions under the NDIS to be carried out by computer programs, with safeguards and CEO oversight.
- New framework planning: Further legal changes will support new framework plans, needs assessments and reasonable and necessary budgets. Existing participants will start to transition to new framework planning from April 2027, through to December 2030.
For providers, claiming and Scheme integrity
- Definition of an NDIS provider: A new legal definition of ‘NDIS provider’ will be introduced, with NDIS Rules clarifying who is included or excluded.
- Stronger fraud and compliance powers: The NDIA will have broader powers to monitor, investigate and take action against suspected fraud or non-compliance.
- Information gathering: The NDIA will have stronger powers to request information and documents and, in some cases, require a person to answer questions.
- Record keeping: New requirements will apply to keeping records that support NDIS claims, including a general seven-year requirement for providers.
- Fraud penalties: There will be stronger offences and penalties for actions like knowingly providing false information, fraudulently obtaining NDIS payments or deliberately interfering with required records.
- NDIS information in legal proceedings: The rules about when certain NDIA and NDIS Commission staff and officials can be required to disclose NDIS information to courts and other bodies will also change.
What do these changes mean for you right now?
For most participants, there’s nothing you need to do right now. You can continue using your current plan and supports as usual.
The change will apply when your next plan is approved on or after 27 August 2026. So if you have a plan reassessment coming up, it’s worth understanding these changes beforehand.
To see the full timeline of NDIS changes, visit the NDIS’ website.
What’s next?
It’s important to remember that the NDIS reforms won’t take place all at once and, instead, will happen in stages over a long period of time. Much of the detail is still to be shaped by ongoing consultation, new rules and implementation decisions over coming months.
To learn more about the upcoming NDIS reforms, check out the government’s website.
