NDIS Changes in 2026: What the Reforms Mean for Your Plan

Why the NDIS is changing

The scheme has grown faster than any government forecast. As at 31 March 2026 it had 774,456 active participants, and expenses for the first nine months of 2025-26 were about $38 billion, with the full year heading toward $48 billion. The reforms in this guide all trace back to the 2023 NDIS Review and the government's target of holding growth to around 8% a year. They were legislated in the "Getting the NDIS Back on Track" amendments that commenced on 3 October 2024 and have rolled out since.

This page covers what each change means for a participant, in the order most people encounter them.

1. The NDIS supports list: what funds can and cannot buy

Since 3 October 2024 the Act defines "NDIS supports" and participants can only spend plan funding on items on that list. Before this, "reasonable and necessary" was argued item by item; now there is a published in-list and out-list.

Examples of what is in: support workers for daily living and community access; transport related to plan goals; therapy; assistive technology such as wheelchairs, communication devices and hearing aids; home modifications such as ramps, accessible bathrooms and widened doorways; specialist disability accommodation.

Examples of what is out: rent, groceries and standard household items; ordinary cleaning and gardening not related to disability; standard furniture, appliances and tools; gym memberships and general exercise equipment; over-the-counter medicines; mainstream health services covered by Medicare; holidays, entertainment and club memberships; anything that is the responsibility of the education or housing systems.

There is a narrow substitution rule: in limited circumstances a non-listed item can be approved as a replacement for a listed support where it meets the same need more effectively, for example a smart watch instead of a dedicated alarm device. You apply to the NDIA in advance; it is not something a plan manager can decide.

The practical effect for most participants has been on the margins of core supports - workers doing general housework, "social support" without a goal, and equipment that is really a household item. Our support workers guide covers where the line sits.

2. New plans: 12 months, a total budget and funding periods

Plans approved since October 2024 look different. Each states a total funding amount, groups supports into funding components, and sets funding periods during which money is released. For now, new plans are 12 months long with a 12-month funding period, so most people still see one annual budget - but the NDIA has the power to set shorter periods (three months is the example it uses) where it decides that will help someone manage their budget, and it uses that power for participants who have overspent before.

Unspent funds roll into the next funding period within the same plan. The bigger change is the mindset: the budget is a fixed total, and the era of a plan review automatically topping up an exhausted budget is over. If you are running short, contact the NDIA early; a change-of-circumstances request is the correct route.

3. Eligibility reassessments

The NDIA is checking more often whether participants still meet the access requirements, particularly people who entered through early intervention and children. When it asks for evidence you now have 90 days to provide it, up from 28. Not responding is treated as not meeting the requirements. If you receive a reassessment letter, treat it as an application: updated functional evidence, in the NDIA's own forms, from the most relevant clinician. Our eligibility guide sets out what works.

4. Pricing: freezes and cuts

The 2026-27 Pricing Arrangements, effective 1 July 2026, continued the pattern of the last two years:

• Support coordination limits frozen for a fourth year ($80.06, $100.14 and $190.54 an hour by level).
• Plan management monthly fee held at $104.45; the set-up fee was removed in 2025-26.
• Therapy split into per-profession line items. Psychology and behaviour support rose to $252.99; occupational therapy, speech pathology and physiotherapy held; dietetics, exercise physiology and the general "other professional" rate were cut, the last from $193.99 to $156.16.
• Therapy travel capped at 50% of the hourly limit since July 2025.

For participants the main effects are provider availability (some coordinators and therapists have reduced NDIS work) and invoice changes where a therapist moved to a different line item.

5. Thriving Kids and foundational supports

The biggest structural change is scheduled rather than done. Thriving Kids - a Commonwealth and state program for children aged 8 and under with developmental delay or autism and low to moderate needs - starts delivering its first services on 1 October 2026, with full rollout by 1 January 2028. From that date, children in that group will be supported through Thriving Kids rather than individual NDIS plans; children with high support needs stay in the scheme, and children already in the NDIS keep their eligibility until then. It is the first phase of a broader foundational supports system, funded at up to $10 billion over five years, for people with disability who are not NDIS participants. See the early childhood guide for what this means family by family.

6. Provider registration and quality

Registration reforms are moving toward a graduated model in which more provider types will need to register or enrol, including some currently unregistered supports used by plan-managed participants - platform-based support work and plan management are the frequently cited examples. Timelines have moved several times; the practical advice is to prefer providers who already hold, or are working toward, registration for the supports you rely on, and to keep the NDIS Worker Screening Check as a minimum for anyone you engage directly.

What to do about it

1. Check your spending against the supports list before the next plan review, not after. Your plan manager can flag anything borderline.
2. Treat the budget as a fixed total and track it monthly. If you have a support coordinator, ask for a quarterly budget check.
3. Keep evidence current. Updated functional reports every year or two make reassessments and reviews far less stressful.
4. For young children, understand where your child sits on the low-moderate versus high needs line, because that determines which system supports them from 2028.
5. Choose providers for stability. Pricing pressure is thinning the market in some areas; a provider that is registered, established and transparent about fees is a safer bet than the cheapest option.

If you are not sure who to ask, start with the roles: plan manager, support coordinator or LAC. The AusCareGuide NDIS directory lists every registered provider by state, suburb and support category.

Price limits on this page are from the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits published by the NDIA and are current as at August 2026. Limits are usually updated each 1 July, and the NDIA can change them mid-year. Always check the current document on ndis.gov.au before relying on a figure. This guide is general information, not financial or legal advice.