The National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 passed Parliament on 19 August 2026 and received Royal Assent on 20 August 2026. For providers and support coordinators, it touches registration requirements, claiming timeframes, record-keeping obligations, NDIS plan management arrangements, and, eventually, how support coordination itself is delivered.
Because the rollout stretches from now through to 2030, it is easy for the detail to get lost in the noise. This guide sets out exactly what has already changed, what is locked in for the next 12 to 18 months, what is coming further down the track, and where the government is still consulting, so you can plan your operations and your conversations with participants accordingly.
A quick summary of the reform package
The Bill gives government formal legislative power across four areas that affect how you operate:
- Participant eligibility and how access is assessed
- How plans are built, funded and reassessed
- Provider registration, claiming and compliance obligations
- How pricing for NDIS supports is set
The government’s stated objective is to bring NDIS cost growth back to a sustainable 5 to 6 per cent a year, partly by strengthening supports outside the scheme so the NDIS can remain focused on people with permanent and significant disability. You can read the government’s full explanation on the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing website and the NDIS website.
For a participant-focused explanation, you can point clients and families you support toward our companion guide, NDIS Reforms 2026 Explained for Participants and Families.
What’s changed already (in effect now)
Requests for early plan reassessment are now more tightly controlled
Only the participant, their nominee or their child representative can request an unscheduled reassessment, and generally only where there has been a significant and ongoing change in functional capacity, or an unanticipated and ongoing change in living, education, employment or informal support arrangements. Support coordinators can still play a vital role in identifying when a reassessment may be warranted and helping a participant put together supporting evidence, but the formal request needs to come from the participant, or the person authorised to act for them. Once lodged, the NDIA has up to 90 days to decide.
The Minister for the NDIS now has formal pricing power
The Minister can set maximum prices for NDIS supports through an annual pricing review process. This does not change current prices immediately, but it provides the legislative basis for future pricing schedules, including therapy, support work, and NDIS plan management and support coordination fee rates. If your team needs a refresher on current 2026 to 27 rates, our breakdown of the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27 covers support worker, therapy, and plan management and support coordination fee rates in detail.
Record-keeping obligations have been strengthened
Participants and plan managers are expected to retain relevant records for at least 3 years, and providers for at least 7 years. Non-compliance can attract civil penalties.
If your current record-keeping systems were not built with a 7-year retention window in mind, now is a sensible time to review them, well ahead of any compliance activity.
What’s ahead in the next 12 to 18 months
These changes are legislated and dated, so they are worth building into your operational calendar now.
| When | What’s changing | Operational impact |
|---|---|---|
| From 1 July 2026 (rolling) | Mandatory registration for Supported Independent Living and platform providers begins | If you deliver SIL or operate as a platform provider, confirm your registration pathway and timeline with the NDIS Commission now |
| From October 2026 | Social, Community and Civic Participation budgets, and Capacity Building Daily Activities budgets, are reset progressively as plans come up for reassessment | Model the revenue impact if a meaningful share of your service delivery sits in these categories, and start conversations with affected clients ahead of their reassessment |
| From October 2026 | Thriving Kids begins rolling out for children aged 0 to 8 | If you work with young children, understand how Thriving Kids and Foundational Supports sit alongside the NDIS pathway your current clients are on |
| From 1 December 2026 | Claims must be submitted within 90 days of delivering a support, down from the current 2 years | Review your billing cycle and any backlog of unclaimed or delayed invoices well before this date. Waiting to reconcile claims annually is no longer a safe practice |
| From February 2027 | Plan renewal replaces automatic continuation, and unused funds no longer roll over automatically | Build renewal date tracking into your client management process, and flag underspend early rather than close to a renewal date |
| From April 2027 | A new needs assessment and planning framework begins, starting with adults 16 and over | Plans increasingly reflect functional capacity, life stage, and personal circumstances. Start familiarising your team with the framework as details are released |
| From 1 July 2027 (rolling to December 2030) | Mandatory registration expands to all providers delivering higher risk supports, including personal care and supports in closed settings | Confirm whether your service lines fall within scope and plan your registration pathway well ahead of your compliance deadline |
| From October 2027 | A restricted panel model for plan management providers is introduced, with a 6-month transition for existing providers | If you provide or refer clients to plan management, confirm panel eligibility requirements as they are released |
What’s coming from 2028 onwards
The most significant, and most talked about, changes are still a couple of years away.
New NDIS eligibility assessments from January 2028
New applicants will be assessed using a standardised, evidence-based functional capacity assessment focused on day-to-day impact, alongside a requirement that the impairment be permanent or likely to be permanent. Existing participants are reassessed progressively over 3 years using the rules that applied at their most recent access or review, so this is not a cliff edge event. Support coordinators in particular will want to understand how this changes the evidence base participants need to bring to planning conversations, and how plan management and support coordination can work together to support better funding visibility, since functional, everyday evidence is likely to matter more than diagnosis alone.
Children aged 8 and under with lower support needs move to Thriving Kids and Foundational Supports
This affects providers delivering early intervention, allied health, and support coordination to young children. Children already accessing the NDIS before January 2028 are assessed under the rules in place at the time, so the transition is gradual rather than abrupt. Foundational Supports is a $10 billion investment over 5 years, jointly funded by the Commonwealth and the states and territories, alongside a dedicated $4 billion Thriving Kids program. If a meaningful share of your caseload is young children with developmental delay or autism and lower support needs, factor this into your medium-term service planning now.
We have a blog about NDIS transition ages at 6, 9 and 16, click here to read for more information.
Support coordination moves to a new commissioning model from July 2028
Rather than being an individually funded line item in every plan, support coordination is expected to move toward a model where the NDIA commissions and appoints providers directly through a merit-based selection process. This is a major structural shift for support coordination businesses, so staying close to consultation updates matters. An enhanced NDIS app with tap-and-go claiming for self-managed participants is also expected around this time.
What’s still open for consultation
A meaningful amount of implementation detail has not been finalised, and further consultation is expected through the second half of 2026 and into 2027 on:
- Functional capacity assessment thresholds, guided by a Technical Advisory Group established from mid-2026
- Detailed design of the new needs assessment and planning framework
- The future commissioning approach for Supported Independent Living
- The redesign of support coordination
- Differentiated pricing, including for telehealth and non-face-to-face delivery
- Rollout of the $200 million Inclusive Communities Fund to rebuild community-based participation options
- Broader market reforms affecting the community participation sector
Providers and support coordinators have a real opportunity to shape this detail. You can join the NDIS Reform subscriber list and register interest in relevant consultations through the Department of Health’s engagement and consultation page. Given how directly these settings affect service delivery models, make sure your voice, or your peak body’s voice, is part of that process.
Protections added through Senate amendments
The Bill passed with around 30 Senate amendments, several of which have direct implications for how supports are delivered:
- Participants cannot be required to undertake a specific medical treatment or intervention as a condition of accessing NDIS supports, reinforcing person-centred, non-coercive practice
- Employment supports, including job preparation and maintenance assistance, remain protected
- Automated decisions affecting a participant’s plan remain subject to human review on request
Build these into staff training and service agreements, particularly if your organisation delivers therapy, employment, or capacity-building supports where treatment expectations sometimes come up in practice.
A practical compliance checklist
Use this as a starting point for an internal readiness review.
- Update record retention systems. Confirm your systems and policies support 7-year retention for provider records, and review how you support participants and plan managers to meet their own 3-year obligations.
- Audit your claiming cycle. Map how quickly you currently submit claims after delivering a support, and close the gap to the 90-day requirement well before December 2026, and review practical steps for getting paid faster as an NDIS provider .
- Revisit your reassessment support process. Update internal guidance so staff understand they can support and prepare evidence for an early reassessment request but cannot lodge the request on a participant’s behalf.
- Check your registration status against upcoming requirements. This is particularly urgent if you deliver Supported Independent Living, operate as a platform provider, or deliver higher risk supports such as personal care.
- Track renewal and reassessment dates for every client from February 2027. Build in early conversations about funding usage well ahead of renewal, given automatic rollover is ending.
- Watch for panel requirements if you provide NDIS plan management services. Confirm eligibility criteria as they are released ahead of the October 2027 transition.
- Stay engaged with consultation. Subscribe to official updates so your organisation has visibility of, and a voice in, the details still being finalised.
How All Plan Management supports NDIS providers and support coordinators
Understanding what NDIS plan management is and how it works is important because plan management sits right in the middle of many of these changes, from claims timeframes through to how funding is tracked against a participant’s remaining budget.
At All Plan Management, we process provider invoices against current NDIS pricing, give participants and their support networks clear visibility of how funds are being used, and help flag budget concerns early, which matters more than ever as automatic fund rollover comes to an end.
If you are a provider or support coordinator wanting a plan management partner who keeps pace with these changes, our dedicated plan management for support coordinators service explains how we work together to support shared clients.
Learn more about how the All Plan Management team works with providers and support coordinators
Frequently asked questions
Do these reforms apply to services I am already delivering under a current service agreement?
Existing plans and service agreements are not automatically changed by the Bill passing. Most changes take effect at defined future dates, or when a participant’s plan comes up for renewal or reassessment, giving you time to adjust service agreements and billing practices in line with each milestone.
Can I, as a support coordinator, request an early plan reassessment for a client?
No. Under the current rules, only the participant, their nominee or their child representative can make that request. You can still help identify when a reassessment may be needed and support the participant to gather evidence, but the formal request needs to come from them or their authorised representative.
What is the new claims timeframe and when does it start?
From 1 December 2026, claims must be submitted within 90 days of delivering support, down from the current 2-year window. Review your billing cycle now so there is no backlog to manage when the shorter window applies.
Will support coordination stop being separately funded in plans?
From around July 2028, support coordination is expected to move toward a model where the NDIA commissions and appoints providers directly, rather than it being an individually funded item in every plan. The detailed design of this model is still being worked through, so watch consultation updates closely if this is core to your service offering.
Does the Bill change current NDIS pricing?
Not immediately. The Bill gives the Minister for the NDIS formal power to set maximum prices through an annual review process. Current 2026 to 27 rates continue to apply under the existing Pricing Schedule. See our detailed NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27 guide for current rates.
Where can providers get authoritative, current updates as implementation detail is released?
The NDIS website and the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing and the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission are the most reliable sources for registration, compliance and pricing updates as they are confirmed.
This reform package is being delivered in stages through to 2030, with plenty of design detail still open for input. Organisations that come out of this transition well will start adjusting billing, record-keeping, and client communication practices early, rather than waiting for each deadline to arrive.
If you would like to talk through how plan management fits into your service model as these changes roll out, our team at All Plan Management is here to help. You can reach us through the contact form on our website or speak with our plan manager directly via 1300 634 776.
