If you or someone you love is on the NDIS, you have probably heard that the scheme is going through its biggest shake-up in years. On 19 August 2026, Parliament passed the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026, and it received Royal Assent the following day, 20 August 2026.

That is a lot of news to take in, and it is completely normal to feel unsure about what any of it actually means for your plan, your child’s supports, or your day-to-day life. The good news is that almost none of this happens overnight. Most changes are being rolled out gradually between now and 2030, and some details are still being worked through with the community before they are locked in.

This guide walks through what has already changed, what is coming in the next year or two, what is further down the track, and what is still open for feedback. We have also included the official government resources you can check for the most current information, because this is an area that will keep evolving.

What is the NDIS Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026?

This Bill is the legal vehicle for a broader reform package the Australian Government agreed to in principle in early 2026. In plain terms, it gives the government the legislative power to make changes across four main areas of the NDIS:

• Who can access the scheme and how eligibility is assessed
• How participant plans are built, funded and reassessed
• How providers register, claim payments and are held accountable
• How pricing for NDIS supports is set

The stated aim is to keep the scheme financially sustainable while making sure people with permanent and significant disability retain their access to it. According to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, the government wants NDIS cost growth to settle at around 5 to 6 per cent a year, down from the higher growth rates seen in recent years, largely by strengthening supports outside the NDIS rather than by cutting supports for people who need them most.

You can read the government’s own summary of the reforms on the NDIS website and the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.

Why is the NDIS changing

Disability advocacy organisation People with Disability Australia notes that the reforms are being introduced to help the NDIS support people with permanent and significant disability sustainably over the long term, while building up stronger mainstream and community-based services for people whose needs are better met outside the scheme. You can read their explainer on why the reforms are happening.

This is a major structural change, and advocacy groups have raised real concerns about how smoothly it will roll out, particularly for children moving to new supports and the pace of consultation so far. We would encourage you to read PWDA’s perspective directly, and to keep an eye on updates as the detail of these reforms is finalised.

What’s changing right now

A handful of changes took effect as soon as the Bill received Royal Assent. These are the ones most likely to affect you today.

Who can request an early plan reassessment has narrowed

Previously, a broader range of people could ask the NDIA to bring forward a plan reassessment. Now, only the participant themselves, their nominee, or their child representative can make that request, and it generally needs to relate to a significant and ongoing change in functional capacity, or an unexpected and ongoing change in living, education, work or informal support arrangements. Once a request is made, the NDIA has up to 90 days to make a decision.

The Minister now has formal power over NDIS pricing

The Minister for the NDIS can set maximum prices for supports through an annual pricing review process, rather than this sitting solely with the Agency, under the NDIS pricing arrangements that govern the scheme. There is no immediate change to prices because of this power alone. If you want to understand how NDIS pricing already works day to day, our guide to the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026–27 covers current rates for support workers, therapy and plan management.

Record-keeping requirements are being strengthened

Participants and plan managers are expected to retain records for at least 3 years, and providers for at least 7 years, with penalties for providers who do not comply. If you are plan managed, your plan manager takes care of most of this administrative load for you.

None of these changes requires you to do anything differently today. Your current plan and supports continue as normal.

What’s changing over the next 6 to 18 months

These changes are locked into the legislation and will roll out progressively between October 2026 and mid-2027.

If you have a young child accessing the NDIS under the developmental delay pathway, read this alongside our guide on key NDIS transition ages for children, since some of these reforms overlap with those existing transition points.

What’s changing from 2028 onwards

The most significant, and most talked about, changes are still a couple of years away.

New NDIS eligibility assessments start from January 2028

New applicants to the NDIS will be assessed using a standardised, evidence-based functional capacity assessment that looks at the day-to-day impact of a person’s disability, alongside NDIS eligibility criteria that require the impairment to be permanent or likely to be permanent. Existing participants are not reassessed overnight. The NDIA will work through current participants progressively over 3 years, using the rules that applied when they most recently accessed or had their plan reviewed.

Children aged 8 and under with lower support needs move to a new pathway

From January 2028, children aged 0 to 8 with developmental delay and/or autism, and low to moderate support needs, will generally access support through Thriving Kids and the broader Foundational Supports program rather than the NDIS. Children with higher support needs keep their NDIS access. Thriving Kids is backed by around $4 billion over 5 years, and sits within a wider $10 billion Foundational Supports investment jointly funded by the Commonwealth and the states and territories. Thriving Kids services begin rolling out from October 2026, with full rollout targeted for January 2028.

If this affects your family, the most important thing to know is that children already on the NDIS before January 2028 are assessed against the rules in place at the time, giving families time to plan for the transition rather than facing an abrupt change. Foundational Supports and Thriving Kids are still being designed in detail, so we would strongly encourage families to keep an eye on updates directly from the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing rather than relying on secondhand information.

We have a blog about what families should know about NDIS transition ages at 6, 9 and 16, click here to read for more information.

Support coordination changes from July 2028

A new support coordination function is expected to move to a model where the NDIA commissions and appoints providers directly, rather than support coordination being an individually funded line item in every plan. An enhanced NDIS app is also expected around this time, including tap-and-go claiming for self-managed participants.

What’s still being worked out

A fair amount of the detail behind these headline dates has not been finalised yet, and the government has said further consultation will run through the second half of 2026 and beyond on:

• Exactly how functional capacity assessment thresholds will be set, guided by a Technical Advisory Group established from mid-2026
• The details of the new needs assessment and planning framework
• How Supported Independent Living will be commissioned in future
• The redesign of support coordination
• Differentiated pricing for different types of supports and delivery methods
• How the $200 million Inclusive Communities Fund will be rolled out to rebuild community-based options for social and civic participation
• Broader market reforms in the community participation sector

If you want to have a say, you can join the NDIS Reform subscriber list and take part in upcoming consultations through the Department of Health’s engagement page. This part of the reform is still an open conversation, not a done deal, so it pays to have your say if these areas affect you.

Protections added during the Bill’s passage

The Bill did not pass in its original form. The Senate made around 30 amendments before it passed, and several are directly relevant to participants:

• You cannot be required to undertake a specific medical treatment or intervention as a condition of accessing your NDIS supports
• Employment supports, including help preparing for and maintaining a job, remain protected
• Where a decision affecting your plan is made using an automated system, you still have the right to have that decision reviewed by a person

These amendments came out of real input from the disability community during the Bill’s passage through Parliament, and they matter if you ever feel a decision about your plan does not sit right.

What this means for you right now?

• Your current plan and supports have not changed because the Bill has passed. Nothing happens automatically to your existing plan.
• If you want an early reassessment, only you, your nominee or your child representative can request it, and the NDIA has up to 90 days to respond.
• If you have a child under 9 accessing supports for developmental delay or autism with lower support needs, start paying attention to Thriving Kids updates, but know that changes do not apply to children already on the NDIS until their situation is reviewed under future rules.
• If your plan renewal or reassessment falls after February 2027, ask your Local Area Coordinator, planner or support coordinator early about how the new renewal process and funding rules might apply to you.
• Keep your therapy reports, assessments and everyday evidence up to date. Good records make every conversation with the NDIA easier, whatever stage of the reforms you are navigating.

How All Plan Management can help

Reform announcements like this one can be unsettling, especially when so much detail is still to come. One thing that does not need to feel uncertain is the financial side of your plan.

A good NDIS plan manager keeps a clear, up-to-date picture of what has been spent, which providers have been paid, and how your NDIS budget tracking looks across every category in your plan, which is why understanding what NDIS plan management is and how it works can be helpful during reform periods. That clarity matters heading into a reassessment or plan renewal, whenever that falls for you, and it means you are not scrambling to pull records together at short notice.

At All Plan Management, we’re a dedicated NDIS plan manager supporting participants, nominees and families across Australia with the day-to-day financial administration of their plans, so you can focus your energy on the conversations that matter most.

These reforms will unfold over several years, not overnight, and the disability community still has a real opportunity to shape how the remaining details are designed. If you take one thing away from this guide, let it be this: nothing about your current plan changes today, and you have time to prepare for what is ahead.

If you have questions about how the NDIS reforms may affect your specific plan, our team is happy to help. You can reach us through the contact form on our website or speak with our plan manager directly via 1300 634 776.