21/08/2026
📢 NDIS BILL UPDATE – WHAT DOES IT ACTUALLY MEAN?
You may have seen the headlines that the NDIS Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 has passed the Senate.
So… what does that actually mean for participants, families and providers?
Firstly – your NDIS plan does NOT suddenly change today.
Your current funding and supports continue as normal.
The Bill has passed the Senate with amendments and will now return to the House of Representatives before it can receive Royal Assent and become law.
However, it does give us a much clearer picture of where the NDIS is heading.
Some of the biggest changes we can expect include:
🔹 A much stronger focus on functional capacity
From 1 January 2028, NDIS access is expected to move towards standardised, evidence-based functional capacity assessments.
This means the focus will increasingly be on how a disability impacts a person’s everyday functioning, rather than diagnosis alone.
For existing participants, reassessments under the new criteria are expected to occur progressively over several years.
🔹 Changes for children under 9
Children aged 8 and under with developmental delay and/or autism with low-to-moderate support needs are expected to increasingly receive support through Thriving Kids, rather than the NDIS.
Children with permanent and significant disability or substantially reduced functional capacity/high support needs may remain eligible.
🔹 New Framework Planning
The way participant budgets are developed is changing.
New Framework Planning is currently expected to begin rolling out from April 2027, with greater use of support-needs assessments to determine budgets.
🔹 More evidence and accountability
We can expect increased scrutiny around claims, evidence, record keeping and whether funded supports meet NDIS requirements.
For providers, this means documentation is going to become even more important.
For participants, families and Support Coordinators, good evidence of functional impact, support needs, risks and outcomes will continue to be incredibly important.
🔹 Home & Living / SIL reform
The Government has flagged further consultation on changes to how Home & Living and SIL supports are designed and delivered.
This includes exploring different commissioning arrangements for SIL.
🔹 Support Coordination is also changing
The Government has announced its intention to move towards a new commissioned model for support coordination and connection functions, with consultation occurring before those changes are implemented.
🔹 Stronger action on fraud and misuse
There will be stronger controls around fraud, inappropriate claiming and misuse of NDIS funding, alongside increased regulatory powers.
⚠️ What is important to understand
Passing the Senate does not mean everyone’s plans are suddenly being cut or that people are immediately being removed from the NDIS.
Many of these reforms will be introduced gradually over the next few years, and some of the detail still needs to be developed through Rules, consultation and implementation processes.
But the direction of the NDIS is becoming very clear:
➡️ Functional impact will matter more than ever.
➡️ Evidence and documentation will matter more than ever.
➡️ Providers will face greater accountability.
➡️ Eligibility will become more clearly focused on permanent and significant disability.
➡️ The way some supports are funded and delivered will change.
For Support Coordinators and providers, now is the time to make sure we are documenting what support is being provided, why it is required, what happens without that support, risks, functional impacts and measurable outcomes.
There is still a lot more detail to come, and we will continue sharing updates as the reforms progress.
For participants and families, please don’t panic because of a headline. Your current plan does not disappear because the Bill passed the Senate. Keep using your plan and accessing your disability supports as normal.
We will keep breaking the changes down into plain English as more information becomes available.
