Breaking down the NDIS Bill that just passed Parliament

What does the new NDIS Bill Mean?

You may have heard about the new NDIS laws, Securing the NDIS For Future Generations (2026) and felt worried. That's a fair reaction. 

This guide explains:

• what's actually changing
• when it happens
• what it means for you or your family member or as a provider
• how it impacts different life stages  

If you are a current NDIS participant, nothing in your current plan changes today but there are some aspects that will start changing soon.

If you are an NDIS provider some regulations may have already changed. To stay compliant it's important to understand how this impacts you and the services you offer.

The short version:

• Your plan and supports keep working as they are right now.
• The NDIA says it will contact you directly before anything changes for your plan.
• Most changes only happen when your plan comes up for its next reassessment or renewal.
• There are changes to access and eligibility rules and a new standardised evidence-based assessment of functional capacity.
• Access and eligibility changes will depend on whether you are a current NDIS participant or applying in the future. 
• Access will depend on impairments that are permanent (or likely to be permanent) and available treatment. People already on the NDIS will likely to be reassessed against the new criteria from 1 January 2028.
• The Technical Advisory Group will advise the government on the new access rules and the standardised assessment on functional capacity.
• Some changes already started quietly on 27 August 2026. The biggest ones don't begin until April 2027 and January 2028.

What actually happened

On 19 August 2026, Parliament passed a new law: the NDIS Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026. It became law the next day, and the first changes started rolling out from 27 August 2026.

The law covers four main things: who can access the NDIS, how plans are funded, how providers are registered and checked, and how the NDIA finds and stops fraud.

Nothing switches on all at once. Some changes are already happening quietly, others don't start until 2027 or 2028, and a few are still being worked out through further rules and consultation.

Timeline: what happens and when

What this means for your family, stage by stage

If your child is 8 years or under

From October 2026, children 8 and under with autism or developmental delay, and low to moderate support needs, and who are applying for support (so currently not on the NDIS) will start moving to a new program called Thriving Kids instead of the NDIS. Children with higher support needs stay on the NDIS.

The main thing to watch is which program your child's early supports come through, not a cut to an existing plan.

If your child is 9 to 15 years

Nothing changes for this age group right now. The new assessments and framework plans are built for participants 16 and over, so kids in this age bracket keep using the current planning process for now.

If your child or family member is 16 years or older

This group is affected first and most directly. From April 2027, new framework plans start using a support needs assessment (the I-CAN) to help set budgets. Read our full I-CAN explainer here. 

From January 2028, new applicants aged 16 and over go through a standardised assessment. Existing participants are reassessed gradually over three years, not all on the same day.

One reassuring detail: the law now says assessors can count on everyday aids like glasses and walking sticks, and age appropriate help for children and teens. It isn't meant to assess someone as if they had no support at all.

If you're an adult with an existing NDIS Plan

Keep using your plan and supports as normal. Changes such as updated social and community participation and daily living budgets, only apply when your plan is reassessed or renewed.

They don't apply before that, and they aren't backdated.

If you or your family member needs 24 hour, continuous support

There's a specific pathway meant to protect your funding. Right now it only covers daily living and home and living supports, not social and community participation or therapy funding.

If this applies to you, raise it early with your planner or support coordinator.

If you're a parent providing informal support

From February 2027, there'll be clearer guidance on what counts as ordinary parenting, such as supervision, personal care, transport and emotional support, versus what's funded because of your child's disability.

If your child needs a lot more support than another child their age without a disability, that extra support stays fundable. There's also a new rule requiring the NDIA to weigh the risk of harm to you as a carer, including your age and how intense the support is, before deciding not to fund something.

Eligibility and Access

This is the area causing the most worry, as it goes to the heart of whether you, or your someone you care for, will still qualify for NDIS funding. Here's what's changing.

• A clearer link between disability and funded supports. Since 27 August 2026, a requested support must connect directly to the impairment or impairments that make someone eligible for the NDIS. 
• Functional capacity now has a clear legal definition. Since 27 August 2026, functional capacity means your ability to do everyday activities in a typical setting, rather than being judged by your particular home environment. The bigger change comes later, with the new standardised assessment.
• A new standardised assessment: From 1 January 2028, new applicants will go through a standardised, evidence based functional capacity assessment. It won't apply to everyone at once. Existing participants are reassessed gradually, over three years. The government also has more time to process requests, 90 days instead of 21, so plan ahead if you're applying or requesting a reassessment.
• The Technical Advisory Group is shaping the detail. From January 2027, a new expert group called the Technical Advisory Group ("TAG") starts formally advising government, to design the standardised assessment tools and help set the thresholds used to decide how much support someone needs to show to qualify. 
• Eligibility tied to other service systems. As a new NDIS applicant from 1 January 2028, if you access supports via another system e.g workers' compensation or motor accident scheme, you may not be able to access the NDIS through that pathway. If you're already a participant, you're grandparented in and unaffected.
• Easier to request an early reassessment. Previously, you needed an unanticipated change in circumstances to ask for an early reassessment. That word has been dropped, so predictable milestones, like a school leaver starting work or study, or someone moving out of home, can now trigger a request too. The NDIA has 90 days to respond. If it doesn't, your request is treated as refused and your review rights apply automatically.
• New rules if the NDIA can't reach you. If the NDIA genuinely can't contact you after several attempts, your plan can be suspended. This only happens after real attempts to reach you, made over a few months, in your preferred way of communicating. Keep your contact details up to date if they change.

Funding Changes

This is the section with the most direct impact on actual budgets.

• Social and community participation and daily living budgets are being reset. From 1 October 2026, social, civic and community participation budgets are set to reduce by 50 per cent, and daily living skills budgets by 10 per cent. This only happens when your plan is reassessed or renewed. It isn't backdated. The advice so far is that it doesn't impact core supports like disability related health care, employment supports, education supports or help with eating and drinking.
• A partial safety net for the highest support needs. If you need 24 hour continuous care, you can apply for a funding top up after a budget reset, but only for daily living and home and living supports, not social and community participation or therapy. Check exactly what it covers before you rely on it.
• Plans will be renewed, not just continued. From 1 February 2027, a plan reaching its reassessment date may be renewed under updated rules rather than simply rolled over. In practice, unspent funds won't carry over automatically, so use your funding within its current period where you can.
• Clearer rules on what families are expected to provide. From February 2027, there's more guidance separating ordinary family care from disability funded support (see the parent section above).
• New pricing powers. The Minister and the NDIA can now set price limits through the usual annual pricing review. There's no immediate change to current prices. This is about who holds the power to set them.

Provider Registration and Market Reforms

Most of this is aimed at NDIS providers, but it directly affects the protections and choices available to you.

• SIL registration has already started. This is a separate but related reform. Since 1 July 2026, any new Supported Independent Living provider or NDIS digital platform must be registered before it can operate. Existing unregistered SIL providers had until 1 October 2026 to apply for registration or stop delivering SIL. If you or your family member lives in SIL, or is considering it, it's reasonable to ask your provider directly whether they're registered.
• Registration is expanding to more support types. From 1 July 2027, the same registration requirement expands to personal care, daily living supports, and supports delivered in shared or closed settings, such as group homes. Full rollout across all in scope providers is expected by the end of 2030. Registered providers must meet quality standards, screen their workers properly, and report regularly to the NDIS Commission.
• Plan management panel formation. From 1 October 2027, the way you choose a plan manager changes. Right now you can choose any registered plan manager. From this date, the NDIA will select a smaller, approved panel of plan managers, and participants will choose from that panel. If your current plan manager isn't selected for the panel, you'll have six months to switch to one that is. New rules will also tighten how conflicts of interest are managed, so plan managers won't be allowed to also deliver other NDIS supports to the same participant. If you use a plan manager, keep an eye on this from mid-2027 so a change doesn't catch you off guard.
• Kickbacks and inducements are banned. From 20 November 2026, providers can't offer you cash, gift cards, electronic devices, alcohol or tobacco to influence which provider you choose. Genuine discounts and small branded merchandise are still allowed.
• A firm 90 day claiming window. From 1 December 2026, providers must submit claims within 90 days of delivering a support. Keep a simple record of what was delivered and when, just in case.
• New penalties for fraud and false information. It's now a specific offence to give false information to the NDIA, get funds through deception, destroy records on purpose, or misuse a nominee position.
• Fairer debt recovery. From 20 February 2027, the NDIA must notify you before recovering a debt and give you a real chance to respond, 28 days if you're a participant. You can also submit your own evidence. The threshold below which the NDIA can simply waive a debt has also risen, from $200 to $500.
• Record keeping requirements. You generally need to keep records for three years. Nominees need to keep them for five years. Providers need to keep them for seven years.
• Some tasks will be automated, but not the big decisions. Simple admin tasks like claims and payments may be automated. The NDIA has said complex or judgement based decisions, including anything about your actual plan, will still be made by a person.

How this Bill came to be

This law wasn't passed without a fight. Rallies were held in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth before the vote.

The Greens and independent Senator David Pocock voted against it. The Australian Human Rights Commission publicly asked the government to pause the reforms during the committee process.

Disability advocacy groups raised real concerns, including that government modelling suggests around 300,000 fewer people could be on the Scheme by 2030 than expected without these changes, and that most savings come from tighter access rather than fraud crackdowns, despite that being the public framing.

The NDIA says ongoing consultation with the disability community will continue as more detail is worked out.

Want to go deeper?

• How the I-CAN assessment is actually scored
• The full Bill text and Senate committee report, Parliament of Australia
• Department of Health, Disability Ageing: About the Changes to the NDIS