We’ve summarised the latest updates, including changes to support budgets, funding periods and the process for leaving the NDIS. You’ll also find opportunities to contribute to current consultations and information about webinars designed to help you understand the new NDIS laws and what they may mean for you.
The NDIS is changing.
Changes to Some NDIS Support Budgets
From 1 October 2026, the NDIS will gradually reduce funding in two support categories over a 12-month period:
- Social, Economic and Community Participation
- Improved Daily Living Skills
The impact will vary for each participant, as NDIS plans are based on individual goals, circumstances and support needs.
Many supports will not be affected by these changes. This includes supports related to employment, disability-related health needs, high-intensity supports, intensive and complex behaviour supports, and a range of everyday assistance services.
Examples of supports that are expected to remain unchanged include:
- Assistance with eating and drinking
- Personal care, such as dressing and toileting
- Laundry and household cleaning
- Nursing care and medication support
- Home and vehicle modifications
- Personal mobility equipment
- Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA)
The NDIS will publish further details about unaffected supports on its website.
If these changes apply to you, your budget will only be adjusted when your plan is:
- created or reassessed from 1 October 2026, or
- renewed from 1 February 2027.
This means the changes will not affect all participants at the same time.
For participants with high support needs who rely on 24-hour disability supports, there may be options to request a plan variation to help maintain supports that are necessary for safety and independent living.
These budget changes form part of the recent NDIS legislative reforms.
Have your say on NDIS reforms
Several national NDIS consultations are currently open. These consultations will influence how people access the NDIS, how support needs are assessed, how plans are developed, and what supports are funded. For people living with young onset Parkinson’s, these changes could have significant implications for access to disability supports.
1. NDIS Access Changes Consultation
The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (the department) wants your feedback on how people are assessed to see if they can access the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Open until 2 October 2026.
The Australian Government is consulting on proposed changes to how people access the NDIS. The reforms would place greater emphasis on a person’s functional capacity and everyday disability-related impacts, rather than relying primarily on diagnosis.
The consultation is seeking feedback on:
- How functional capacity should be assessed.
- What evidence should be used to determine eligibility.
- How future access decisions should be made.
- How consistency and fairness can be improved.
2. New Framework Planning and NDIS Supports Consultation
The Australian Government is consulting on proposed changes to how NDIS plans are developed and managed. The changes are intended to improve transparency, consistency and person-centred planning across the NDIS. Open until 14 October 2026.
NDIS Framework planning reforms aim to make the NDIS more person-centred, transparent and consistent, with clearer assessment processes, more transparent funding decisions and greater flexibility within plans. Feedback from participants, families, carers, disability organisations and service providers will help shape the new planning rules before they are implemented.
This consultation includes proposed rules about:
- How participants prepare for and undertake support needs assessments.
- How support needs assessments inform NDIS plan budgets.
- How funding is allocated, managed and used within NDIS plans.
- Funding periods, spending flexibility and other plan settings.
- How participants access supports under the new framework planning model.
3. NDIS Support Coordination & Connection Service Consultation
From 1 July 2028, a new Support Coordination and Connection (SCC) service is proposed to replace the current approach to support coordination for NDIS participants. Open until 2 October 2026
For people living with young onset Parkinson’s, support coordination can play an important role in accessing services, navigating the NDIS, coordinating supports and responding to changing needs over time. This consultation is an opportunity to help shape how future support coordination services are designed and delivered.
The proposed reforms aim to:
- Improve the quality and consistency of support coordination services.
- Encourage innovation in how support coordination is delivered.
- Create services that are more responsive to participant needs.
- Inform the design of a new commissioned Support Coordination and Connection service.
Key messages for submissions
People with young onset Parkinson’s may wish to call for:
- Recognition that Parkinson’s is a progressive and degenerative neurological condition.
- Access to early intervention supports before significant disability occurs.
- Assessment pathways that recognise fluctuating symptoms.
- Functional assessments that consider future progression, not only current impairment.
- Improved access for people diagnosed at a younger age who remain in the workforce.
- Support coordination which plays an important role in accessing services, navigating the NDIS, coordinating supports and responding to changing needs over time.
- Consistent NDIS decision-making across Australia.
Department of Health, Disability, & Ageing Consultation links
NDIS Access Changes Consultation
https://consultations.health.gov.au/disability-and-carers-group/ndis-access-changes-consultation/
New Framework Planning and NDIS Supports Consultation
https://consultations.health.gov.au/disability-and-carers-group/nfp-ndis-supports/
NDIS Reform Consultation Hub
https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/ndis-legislation-changes/engagement-consultation
Webinars
References
Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. (2026). NDIS Access Changes Consultation.
Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. (2026). New Framework Planning and NDIS Supports Consultation.
Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. (2026). Working together to secure the NDIS.
Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. (2026, 31 August). Consultation opens on proposed NDIS access changes.
National Disability Insurance Agency. (2026). NDIS reform: Have your say on NDIS support coordination and connection service.
