What the Government is Proposing
The reforms are significant in scale and are being driven by a combination of fiscal and structural goals. The Government has set a target of approximately $35 billion in savings over four years, with NDIS expenditure growth to be slowed to 2 per cent annually over the next four years, well below cost of living increases.
Key changes include a new eligibility model based on functional capacity, replacing the current diagnosis-based entry pathway. This is scheduled to begin from 1 January 2028. The Government has also confirmed it will reduce the number of NDIS participants from around 770,000 to approximately 600,000 by 2030, while simultaneously tightening plan funding levels. These dual pressures mean the impact will be felt by far more people than the headline numbers suggest.
From October 2026, the Government will reduce funding for social and community participation supports, with an indicative average plan of around $26,000 per year. This is a concern as it will happen before the new eligibility model begins and before alternative support systems such as Foundational Supports are operational.
People who currently have access to the NDIS are described as being “grandparented” under the new eligibility rules, but this offers limited protection. All participants will remain subject to reassessment over time. Current participants with lower or moderate support needs are at greatest risk of losing access when reassessed against the new functional capacity threshold.
There are also concerns about rights of review and appeal. The Minister has indicated that court and tribunal decisions have restricted the Agency’s ability to implement changes, and further restrictions on review rights are considered likely, though no details have been confirmed.
Why This Matters for People Living with Parkinson’s
These changes raise serious concerns for people living with Parkinson’s, particularly those with Young Onset Parkinson’s (YOP) who access the NDIS through the early intervention pathway.
A move to the new Support Needs Assessment tool is particularly problematic for a condition like Parkinson’s, which involves significant fluctuations throughout the day depending on medication cycles. A person assessed during an “on” period, when their medication is working well, may appear far more capable than during an “off” period, when they may be unable to walk, speak, or manage daily tasks safely. A single point-in-time assessment will not capture this reality.
Parkinson’s Australia is also deeply concerned about the removal of diagnosis-based entry. People with Young Onset Parkinson’s who are still working and managing daily life, but who would benefit significantly from early access to allied health and exercise therapies, are unlikely to meet functional capacity thresholds. The evidence is clear that early, intensive, multidisciplinary intervention, including physiotherapy, exercise physiology, speech pathology, and occupational therapy, slows disease progression, reduces falls and hospitalisations, and keeps people and their carers in the workforce for longer.
The proposed Foundational Supports system is not designed or resourced to fill this gap. It does not provide the level of intensity or specialisation that Parkinson’s-specific care requires.
What Parkinson’s Australia is Doing
Parkinson’s Australia has made a formal submission to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee on the NDIS Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026. Our submission calls on the Government to retain the early intervention pathway for people with Young Onset Parkinson’s, ensure that assessors have specific competency in Parkinson’s presentation and medication fluctuations, and interpret the direct impairment link to include all symptoms intrinsic to the Parkinson’s disease process.
Olivia Nassaris, CEO of Parkinson’s Australia, is also raising these concerns directly through her role as Co-Chair of the NDIA’s Neurodegenerative, Palliative Care, Rare Diseases Advisory Group. This group provides advice to the NDIA specifically on the needs of people with conditions like Parkinson’s, and Olivia is using this position to ensure the voice of our community is heard at the decision-making table as these reforms are developed.
We will continue to monitor developments closely and keep the Parkinson’s community informed as more detail becomes available. If you have been affected by changes to your NDIS plan or have concerns about the reforms, please contact us.
