07/05/2026
What’s Changing in the NDIS — A Look at the Reforms Ahead
The NDIS is entering its biggest period of change since the Scheme began.
On 22 April 2026, Minister Mark Butler announced a “reset” at the National Press Club, framed as the package needed to keep the Scheme sustainable. The headline numbers: cut spending growth to about 2% per year for the next four years, reduce participant numbers from around 760,000 to 600,000 by 2030, and pull projected 2030 costs from $70 billion down to $55 billion.
The reforms aren’t landing all at once. They roll out over the next four years, and the order matters — particularly for providers, participants, and families trying to plan ahead. Here’s the timeline as it currently stands.
2026
**1 April 2026 — Integrity and Safeguarding Bill in force**
The NDIS Amendment (Integrity and Safeguarding) Bill 2026 passed Parliament, introducing stronger protections for participants and tighter rules to reduce exploitation of the Scheme. This is the foundation the rest of the reform package builds on.
**22 April 2026 — Major reform package announced**
Minister Butler’s National Press Club address sets out the four pillars: tightening eligibility, resetting plan budgets, reshaping provider markets, and stronger fraud and oversight controls.
**May 2026 — Federal Budget and new Bill introduced**
After the 2026–27 Budget is handed down, the Government will introduce the *National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill*. The Government has signalled it wants the Bill passed by 30 June.
**Shortly after Royal Assent — Tighter rules on unscheduled reassessments**
Currently, around one in five plans is subject to an unscheduled reassessment each year, and plans typically grow about 20% on reassessment. The new criteria mean unscheduled reassessments will only happen in exceptional circumstances. Plan rollovers also end, and unspent funds will no longer carry into the next plan.
**1 July 2026 — Mandatory registration begins for SIL and platform providers**
This deadline has been on the books for a while and is unchanged. SIL providers (registration group 0115) who aren’t registered by this date can’t continue to deliver SIL.
**July 2026 — Digital payments and home and living consultation start**
Two parallel pieces of work begin. First, all providers will be required to enrol in a new digital payments system, with a five-year rollout to give the NDIA real-time visibility of claims (currently the NDIA has no evidence visibility on roughly 90% of claims). Second, consultation begins on a new commissioned model for SIL participants who need 24/7 support — this is the start of moving home and living away from an open market.
**1 October 2026 — First budget cuts hit**
Budgets for social, civic and community participation and capacity building daily activities will be progressively reduced — the Minister flagged a 30% cut to social and community participation funding. Critical care and daily living supports are not affected. A $200 million Inclusive Communities Fund will run alongside this to help community organisations build capacity for participation activities outside the Scheme.
2027
**1 February 2027 — Reasonable and necessary tightening begins**
New, more standardised criteria for what counts as “reasonable and necessary” start applying to new entrants, plan reassessments and renewals. Boundaries between the NDIS and mainstream services (health, education, housing, justice) will be sharpened.
**1 April 2027 — New Framework Planning commences**
This is the long-delayed planning reform — originally set for mid-2025, then mid-2026, now firmly 1 April 2027. It introduces standardised support needs assessments and a new method for setting participant budgets. Existing participants transition gradually.
**1 July 2027 — Mandatory registration expands**
Provider registration broadens beyond SIL and platforms. Every NDIS provider will need to supply basic identifying information through a new enrolment system, with stronger registration requirements phasing in for providers delivering supports to participants most at risk of harm. Full implementation runs through to the end of 2030.
**1 October 2027 — Plan management moves to a commissioned panel**
The open market for plan management ends. Instead, the Government will commission a panel of plan managers that meet quality and integrity standards, beginning with a six-month transition period. Participants choose from the approved list.
2028
**1 January 2028 — New eligibility rules for applicants**
Diagnosis lists are removed as the entry point to the NDIS. Access shifts to standardised, evidence-based functional assessments — how a person’s disability affects everyday life across communication, mobility, independence and similar domains. New applicants are assessed under the new rules from this date, with existing participants transitioning over a longer period.
**1 July 2028 — Commissioned support coordination function begins**
Support coordination (registration group 0125) moves out of the open market and into a commissioned model, similar to the path plan management took in 2027.
2030
**End of 2030 — Reform fully implemented**
Mandatory registration is fully rolled out across the sector. Participant numbers are projected to settle around 600,000 (down from 760,000 today). The Scheme returns to 5% annual growth from 2030 onward, after four years averaging 2% growth — which is below inflation and represents a real-terms reduction in scheme spend.
What this means in practice
The direction is clear and consistent across the timeline. The Scheme is moving from a trust-based, open-market model toward an evidence-based, commissioned, tightly regulated one. Three things stand out:
The early hits are budget reductions and registration deadlines. If you deliver social and community participation, capacity building daily activities, or SIL, the next 18 months are where the change is concentrated.
The middle period — 2027 — is structural. New planning, new provider registration, new plan management. Providers who can demonstrate quality, compliance and outcomes will move into the new commissioned models. Those that can’t won’t.
By 2028, eligibility itself is different. Functional assessments, not diagnoses, decide who’s in. Some people currently on the Scheme won’t meet the new criteria, and the Government has flagged a $200 million fund to help community organisations support people redirected outside the NDIS.
A lot of this still needs to pass Parliament, and the detail will only firm up through consultation over the coming months. But the timeline above reflects what the Government has committed to publicly. For providers, the practical message is the same one it’s been for the last year: get your governance, documentation and compliance in order, because the bar is moving up and the margin for sloppy operating is shrinking fast.
*This post summarises publicly announced reforms as at 22 April 2026 and is general information only. Specific impacts on individual plans or providers will depend on the final legislation and rules.*
Lighthouse Peer Support is currently registering for the NDIS to continue giving the professional, friendly and qualified supports people deserve.
So there is not much change for us.
Independent Support Workers will need to register soon to be paid for certain line items.
