The NDIS Bill Has Passed. Here Is What Is Actually Confirmed.
On 18 August 2026, the Senate passed the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026. The Coalition voted with Labor, 28 in favour and 12 against.
It now returns to the House of Representatives, where it is expected to pass, and then on to Royal Assent before it officially becomes law.
Here is what has been confirmed.
Fraud and Integrity
Kickbacks and inducements are now banned outright.
This stops providers from offering or giving an inducement or kickback where it would be likely to encourage a person to engage, maintain or increase the use of that provider’s services.
An inducement is a reward, benefit or other offer intended to influence a person’s decision or behaviour. A kickback is a payment, gift or other benefit given in exchange for favourable treatment or a business referral.
A provider who does not follow the rules may face a fine, imprisonment of up to 2 years, or both.
Genuine pricing practices are still allowed. So is providing certain merchandise, such as hats or tote bags.
Providing alcohol, tobacco and associated products, cash and cash like products, and electronic devices is banned in all cases.
Providers no longer have any immunity from producing documents. NDIS providers and their employees cannot refuse to provide information to a Court, tribunal or other authority.
Immunity from the production of documents now only applies to officers of the NDIA and the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. Special cases to this immunity apply where disclosure is necessary for the purposes of the NDIS Act, the Royal Commissions Act 1902, the National Anti Corruption Commission Act 2022 and the Australian Crime Commission Act 2002.
This also allows agencies such as the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and the National Anti Corruption Commission to use their powers to collect information on serious and organised crime operating within the NDIS.
Four new integrity offences are written into the Act.
Providing false or misleading information to the NDIA for the purposes of access, planning, claiming or administration carries a penalty of up to 12 months imprisonment or 120 penalty units, or both, for an individual. A more serious breach by a provider carries a harsher penalty of up to 5 years imprisonment or 1,000 penalty units, or both. Similar penalties apply for providing false or misleading information to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.
Obtaining NDIS funds by deception carries a penalty of up to 12 months imprisonment or 120 penalty units, or both, for an individual who knowingly obtains a payment they are not entitled to. Providers face penalties of up to 5 years imprisonment or 1,000 penalty units, or both, for a serious breach. Where deception involves impersonation, individuals face up to 5 years imprisonment or 1,000 penalty units, or both, and providers committing a serious breach involving deception or impersonation face up to 10 years imprisonment or 2,000 penalty units, or both. Parallel civil penalties may also apply, and people may be required to repay money that is owed.
Intentionally destroying records to defraud the NDIS or disrupt an audit, review, investigation or compliance activity carries a penalty of up to 2 years imprisonment or 240 penalty units, or both.
Abuse of position as a participant’s nominee, where a nominee misuses their position for personal gain or to cause harm to a participant, carries a penalty of 120 penalty units.
Whistleblower protections are now aligned with the Corporations Act 2001. Disclosures made when seeking legal, medical, psychological, professional or workplace support are protected.
The burden on individuals in civil or criminal proceedings has been reduced. They only need to establish a reasonable possibility that they qualify for whistleblower protections. The burden of proof has also been reversed in proceedings for a civil penalty order where an individual has experienced unfair treatment or harm from a protected disclosure.
There is now guidance on what behaviour constitutes detriment to a whistleblower, including losing their job, injury, changes to job duties, discrimination, harassment, psychological harm, or damage to property, reputation or financial position. Additional ways to resolve issues for whistleblowers have been added, and the NDIS whistleblowing regime does not limit other state and territory whistleblowing regimes.
NDIS Commission employees classified as Executive Level 2 Australian Public Servants can now make, vary or revoke banning orders and anti promotion orders. Banning orders stop unsafe providers or workers from providing NDIS supports. Anti promotion orders stop misleading, predatory or unethical marketing.
One further correction. The standard of proof for serious civil penalty breaches under the Integrity and Safeguarding Act has changed from the criminal standard, beyond reasonable doubt, to the civil standard, balance of probabilities.
Eligibility and Assessment
From 1 January 2028, access to the NDIS will be based on a standardised assessment of an individual’s functional capacity.
Using common forms of assistance will not impact that assessment. People can use commonly used items they would ordinarily use to perform activities of daily living, such as glasses, walking sticks or hearing aids. Children can receive age appropriate assistance from others.
A person will not be eligible for the NDIS from 1 January 2028 if their eligible impairment was caused by a motor vehicle accident or work related injury, and another service system provides compensation or other benefits for that impairment. This change only applies to people who apply to the NDIS from 1 January 2028. People accessing the NDIS before that date will continue to have their access to compensation schemes managed through existing arrangements, subject to continuing to meet all other eligibility criteria. This means participants currently receiving NDIS supports, including Specialist Disability Accommodation, will retain access to their supports if they also have access to another service system.
A new rule making power will clarify when another service system is taken to provide, or not provide, compensation or other benefits for the purposes of determining NDIS eligibility. This will help make sure people still get supports while waiting for a decision on compensation for a work related injury or motor vehicle accident. This rule requires the agreement of all states and territories.
On reasonable and necessary supports, the amendment clarifies what a parent is expected to provide for a child with disability. This includes supervision, personal care, transport, emotional support and behavioural support. It does not include the additional support a child needs due to their disability compared to children of a similar age without disability. The NDIA must also consider the risk of harm to informal supports, family relationships and informal networks if a support was not funded.
Unscheduled plan reassessments can only be requested where there have been significant and ongoing changes to a participant’s functional capacity and support needs, or a significant and ongoing change in a participant’s living, education, work or informal support arrangements.
If the NDIA does not decide on a reassessment within 90 days of a request, the request is treated as refused, and participants have access to review rights. This means participants do not need to keep applying for a reassessment if a decision is not made after 90 days.
A change in a participant’s living, education, work or informal support arrangements no longer needs to be unanticipated for an unscheduled reassessment to be requested. Participants only need to demonstrate the change was significant and ongoing.
Access to the NDIS will only be granted when all appropriate treatment to remedy or alleviate an impairment has been undertaken, no other treatment is likely to materially improve the impact of the impairment, and the impairment is likely to be lifelong.
There is no requirement for individuals to undertake additional treatment after they have exhausted all appropriate treatment. Appropriate treatment is treatment that is regularly undertaken in Australia if public funding is available, including through Medicare, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme or public hospitals. Restrictive practices, including seclusion, chemical restraint, mechanical restraint, physical restraint and environmental restraint, do not count as appropriate treatment.
The Bill does not force anyone to have treatment. People have the right to make their own decisions about their health care and treatment. Appropriate treatment does not mean trying every possible treatment. It means considering treatments that are widely accepted and likely to make a meaningful difference to a person’s impairment. Small or short term improvements would not usually be enough. People would not be expected to have treatment that is unsuitable for them, carries significant risks, or could cause serious long term side effects. A person would not be expected to undertake treatment that could alter their fertility or have other major lifelong impacts.
Support Determinations
This is the Minister’s power to reduce funding for certain types of supports in NDIS plans, through an instrument called a support determination. It will be closely examined by Parliament before it can take effect, and will be used to reset funding for community participation and capacity building supports.
These changes will not impact budgets for critical care, such as help with eating, drinking, dressing, toileting, laundry, cleaning, nurse care and medication. They also will not impact home and vehicle modifications, personal mobility equipment and transport, consumable products for incontinence and menstruation, or Specialist Disability Accommodation.
The Minister can also exclude funding for particular supports, including supports in employment and disability related health supports, from a support determination.
A new plan variation pathway has been created for high support needs participants who require continuous 24 hour care to meet their disability related care needs. These participants can apply for a plan variation within 90 days of a support determination applying to them, after their plan is reassessed or renewed. The NDIA can vary the participant’s plan to increase their support funding and ensure their 24 hour care is maintained.
High intensity supports, complex behaviour supports, and customised and wearable technology and hearing supports are excluded from support determinations.
Participants may continue to request changes to their plan at any time, including an unscheduled reassessment where there has been a significant and ongoing change in their functional capacity or circumstances. The NDIA will provide more information for participants with high support needs before these changes start.
Plan Management, Indexation and Debt Recovery
Participants eligible for plan management supports will have this funding included in their plan, separate from the assessment of their disability related support needs.
The NDIA CEO can now use their judgement to reduce funding in a plan where a participant has received compensation once their budget has been developed. This is a narrow decision making power and must meet requirements consistent with old framework plans.
The Minister can now apply indexation to new framework plans at the same time as making or varying a pricing determination. This makes sure participants keep the purchasing power of their new framework plans as NDIS prices increase.
New safeguards now apply to debt recovery. The NDIA must notify a participant or provider that a debt exists and why. Participants have 28 days to respond and providers have 14 days. The NDIA must then provide notice of whether it intends to recover the debt, and explain how and why that decision was made.
The low value debt waiver threshold has increased from $200 to $500, meaning the NDIA can waive debts under $500 that are not cost effective to recover.
Participants and providers who have not kept a record in the required format will have the opportunity to provide alternate evidence of services received.
What Happens Next
The Bill returns to the House of Representatives, then goes to Royal Assent. Once that happens, it becomes the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Act 2026.
A full commencement timeline for each change will follow through the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.