The Government has announced the most significant structural changes to the NDIS since the scheme began. Here is what is changing, when it happens, and what it means for you as a provider.
On 22 April 2026, Minister Mark Butler stood at the National Press Club and announced changes that will reshape the NDIS over the next 4 years.
The scheme currently costs $50 billion a year. It has grown from 400,000 participants at inception to 760,000 now, with annual growth running at 22% when Labor took office. The Government’s own actuary flagged a $13 billion blowout over the next 4 years.
Something was going to change. Now we know what.
This blog covers the key changes clearly and without panic. Some of these will affect you directly. Some won’t touch your service model at all. The most important thing right now is knowing which is which.
The headline numbers
The Government’s target is to bring annual NDIS growth back to 5 to 6%. To get there, participant numbers are projected to reduce from 760,000 to approximately 600,000 by 2030. That’s around 160,000 people who will eventually transition out of the scheme.
Federal NDIS spending will grow at just 2% annually for the next 4 years before returning to 5% from 2030.
The legislation, the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill, will be introduced during Budget week in May/June 2026. The Government is aiming to pass it by 30 June.
These are structural numbers, not administrative tweaks. They will flow through to participant plans, referral volumes, and the overall market over time.
What is actually changing and when
Eligibility: who gets in
What’s changing: The current diagnosis based access lists will be removed. In their place, standardised functional capacity assessments will determine who qualifies for the NDIS. Only people with a significant reduction in functional capacity that impacts their day to day living will be eligible.
A Technical Advisory Group will be established to co-design the new assessments. Their work is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
When it applies: Changes to eligibility for new entrants will be progressively implemented from 1 February 2027. The new eligibility criteria will apply to prospective participants from 1 January 2028. Current participants will be reassessed over a transition period.
What this means for providers: Fewer new participants entering the scheme from early 2027. Allied health providers and those delivering therapy services will feel this most directly. The referral pipeline from new entrants will slow. If your business model depends heavily on new participant intake, this is the change that warrants the most attention.
Plan sizes: budgets are tightening now
What’s changing: New framework planning has been delayed again, this time to 1 April 2027 (it was originally due mid 2025, then mid 2026). When it does roll out, participant budgets will be set through a standardised Support Needs Assessment process rather than the current planning approach.
But the tightening of plans is already happening in practice. Plan reviews are already reflecting new budget settings ahead of formal legislative changes. Some providers are reporting plans shrinking by 15 to 25%, particularly in therapy and support coordination.
Unscheduled plan reassessments are also being tightened. Currently 1 in 5 NDIS plans undergoes an unscheduled reassessment each year, with plans growing an average of 20% after reassessment. Tighter criteria for these requests will commence 7 days after the legislation receives Royal Assent, which could be as early as June 2026.
What this means for providers: If your revenue depends on plan reviews lifting funding, that mechanism is closing. If your clients are currently on plans that include generous flexibility, do not assume those plans renew at the same level. Start those conversations with participants and families now.
Social and community participation: budgets being cut from October 2026
What’s changing: Participant budgets for social, civic and community participation supports and capacity building daily activities will be progressively reduced from 1 October 2026.
To offset this, the Government is establishing a $200 million Inclusive Communities Fund to rebuild capability in community organisations to run genuine participation activities. The intent is to shift these supports back into mainstream and community settings rather than NDIS funded programs.
When it applies: Progressive adjustment begins 1 October 2026.
What this means for providers: If social and community participation programs make up a significant part of your service delivery, this is the most immediately relevant date. October 2026 is not far away. Review what proportion of your revenue sits in these support categories and start modelling the impact now.
Provider registration: the rules are expanding
What’s changing:
SIL providers and platform providers must be registered from 1 July 2026. This was announced in December 2025 and remains on track.
Beyond that, the Minister has signalled a broader expansion of mandatory registration. The target is for 90% of NDIS payments to flow through registered providers under the new regime. Currently, the split is far lower. As Butler put it, you currently need more ID to get into a licensed club than to become an NDIS provider.
The expanded mandatory registration categories will include personal care, daily living supports, and supports delivered in closed settings. This will be rolled out progressively from July 2027 with full implementation by the end of 2030.
A new enrolment system will also be introduced for providers who don’t require full registration, capturing a minimum level of identifiable information.
What this means for providers: If you are delivering SIL and you are not yet registered, that process needs to start now. July 2026 is 3 months away.
For providers across other categories, full mandatory registration is not immediate, but the direction is clear. The unregistered provider market will shrink progressively. Start thinking about registration as an eventual requirement rather than a future option.
Support coordination and plan management: commissioning is coming
What’s changing: This is one of the most significant structural shifts for the sector, and it’s worth understanding exactly what it means.
Right now, support coordination and plan management operate as open markets. Any registered provider can offer these services. Participants choose who they work with. Providers set up their business and compete for clients.
Commissioning changes that model entirely.
Under a commissioned model, the Government runs a procurement process, essentially a tender and selects a panel of approved providers. Only providers who win a place on that panel can deliver these services to NDIS participants. Participants will still choose who they work with, but only from that approved list.
Think of it like a hospital tender for allied health services, or a government contract for cleaning services. The market doesn’t disappear. But access to the market becomes controlled.
The stated goal is to reduce spending on support coordination and plan management by 30%. That reduction will come through pricing controls applied to panel providers, tighter service definitions, and removing providers who aren’t meeting quality or integrity standards.
A panel of plan management providers will be selected, with commissioning beginning from 1 October 2027 with a 6 month transition period. The new commissioned support coordination function will begin from 1 July 2028.
What the panel looks like in practice, how many providers make it on, whether it favours large national operators or allows smaller regional providers, what the selection criteria are, is not yet confirmed. The detail hasn’t been legislated. This is genuinely still being designed.
But the direction is clear. This is not a registration upgrade. This is a structural change to how the market works.
What this means for providers: If you deliver plan management or support coordination, you will need to win a place on the panel to continue operating in this space after the relevant start dates. That means going through a formal tender or application process when it opens. Providers who don’t make the panel lose access to these participants entirely.
The consultation process hasn’t opened yet. When it does, engaging with it matters. The shape of the panel, the criteria, and the pricing will be determined in the design phase. That’s where provider voices need to be heard.
If plan management or support coordination represents a significant part of your revenue, start building the case for your business now. Document your outcomes. Tighten your compliance records. Understand your quality indicators. When the tender opens, you want to be ready to demonstrate why your business belongs on that list.
SIL: commissioning consultation begins July 2026
What’s changing: The Government will consult on a commissioning approach for SIL home and living supports from July 2026. As with support coordination and plan management, the intent is to move away from an open market and toward a commissioned model for participants requiring 24/7 support.
What this means for providers: The SIL market is not being closed. But it is heading toward a model where provider selection is governed rather than open. Combined with mandatory registration from July 2026, SIL providers are facing the most regulatory change of any service type in the sector right now. If you run SIL homes, both the July 2026 registration requirement and the commissioning consultation timeline deserve your direct attention.
Fraud and compliance: tighter controls across the board
What’s changing: The NDIA’s investigative and enforcement capabilities are being expanded. New regulatory controls will be introduced. Evidence requirements for payments are being increased, including payments at point of service. Claims and payments systems will be uplifted progressively from July 2026 through to end of 2030.
Organised crime infiltration of the scheme was cited by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission as a driver of this reform. The fraudulent activity has created direct harm to participants and, according to the Government, has compromised public confidence in the scheme.
What this means for providers: If your documentation, claiming, and service records are solid, this should not create significant additional burden. If there are gaps in your compliance processes, now is the time to close them. The increased scrutiny is real and the consequences of non-compliance are becoming more serious.
Pricing: responsibility moves to the Minister
What’s changing: Responsibility for NDIS pricing decisions will transfer to the Minister for Disability. Consultation on differentiated pricing will also begin for unregistered providers delivering social and community participation, capacity building daily activities, and assisted daily living.
What this means for providers: Unregistered providers may find pricing decisions moved in a direction that makes their service model less financially viable. If you are currently unregistered and pricing your services at or near the NDIS price guide, watch the differentiated pricing consultation closely.
The full timeline at a glance
Now: Plan reviews already reflecting tighter budget settings. Some plans reducing ahead of legislation.
May/June 2026: Budget week legislation introduced. Aim to pass by 30 June.
Within 7 days of Royal Assent (potentially June 2026): Tighter criteria for unscheduled plan reassessments commences.
1 July 2026: Mandatory registration begins for SIL providers and platform providers. Uplift to claims and payments systems commences.
July 2026: Consultation on commissioning approach for SIL home and living supports begins.
1 October 2026: Participant budgets for social, civic and community participation and capacity building daily activities begin progressive reduction.
1 February 2027: Tighter assessment of reasonable and necessary supports for new entrants and plan renewals begins progressively.
1 April 2027: New framework planning commences. More constrained, standardised plan budgets rolled out.
1 July 2027: Broader expansion of mandatory provider registration commences.
1 October 2027: New commissioned plan management approach begins, with 6 month transition period.
1 January 2028: New eligibility criteria applies to prospective participants. Changes to NDIS and mainstream service boundaries apply to new entrants.
1 July 2028: New commissioned support coordination function commences. SIL commissioning consultation outcomes begin implementation.
End of 2030: Full implementation of expanded mandatory registration. Uplift to claims and payments systems completed. Participant numbers projected at approximately 600,000.
How to think about this as a provider
The scale of these changes can feel like a lot at once. Some of it is. But the pattern underneath it is actually clear.
The Government is contracting the scheme, tightening quality oversight, and moving away from an open market in key service categories. That’s the direction. Everything in the announcement points the same way.
For well run providers, most of this is manageable. The registration requirements reward providers who already meet quality standards. The commissioning model in plan management and support coordination will reward providers with strong compliance records and demonstrated outcomes. The tighter eligibility criteria will change referral volumes but won’t eliminate demand for quality services from participants who remain in the scheme.
The providers who will feel this most are those whose business models rely on plan inflation, easy market entry, high volume over quality service delivery, or loose documentation and claiming practices. That market is closing.
For providers who have been building genuine relationships, running clean operations, and delivering quality care within their margins, these reforms are not a threat. They’re a filter.
The sector is being restructured. The providers who have been building clarity into their businesses are in the strongest position to absorb that.
If mandatory registration applies to you, your two options
If your business falls into one of the categories where registration is becoming mandatory, there are 2 practical paths forward.
Option 1: Operate under a registered provider
The faster option is to operate under the umbrella of an existing registered provider. This is commonly called sub-contracting. You deliver the services, and the registered provider takes on the compliance and quality obligations. In exchange, you pay them a fee, typically in the range of 10 to 15%.
This is a legitimate, widely used model. If you need help connecting with reputable registered national providers who offer this arrangement, I can help with that. Reach out and I’ll point you in the right direction.
Option 2: Begin your own registration
The longer path, and the one I’d encourage you to at least start, is your own registration. The process takes time. Getting started early matters.
Inside my coaching programs, I walk clients through the registration process step by step. That includes the application itself, the policies and procedures required for your audit, and 12 months of business coaching alongside me so that compliance becomes part of how your business operates, not something you scramble to pull together at the last minute.
If you want to understand what that looks like for your specific situation, book a free 15 minute Clarity Call. It’s a quick conversation to work out where you’re at and what the right next step is for you.
I am a sole trader in have 6 clients and I am wondering about registering as a sole trader. I have my cert 3 in Individual Support amd cert 4 in Allied health assistant. I have done all the proda stuff .
Hi Louise, thank you for commenting and sharing where you’re currently at. You will either need to decide to go down the registration path or will need to work under a registered organisation or a platform like Mabel or Hireup.
Will we still receive carer payments and Allowance under the new legislation. Rely on it for medication and toileting like pull-ups. Not funded by NDIS. They are taking away enough as it is. I have 2 boys on NDIS very worried for their future.
Hi Ida, thank you for sharing this. The changes have nothing to do with centrelink carer payments or carer allowance.
What is going to happen to unregistered support workers ? I am a registered behaviour practitioner and I am
Aware of numerous support workers who are working for themselves and are I registered and might be implementing unauthorised restrictive practices
Hi Sarah,thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Independent Support Workers will either need to decide to go down the registration path or they will need to work under a registered organisation or a platform like Mabel or Hireup.
I am interested in registering my own NDIS company. My wife is managing a registered NDIS company at the moment, and I am a Behavioural Therapist. I would like to understand when will be the best time to register, before the legislation passes, or afterwards.
Hi Chris, sooner rather than later. Once mandatory transition dates drop, auditors book out fast. That happens every time there’s a major shift in this sector.
Registering now puts you ahead of the queue. Get your scope mapped with an approved quality auditor and start there.