If you have an NDIS plan, or you care for someone who does, 2026 has probably felt like a wall of headlines. Cuts. Reviews. New assessments. A bill in Parliament. It is a lot, and a lot of it is written in language that is hard to follow.

Here is the calming truth to start with: not everything is changing at once, and the biggest cuts you have read about are not law yet. Some changes are already in place. Others are scheduled. And a large group of proposed changes still depends on a bill that Parliament has not passed.

This guide sorts every major change into two clear buckets: what is confirmed and happening, and what is only proposed. We give you the dates, explain what each change means in plain English, and point you to more detailed guides where you need them. Everything here is drawn from official sources, mainly ndis.gov.au and health.gov.au, and we note where a change is still just a proposal.

If you would rather talk it through with a person, our team is here. You can reach out any time through : Contact Us

The 30-second summary

Confirmed and already happening:

• Funding periods release your budget in instalments across the year, not as one lump sum.
• New 2026-27 pricing took effect on 23 June 2026, with plans indexed from 13 July 2026.
• Short Term Accommodation (STA) is now called Short Term Respite (STR), with new accommodation funding caps from 1 July 2026.
• From 1 July 2026, Supported Independent Living (SIL) and platform providers must be registered.
• New framework planning has been pushed back to 1 April 2027. Your current plan keeps working the way it does now until then.
• Thriving Kids, a new support system for young children, begins rolling out from 1 October 2026.

Proposed but not yet law (part of the Securing the NDIS for Future Generations Bill 2026):

• A 50% reduction to social, civic and community participation budgets, and a 10% reduction to capacity building daily activity budgets, intended from 1 October 2026.
• Standardised functional capacity assessments and tighter eligibility over the coming years.
• No more rollover of unspent funds between plans.
• A shorter 90-day window for providers to claim, from 1 December 2026.

The single most important thing to remember: the NDIA has said it will tell participants and providers before any change affects their plan. Until then, keep using your current plan under your current rules.

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Part 1: What is confirmed and happening now

These changes are either already in effect or scheduled under existing law and NDIA operational rules. They do not depend on the new bill passing.

Funding periods: your budget in instalments

Since 19 May 2025, new and reassessed NDIS plans release funding in instalments called funding periods, rather than handing over the full plan amount on day one. According to the NDIA, most supports are released quarterly, while home and living supports such as SIL are usually released monthly.

In plain English: the total funding in your plan has not been cut by this change. It is simply paced across the year so the money lasts the length of your plan. The practical thing to watch is timing. If a support is front-loaded early in the year, you and your provider need to make sure the cost matches what is available in that funding period. If you are unsure how this affects a specific support, our Support Coordination team can map it out with you.

Pricing: the 2026-27 update

The NDIA published its 2026-27 pricing on 23 June 2026, and it took effect the same day. The update introduced a new line-item structure and profession-specific therapy rates. The NDIA has said plans began being indexed from 13 July 2026, which means funding is adjusted upward to keep pace with price changes.

Indexation does not affect every plan the same way. It depends on the supports in your plan and the price limits that apply. There may also be a short window where a provider has moved to new prices but your plan funding has not yet been adjusted. If you are unsure whether a pricing change touches your budget, check with your plan manager or support coordinator before agreeing to anything. You can always see the current limits in the official NDIS Pricing Arrangements on ndis.gov.au.

Short Term Accommodation is now Short Term Respite (STR)

If you or your family use respite, the name has changed. What used to be called Short Term Accommodation (STA) is now officially Short Term Respite (STR), following a guideline released on 20 October 2025. You will still see both terms used by providers and in older plans. They mean the same support.

The support itself has not been removed. It remains a Core support, generally funded up to 28 days per year, with a maximum of 14 consecutive days per stay. Two things have changed:

• From 1 July 2026, the NDIA introduced a cap on how much it will pay for accommodation during an STR stay. It can contribute up to $162.85 per day toward the participant’s accommodation. If a support worker needs their own room for overnight support, the NDIS may fund up to $162.85 per day for the worker’s accommodation as well, separate from the participant’s amount.
• The NDIA is applying closer scrutiny to whether each stay meets the reasonable and necessary test. Good documentation matters more than it used to.

The rename is meant to make the purpose clearer. This support is about giving carers a genuine break while the participant keeps receiving proper care, not a holiday. Holiday travel, tours, activities and entertainment are not funded.

If you are planning respite, our Short Term Respite and Respite Care team can help you book early and keep the paperwork clean.

Provider registration: SIL and platform providers

From 1 July 2026, the first wave of mandatory provider registration is in effect. Supported Independent Living providers and online platform providers must now be registered with the NDIS Commission. This came with a new registration group and an updated SIL practice standards module.

For participants, this is good news. It means more oversight, stronger safeguards, and clearer accountability for the providers delivering your day-to-day support. If you receive SIL, it is worth confirming your provider is registered. Bharosa is a registered NDIS provider, and you can read about our Supported Independent Living service here.

This is also a good moment to think about how you choose who supports you.

New framework planning: delayed to 1 April 2027

This is one of the biggest sources of confusion, so here is the clear version.

Right now, every participant has what the NDIA calls an “old framework plan.” These are built around the categories you already know: Core, Capacity Building and Capital.

A “new framework plan” works differently. Instead of those categories, funding sits in two parts: a flexible budget you can use across a range of NDIS supports, and stated supports that are set aside for a specific purpose. New framework plans are also designed to run for longer, so you face fewer scheduled reviews. Budgets will be set using a support needs assessment rather than a list of individual line items.

The important date: new framework planning was originally slated to begin in mid-2026, but the rollout has been pushed back to 1 April 2027 to allow more consultation and testing. The NDIA plans to transition all participants aged 16 and over to new framework plans progressively between 1 April 2027 and late 2029, with the full transition running through to 31 December 2030. Participants under 16 are expected to transition later, from 1 July 2027.

What this means for you today: nothing changes about how your current plan works until you move to a new framework plan, and the NDIA will let you know before that happens.

Thriving Kids: a new system for young children

Thriving Kids is the first stage of a broader system called Foundational Supports, funded jointly by the Commonwealth and the states and territories under the National Agreement on Foundational Supports 2026-31. It is designed for children aged 8 and under with developmental delay or autism who have low to moderate support needs, and their families.

According to health.gov.au and ndis.gov.au, Thriving Kids begins rolling out from 1 October 2026, with full rollout expected by 1 January 2028. Children with permanent and significant disability, including those with higher support needs, will continue to be eligible for the NDIS under the usual arrangements.

For families in Queensland and Tasmania, the timing is the same national start, but the services are delivered through your state. Tasmania has signed a bilateral agreement with the Australian Government to deliver Thriving Kids, with a staged rollout from October 2026 and full delivery by January 2028. Queensland is part of the same national rollout, with services delivered locally as each state finalises its arrangements. The Tasmanian Government ran public consultations on service design during 2026, and both states will share more detail about specific services closer to launch.

If your child is currently on the NDIS, they keep their supports. Planned changes to NDIS access arrangements for young children are not scheduled until 1 January 2028, and those will require changes to the NDIS Act.

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Part 2: What is proposed but not yet law

Almost every alarming headline you have seen about cuts and eligibility comes from one place: the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026.

Here is the status. The bill was introduced to Parliament on 14 May 2026. It was referred to a Senate committee, and that inquiry was extended, with a final report due 14 August 2026. As of now, the bill has not passed. The NDIS website states plainly that until the bill passes Parliament, current NDIS eligibility and planning policies remain in place.

That is the reassurance to hold onto. The changes below are the government’s stated intentions, not current rules.

The proposed community participation cuts

The change most people are worried about is a reduction to social, civic and community participation budgets. The government has said it intends to reset these budgets by around 50%, and to reduce capacity building daily activity budgets by around 10%, bringing average spending in these categories back toward 2023 levels.

The government’s stated start date is 1 October 2026, phased in over roughly 12 months as plans are reviewed or renewed, rather than changing every plan at once. Critical care and daily living supports are described as protected. Reporting suggests the average affected plan could move from about $31,000 to about $26,000 in this category.

The key point for accuracy: this reduction relies on a new power in the bill called a support determination. Because the bill is not yet law, this cut is not yet in force. If it passes, the government has signalled it will use this power from 1 October 2026 for participants on old framework plans.

Eligibility and assessments

The bill and the broader reform package also propose standardised functional capacity assessments, a shift away from granting access on diagnosis alone, and tighter rules over time about what counts as reasonable and necessary. The government has said it aims to reduce scheme numbers by around 160,000 participants over the coming years. The assessment framework that would drive future eligibility is not expected to commence until January 2028, and current participants would be reassessed over a transition period after that.

Other proposed changes

• Unspent funds would no longer roll over between plans.
• From 1 December 2026, the time for providers to make a claim would drop from two years to 90 days.
• Providers would be required to keep payment records for seven years, with a penalty for failing to do so.
• A new provider enrolment system and stronger fraud controls would be introduced.

Many disability organisations have raised concerns about the sequencing of these changes, arguing that the supports meant to replace what is being cut are not yet fully in place. That debate is part of why the Senate inquiry was extended. We will update this guide as the bill’s final form becomes clear.

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What this means if you are in Queensland or Tasmania

The NDIS is a national scheme, so the core changes apply the same way in Brisbane, Cairns, Hobart and Launceston as they do everywhere else. Where your state matters most is with Thriving Kids and Foundational Supports, because those services are delivered through state systems. Tasmanian families have a signed bilateral agreement and a defined October 2026 to January 2028 rollout. Queensland families are covered by the same national timeline, with local delivery detail still being finalised.

The other regional reality worth naming: in parts of both states, particularly regional and remote areas, finding registered and appropriately trained support workers can be harder than in a capital city. That makes two things especially important right now. First, work with a registered, established provider. Second, keep clear records of your daily support needs so your plan reflects what you actually rely on.

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What you should do now

You do not need to make sudden changes. A few sensible steps will put you in a strong position whatever the bill’s final shape:

• Keep using your current plan under your current rules. Nothing changes until the NDIA tells you it does.
• Keep clear, dated records of your daily supports, risks, goals and any gaps. Good evidence is now central to plan reviews and to STR in particular.
• Check that your key providers are registered, especially for SIL.
• Rely on official updates from ndis.gov.au and health.gov.au, and treat social media summaries with caution.
• If a plan review is coming up, prepare early. Our team can help you get ready.

If you are feeling anxious about any of this, that is understandable, and you are not alone in it. The clearest path through uncertainty is good information and a provider who will sit down and explain your specific situation. That is what we are here for.

Have a question about your own plan? Get in touch with the Bharosa team.

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Sources and further reading

• NDIS, Securing the NDIS for future generations: https://www.ndis.gov.au/ndis-laws/securing-ndis-future-generations
• Department of Health, About the changes to the NDIS: https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/ndis-legislation-changes/amendments/ndis-amendment-securing-the-ndis-for-future-generations-bill-2026/about-the-changes-to-the-ndis
• NDIS, Update, a new way of planning: https://www.ndis.gov.au/news/11024-update-new-way-planning
• NDIS, Thriving Kids: https://www.ndis.gov.au/news/11085-thriving-kids
• Department of Health, Thriving Kids: https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/thriving-kids
• Tasmanian Government, Thriving Kids: https://www.dpac.tas.gov.au/for-communities/inclusive-communities/people-with-disability/thriving-kids
• Parliament of Australia, Securing the NDIS for Future Generations Bill 2026 inquiry: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/NDISFutureGenBill

Last updated: August 2026. This guide is general information, not disability, legal or financial advice. Because the Securing the NDIS Bill is still before Parliament, some details may change. We will refresh this page as the situation develops.