The NDIS funding changes from October 2026 reduce the amount available for two types of support, with exemptions. This guide explains the affected funding, when the reset reaches your plan, and what to ask before your support arrangements change.
The quick answer
The reset reduces non-exempt social, economic and community participation funding by 50% and non-exempt improved daily living skills funding by 10%. It is not a percentage cut to your whole plan.
It applies when a new or reassessed plan starts from 1 October 2026, or a renewed plan starts from 1 February 2027. It does not change every existing plan on 1 October. Check the commencement date in your NDIA notice.
Reform update — 8 October 2026: The NDIA confirms the reductions have begun for new and reassessed plans. Renewals enter from 1 February 2027. The percentages, exemptions and high-support-needs pathway below remain consistent with the current official guidance. A funding-period release within the same plan is not a plan renewal.
What should I do now?
I have an existing plan
Find your plan dates and read any NDIA notice about renewal or reassessment. Your current scheduled date may change; an unscheduled reassessment can also happen earlier. Ask your NDIA contact when the reset will apply to your plan rather than assuming it is 1 October or your original reassessment date.
I am getting a new or reassessed plan
Check the new plan’s commencement date, affected categories and exemptions. Compare its total funding with the amount available after the reset. Ask the NDIA to explain any difference you do not understand before changing service arrangements.
My plan is being renewed
The renewal stage begins from February 2027. Check your notice for the actual date and ask how any exempt supports have been identified. Review legitimate payment records; do not assume every dollar in an affected category is reduced.
I receive 24-hour disability support
Check whether you may qualify for the special variation pathway. Receiving 24-hour support alone is not sufficient. If the reset would leave a support gap, ask promptly about the criteria, evidence and deadline.
The NDIS announcement explains the two implementation stages. The detailed government guide covers the safeguards and examples used below.
Which NDIS funding is reduced from October 2026?
50%
Social, economic and community participation
The reset applies to the affected amount after exempt supports are identified. Older information may call this social, civic and community participation.
10%
Improved daily living skills
The reset also applies to the non-exempt amount in this category, previously described as capacity building daily activities.
Other categories are not reduced by this particular reset. That is different from a guarantee that nothing else can change during a reassessment or through another reform. For context, our NDIS budget categories guide explains how plan funding is organised.
Which supports are exempt from the funding reset?
Supports outside the two affected categories
The government identifies the following examples of supports not reduced by this reset:
- Help at home with eating, dressing, toileting, cleaning, community nursing and medication.
- Home and vehicle modifications.
- Personal mobility equipment and transport.
- Incontinence and menstruation consumables.
- Specialist Disability Accommodation.
Exempt subgroups within the affected categories
- Supports in employment.
- Disability-related health supports.
- High intensity supports.
- Intensive and complex behaviour supports.
- Customised and wearable technology.
- Hearing services.
Check how the NDIA will identify your exempt supports. The published guidance says the NDIA checks whether the plan contains these supports and whether a payment has been made for them. If those conditions are met, the reduction is not applied to that support funding.
Review your legitimate payment history and ask your NDIA contact how any funded-but-unused support will be treated. Do not assume unused funding automatically loses protection, or make unnecessary purchases or claims to try to establish an exemption.
Ask the NDIA to explain the unaffected amount shown in your new plan. A plan manager may help locate invoices and payment records, but does not decide which funding is exempt. Check the government’s safeguards and exemption guidance.
When will my NDIS funding change?
The rollout began on 1 October 2026 and runs through 30 September 2027. The relevant event is the start of your new, reassessed or renewed plan. A plan starting on 1 October can therefore be affected that day; other participants will be affected later.
| Starting from | Plans affected | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| 1 October 2026 | New plans and reassessed plans, including scheduled and unscheduled reassessments. | The new plan’s commencement date. For scheduled reassessments, the government says the NDIA contacts participants 2–3 months ahead. |
| 1 February 2027 | Renewals for participants with affected funding who have not already had a new or reassessed plan since October. | Your renewal notice. The government says the NDIA contacts participants 60 days before renewal. |
For affected plans with a scheduled reassessment date on or after 1 October 2027, the guidance says the date will be brought forward to on or before 30 September 2027. A distant date on an older plan is therefore not a reliable way to predict when the reset reaches you. Read the implementation details.
How to estimate the change to your available funding
Start with the relevant category amount, identify any exempt funding, then apply the percentage only to the affected balance. Confirm the figures with the NDIA; your whole-plan total is not the right starting point for this calculation.
Budget allocation and spending are different. In the government’s example, a participant has a $50,000 community participation allocation but has been spending $30,000. After the reset, $25,000 is available. That leaves $5,000 less than their previous spending, although the allocation has fallen by $25,000.
These two further government examples show category-level outcomes, not total NDIS plan budgets.
Connor: $73,000 → $59,500
Of Connor’s community participation allocation, $46,000 funds exempt employment supports. The remaining $27,000 is halved to $13,500.
$46,000 + $13,500 = $59,500 available in this category. That is approximately an 18.5% reduction to the category total, rather than 50%.
Omar: renewal, then reassessment
Omar has $40,000 in community participation funding with no exemptions. Renewal reduces the available amount to $20,000.
At a later reassessment, the NDIA sets a $35,000 reasonable-and-necessary amount. Applying the reset leaves $17,500 available in this category.
Omar’s example illustrates that reassessment and the percentage reset are separate steps. It does not guarantee a higher starting budget when someone reports increased needs. See the official participant examples.
Once part of a category is exempt and part is reduced, the gap between your total funding and the amount actually available matters more than it used to. If you want to compare how providers report budgets and flag low balances, see our independent comparison of NDIS plan managers. It does not change how the reset is applied to your plan.
The 90-day pathway for high support needs participants
Under the high-support-needs variation pathway, both of the following criteria apply:
- At least $215,030 before the reset across Assistance with Daily Life, Home and Living, and Assistance with Social, Economic and Community Participation.
- 24-hour funded NDIS supports for needs arising directly from the impairments through which the participant accesses the NDIS.
The benchmark reflects shared 24-hour support at a one-worker-to-three-participants ratio. It is a combined amount for the named categories, not the total of every category in the plan.
Meeting those criteria does not automatically secure extra funding. The NDIA must also be satisfied that the remaining funding cannot maintain safe 24-hour disability support at the required support ratio.
90 days
Request the variation
The window runs from the reset being applied to your plan. Only the participant or nominee can request this variation; someone else can assist a participant without a nominee. The NDIA cannot initiate this pathway for you. An extension may be given in writing in exceptional circumstances.
21 days
Eligibility decision or extension notice
The NDIA must decide whether you meet the pathway’s high-support-needs definition within 21 days, or notify you that additional time is required.
Further 21 days
Variation decision or extension notice
If you qualify, the NDIA has a further 21 days to approve or refuse the variation, or notify you that it needs more time. This is not a guaranteed 42-day completion promise.
An approved increase can apply to assistance with daily living and home and living funding, not the two reset categories. It cannot exceed the amount removed by the reset. The guidance says residents of aged care facilities are unlikely to qualify because 24-hour support remains available through the facility. Read the full pathway criteria and examples.
Your next step: Contact your NDIA contact or call 1800 800 110 to ask how to lodge a request under this pathway and what evidence to provide. Have your plan, reset notice and details of any gap in 24-hour support ready. Record the date the reset was applied and ask the NDIA to confirm your deadline.
This is the official support route; DisabilityChoice’s matching form cannot lodge the request. NDIS contact information.
Can I request a review or another change to my plan?
The funding reset itself is not a reviewable decision, but some separate decisions are. The special pathway includes review rights for decisions about its high-support-needs definition and whether the variation is approved.
You can still ask about a variation or unscheduled reassessment if your circumstances or support needs have changed significantly and on an ongoing basis. The reduction alone does not meet that test. If fraud, a crisis or an emergency affects your plan, contact the NDIA to discuss whether a variation is needed. Read the review-rights and plan-change guidance.
If a decision notice is unclear, ask the NDIA which review rights attach to that decision and the relevant deadline. Our change-of-circumstances guide explains the broader reassessment process.
What happens under new framework planning?
The government says transition to new framework planning begins gradually from 1 April 2027. This percentage reset does not apply once someone has transitioned to a new framework plan. That does not promise restoration of their previous budget, or that everyone moves to a new plan in April.
New framework plans use a different budgeting approach. Ask your NDIA contact about your own transition rather than assuming a date or amount. Official guidance on the transition.
Related reforms have different dates and rules. Do not confuse a renewed plan with a funding period within the same plan. Published NDIS guidance allows unused funding to move to the next funding period within a plan; that is different from carrying it into a new plan. Read the funding-period explanation.
Your preparation checklist
Copy or print this checklist for your conversation with the NDIA. These are preparation prompts, not a mandatory application-evidence list.
- Dates: current plan dates, the new plan commencement date and the date any reset is applied.
- Funding: the two affected category amounts, exempt amounts and the amount available after the change.
- Records: relevant invoices and payment history; questions about supports funded but not yet used.
- Service arrangements: supports you rely on, upcoming bookings and any notice conditions to discuss with providers.
- Changed needs: anything that has changed separately from the reduction, and information you can discuss with the NDIA.
- 24-hour support, if relevant: the combined named-category funding, current support arrangements, any support gap and the variation deadline.
- Follow-up: the person you spoke to, date, reference number, agreed next step and any decision/review deadline.
Questions to take with you: “How were my exemptions identified?” “What is my actual available funding?” “What should I do if my support needs cannot be met?” “Which decision or variation pathway applies to my circumstances?”
Original source check: 27 September 2026. Budget rollout, exemptions and variation guidance rechecked 8 October 2026. NDIS enquiries: 1800 800 110. Keep your notes with your plan documents.
Frequently asked questions about the NDIS funding changes
Will every current plan be reduced on 1 October 2026?
No. The reset applies to affected funding when a new or reassessed plan starts from 1 October 2026, or a renewed plan starts from 1 February 2027. Check the date in your NDIA notice; a relevant plan starting on 1 October can be affected that day.
Is my whole NDIS plan being cut by 50%?
No. The percentages apply to the non-exempt funding in the two affected categories, not your entire plan. Check the identified exemptions and available funding shown in your new plan.
Can I appeal the reset?
The reset itself is not reviewable. Separate decisions under the high-support-needs variation pathway carry review rights. Significant ongoing changes in your circumstances or support needs may also justify asking about another plan change; the reduction alone does not establish that.
Does receiving 24-hour support automatically qualify me for extra funding?
No. The special pathway has a combined funding threshold and a 24-hour-support requirement. The NDIA must also be satisfied that the remaining funding cannot maintain the required safe support arrangements. Check the criteria and request deadline with the NDIA.
Are plan-management fees included in this reset?
Plan management is not one of the two categories reduced by this reset. If your plan includes plan-management funding, it is funded separately from the support budgets discussed here.
Does Thriving Kids mean my child’s NDIS budget is exempt?
No automatic exemption follows from the Thriving Kids rollout. The funding reset and children’s access arrangements are separate changes. Check your child’s affected funding and any applicable exemptions, and read the current guidance for existing NDIS participants.
Can Parliament scrutinise the changes?
The government’s published guidance says the instruments are disallowable, so Parliament can scrutinise them and seek to reject them within the relevant period. Do not assume the outcome or treat that statement as a complete account of every legal or policy option.
For the separate children’s arrangements, see our Thriving Kids guide. It explains the distinction between the rollout and an existing child’s NDIS plan.
Would plan-management help be useful?
If your plan includes plan-management funding, a plan manager can help with eligible invoices and budget reporting. Ask how often its records update and how it alerts you to low balances. It does not decide eligibility or exemptions, reverse the reset, or guarantee extra funding.
For background, read how to add plan management or how the NDIS works.
Want to compare plan managers?
Compare invoice handling, communication and budget reporting before deciding what would help you.
This optional comparison service is separate from the NDIA. It cannot lodge a variation, decide your funding or replace advice about your individual plan.
Sources and accessible information
This guide was checked against official information on 27 September 2026. The details can change as the instruments and implementation guidance are released. Recheck the official page for a decision about your own plan.
- Funding changes for NDIS supports — the detailed government explanation, exemptions, worked examples and special variation pathway.
- About the changes to the NDIS — the wider reform program.
- Changes to support budgets from 1 October — the NDIS announcement.
- Easy Read, Auslan and downloadable funding-change resources — accessible versions from the government.
DisabilityChoice is an independent plan-manager comparison service, not the NDIA. About DisabilityChoice · Report a correction.