If your NDIS plan includes funding to get out into the community, you may have heard that some of that funding is changing. From 1 October 2026, the NDIS began resetting budgets for two types of supports. The changes are significant, but they don’t happen to everyone on the same day, and they don’t touch every part of your plan.
This guide explains, in plain language, what is changing, which supports are protected, when the change is likely to reach your plan, and practical steps you can take now.
New NDIS laws passed in August 2026 allow the Australian Government to reset funding for certain types of supports using a legal instrument called a support determination. The first one started on 1 October 2026. It reduces the amount available in participants’ plans for:
– Social, economic and community participation supports by 50%. You may know this as “social, civic and community participation” or community access. It is the funding often used for support to attend activities, outings, group programs and community events.
– Improved daily living skills supports by 10%. This was previously called “capacity building daily activities”.
According to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, the community participation change is designed to bring average spending back to 2023 levels.
It is important to know that this is a reduction to the affected funding in those categories only. It is not a 50% cut to your whole NDIS plan.
Your plan will not change overnight. You can keep using your current plan and supports as normal until your plan is next created, reassessed or renewed.
– From 1 October 2026: the change applies to new plans and plan reassessments.
– From 1 February 2027: it also applies when plans are renewed under the new plan renewal process.
– By 30 September 2027: participants who receive this funding and haven’t had a new or reassessed plan since 1 October 2026 will have their plan renewed. If your scheduled reassessment date is later than this, it will be brought forward.
The NDIA has said it will contact participants two to three months before a scheduled reassessment and 60 days before a plan renewal. Your new plan should show how much your funding in these categories has been reduced.
The reset only applies to the two categories above. Other parts of your plan are not affected, including supports at home (such as personal care, community nursing care, help with medication and cleaning), home and vehicle modifications, personal mobility equipment and transport, continence and menstrual consumables, and Specialist Disability Accommodation.
Certain types of support inside these categories are considered essential to health, safety and wellbeing, so they are excluded from the reduction:
– supports in employment
– disability-related health supports
– high intensity supports
– intensive and complex behaviour supports
– customised and wearable technology
– hearing services.
The NDIA will check whether your plan includes these supports when it applies the change. You don’t need to provide any extra information, and reassessed or renewed plans should clearly identify the funding that is not affected.
A new plan variation pathway is available for participants with high support needs. You may be eligible if your combined budget for Assistance with Daily Life, Home and Living, and Assistance with Social, Economic and Community Participation was $215,030 or more before the reset, and you receive 24-hour funded NDIS supports.
Eligible participants (or their nominee) can apply within 90 days of the reset being applied to their plan. Someone else, such as a support worker or advocate, can help a participant who doesn’t have a nominee. If approved, any extra funding goes towards daily living and home and living supports, not back into community participation.
The real impact will depend on how you currently use your funding. The Department gives the example of a participant with $50,000 a year for community participation who only uses $30,000. After the reset they would have $25,000, so their actual spending drops by $5,000. For people who use their full community participation budget, the impact will be larger and may mean fewer hours of support in the community.
You cannot request a review of the funding reset itself. However, you can still ask for a plan reassessment or variation at any time if you have a significant and ongoing change in your support needs, functional capacity or circumstances. This could include a change in living arrangements, education or employment, or the informal support you get from family and carers.
The reduction on its own is not treated as a significant change in circumstances. Also note that since August 2026, only participants, plan nominees or child representatives can request an unscheduled reassessment. Providers can no longer ask on your behalf.
1. Check your plan dates. Log in to the my NDIS portal or app and note your scheduled reassessment date, so the change doesn’t catch you off guard.
2. Look at how you actually use your community participation funding. Ask your plan manager or providers for a summary of what has been spent over recent months. Knowing your real usage makes it easier to plan.
3. Decide what matters most. Think about which activities connect most closely to your goals, wellbeing and independence, and which could be combined or scheduled differently.
4. Talk to your providers early. A good provider will work with you on a realistic schedule within your new budget and the NDIS Pricing Arrangements.
5. Consider group activities where they suit you. Group-based supports are usually charged at a shared rate, so the same budget can often stretch further. It should always remain your choice.
6. Keep good records. Notes about your support needs, changes in your informal supports and how supports help you day to day are useful if your circumstances change. Under the new laws, participants and nominees also need to keep records of their NDIS supports and payments.
7. Use official sources and ask for help. Your support coordinator or Local Area Coordinator can help you understand your plan. Be cautious of social media posts that make claims without linking to official information.
The new way of NDIS planning, called new framework planning, has been delayed and is now expected to start gradually from 1 April 2027. The Department has said the funding reset will not apply to new framework plans. More information about how participants will move to new framework plans is expected before it begins.
Briighter Care is an NDIS registered provider supporting participants across Sydney’s south-west and west, including Oran Park, Narellan, Gregory Hills, Liverpool and Penrith. We provide community support and companionship, group activities, personal care, community nursing care and support for participants with complex behaviour support needs, including implementing Positive Behaviour Support Plans.
If your plan is changing, we can:
– sit down with you and your family to review the community supports you currently receive with us
– work with you on a support schedule that fits your new budget, including our monthly group days and school holiday program where they suit you
– provide clear progress notes and reports that reflect your support needs, to help you prepare for plan meetings
– keep your supports as consistent as possible, because familiar faces matter.
We can’t predict the outcome of your plan or make decisions on the NDIA’s behalf, but we can help you feel informed and prepared.
The community participation funding changes are real and, for some families, significant. But they apply gradually, they only affect specific categories, and important supports are protected. Knowing your plan dates, understanding how you use your funding and talking with your providers early will put you in the best position.
Have questions about what the changes could mean for your supports? Contact the Briighter Care team or make a referral.
– Funding changes for NDIS supports (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing)
– Safeguards for high support needs participants (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing)
– What is a plan reassessment? (NDIS)
– Latest NDIS news (NDIS)
Information current as at 19 October 2026. This article provides general information only and is not legal or financial advice. Please refer to the NDIA or your support coordinator for advice about your individual plan.
Updated 19 October 2026: the start date for new framework planning has changed. It will now begin gradually from 1 April 2027, rather than mid-2026.
We’ll keep you in the loop every step of the way, because confidence in your plan should always start with understanding it.
If you’ve ever found the NDIS planning process stressful, confusing, or like you’re jumping through hoops just to get a plan that really reflects your life and your goals, you’re not alone. Lots of families, carers, and clients have said the same thing: planning can feel like a paper chase instead of a person-centred conversation.
So the good news? A new planning approach, called New Framework Planning, will begin rolling out gradually from 1 April 2027 (it was originally planned for mid-2026), and it’s been shaped by voices right across the disability community, including families, providers, and clients.
And while it won’t happen overnight, it’s worth knowing what’s coming so you can feel confident and prepared for your next plan review.
The way NDIS plans are made now sometimes feels inconsistent, overly reliant on lengthy reports, and disconnected from what people actually need day-to-day. That’s exactly what many clients and families told the NDIS Review, and the new approach is a response to that feedback.
The goal of the new framework is to make planning:
– Fairer and more consistent across participants
– Simpler and easier to understand
– More focused on your real support needs, not just your diagnosis
– Less reliant on endless reports that can feel expensive or overwhelming
Instead of starting with paperwork and eligibility arguments, planning will begin with a support needs assessment, a guided conversation with a trained assessor about your life, your routines, your goals, and the supports that help you live your best life.
This isn’t an exam, and it’s not a test you have to “pass”. It’s a chance for your strengths, challenges, and daily support needs to be understood clearly from the start.
Under this refreshed approach, plans will be built around what you say matters the most to you and your family, rather than only ticking boxes in a form.
– Support needs assessments replace repetitive reports, this reduces cost and stress.
– Your daily life and goals are front and centre, not just clinical diagnosis data.
– Plans will be designed to last longer, and fewer forced reviews mean more stability.
– Budgets will be clearer and more flexible, helping you manage your supports with confidence.
You’ll still be able to ask for your plan to change if your needs change, and your rights to internal and external review remain.
Right now, nothing changes overnight. Your current plan and supports continue until you’re brought into the new planning process.
One thing to be aware of: from 1 October 2026, separate funding changes to community participation and daily living skills budgets are being applied as plans are reassessed or renewed. You can read more in our guide to NDIS community participation funding changes.
– You can still use your plan as usual.
– Your plan will still be reassessed or renewed when it’s due, and the NDIA will contact you beforehand.
– You’ll be told well ahead of time before a new framework plan applies to you.
The transition is designed to be smooth, gradual, and supportive, not sudden or disruptive.
At Briighter Care, we see this as an opportunity, not a problem. This shift is about centring your support needs and making sure plans reflect real life, not just reports. That aligns perfectly with how we build supports: person-centred, goal-focused, and evidence-informed, all the things families have told us matter most.
– We’ll work with you to gather evidence that reflects real participation and goals.
– We’ll encourage honest conversations about daily support needs and priorities.
– We’ll help you prepare for planning meetings with clarity and confidence.
– We’ll ensure your support worker notes, progress tracking and reporting reflect your journey, so nothing important gets missed.
It should feel like a conversation about your life, your choices, and your support needs, and that’s exactly where the new NDIS framework is headed.
From 1 April 2027, planning will start to feel more human, more strengths-based, and more connected to your everyday experience.
