The NDIS is a deeply valuable program, relied upon by many in our community. Supporting those with a disability must remain a priority, but I hold concerns about the financial sustainability of the program with its current projects rate of growth. The Federal Government is proposing significant changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The reforms aim to reduce the growth rate of the scheme, which currently supports around 660,000 Australians and costs more than $50 billion per year. Latest figures show expenses have increased 11.3% over the past year alone.

The key proposed changes include:

• Tighter eligibility rules - a new eligibility test is being developed that moves away from medical diagnoses towards a new definition of ‘functional capacity’, meaning some current and future participants may no longer qualify for the scheme. These changes will also limit unscheduled plan reassessments
• Stronger oversight mechanisms - a new power will be granted to the Minister to cut funding across different categories of NDIS support, without requiring legislative changes passed through the Parliament
• Reduced plan funding - average plan amounts are expected to be cut, with reductions to social and community participation funding beginning as early as July 2026
• Crackdown on unregistered providers – a new definition of ‘NDIS provider’ will be established to ensure that more providers receiving participants’ NDIS funding are obliged to comply with a code of conduct
• Changes to payment system – providers will be enrolled into a new system requiring digital payments, in order to decrease the amount of fraud across the sector

These changes will affect participants, carers, families, and disability service providers. We want to understand what these reforms mean for people in our community — what concerns you, what support you need, and what you think should happen next.

You can read some explainers about the proposed reforms here, here and in the government’s summary here.