The NDIS Act 2026 Has Passed. Here's What Changed From the Bill, and What Didn't.

In May, we read the NDIS Bill cover to cover and published every question we couldn't get answered. In August, we read the Senate committee's final report. On 19 August the Bill passed with amendments, and on 20 August it became the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Act 2026, Act No. 66 of 2026.

So we went back to the source: the final text of the Act on the Federal Register of Legislation. Below, we go through it Part by Part in the same order as our May post, with section numbers so you can check every claim yourself. For each one: what we were worried about, what the final law says, and whether anything changed.

When each part of the NDIS Act 2026 starts

• Already in force (27 August 2026): the new definition of functional capacity for access decisions, limits on unscheduled plan reassessments, supports needing to arise "directly" from an impairment, most fraud and compliance measures, the Minister's pricing power, and automated decision-making.

• 1 October 2026: support determinations (the funding cuts) and plan suspension for participants who can't be contacted.

• 20 November 2026: the ban on inducements.

• 1 December 2026: claims must be made within 90 days, down from 2 years.

• 1 February 2027: automatic plan renewal and the new reasonable and necessary rules.

• 1 January 2028: the new permanence and "appropriate treatment" test, and exclusions for impairments covered by other schemes.

Part 1: How your disability is assessed. Partly changed.

What we flagged: functional capacity would be assessed without assistive technology, without modifications, without help from anyone, and ignoring your circumstances.

What the Act says (section 9B): your functional capacity is your ability to do an activity either without help, or with only assistive technology or modifications that are commonly used and that you would ordinarily use. The Act gives glasses and walking sticks as examples. For children, age-appropriate help from other people counts. For adults, help from other people still doesn't count, and the assessment still excludes your environmental and personal circumstances "as far as possible". The NDIS rules can set the methods, thresholds and what counts as "commonly used".

Verdict: softer than the Bill we read, but the core concern stands. For access decisions made from 27 August, the NDIA looks at an adult as if the people and environment around them weren't there.

Part 2: Getting a reassessment. Partly changed.

What we flagged: the NDIA's decision time going from 21 days to 90, and a reassessment only being possible if you could prove your functional capacity had substantially declined. We asked what happens when a carer gets sick, a child leaves school or someone loses their housing.

What the Act says (sections 48 and 48A): the 90 days stayed, and if the NDIA doesn't decide in that time, it's taken to have refused (section 48(4)). Only you, your plan nominee or a child's representative can ask, using the NDIA's form. But there are now two routes. The first is still a significant, ongoing change in functional capacity that substantially reduces your ability to do daily activities. The second is a significant, ongoing change in your living arrangements, education arrangements, work arrangements or network of informal support (section 48A(3)). The NDIA can also respond to a request by moving you onto a new framework plan instead (section 32B(2A)).

Verdict: the second route covers the situations we asked about. Our question about degenerative conditions still stands, because the functional capacity route still needs a substantial reduction first. These rules have applied since 27 August.

Part 3: "Directly" from an impairment. Unchanged.

What we flagged: supports now have to arise "directly" from an impairment, with no guidance on what "directly" means.

What the Act says (section 34(1)(aa)): exactly that: "arising directly from an impairment or impairments". The word is also built into the Act's new principles on scheme sustainability (section 17B). There is still no definition.

Verdict: unchanged, and unanswered. It applies to statements of supports approved from 27 August.

Part 4: The Minister can cut your funding. Narrowed, not removed.

What we flagged: the Minister being able to cut funding for a whole category of supports by a set percentage, by legislative instrument, with no end date.

What the Act says (section 34A): the power can now only be used on two groups of supports: assistance with social, economic and community participation, and improved daily living skills (section 34A(1A)). Parts of those groups can be carved out, and the Act says those exclusions will include supports in employment and disability-related health supports. The Minister must have regard to participant safety. The cut applies to plans that start after the determination takes effect. It still applies even if the result is funding below what your reasonable and necessary supports actually cost (section 34A(5)), and the determination still doesn't sunset.

There is also a new variation pathway for people who need 24-hour care (section 47B). You can ask within 90 days of the cut applying. The NDIA has 21 days to decide whether you qualify, then 21 days to decide on the variation, unless it tells you it needs more time. If it does neither, it's taken to have refused, and that refusal is automatically reviewed. But the variation can only increase daily living, home and living or other groups the Minister specifies. It can't put back social and community participation or improved daily living funding (section 47B(9)), and it can't add more than you lost.

Verdict: the amendments narrowed the power a lot. For anyone who relies on community access, group programs or capacity building, it's still the cut we warned about, and it starts on 1 October. We've written a separate guide to what it means for group programs and community access.

Part 5: Your plan renews itself. Unchanged.

What we flagged: plans renewing automatically as an identical copy, with no review, and one-off funding disappearing.

What the Act says (section 50A): from 1 February 2027, an old framework plan renews automatically at its end date, for 12 months. One-off funding is dropped, and the Minister can set other changes by instrument. No new statement of supports is made, and the renewal itself isn't a reviewable decision. A renewed plan counts as a new plan, so if a support determination is in force when it starts, the reductions can apply to it.

Verdict: unchanged. If your needs have changed, the renewal won't pick that up. You'll need a reassessment, under the Part 2 rules.

Part 6: Reasonable and necessary. Unchanged, with new limits.

What we flagged: financial sustainability becoming a legal test for your supports, and the NDIA being told to weigh what family and informal supports can provide.

What the Act says: from 1 February 2027, the NDIS provides reasonable and necessary supports "so far as is consistent with the financial sustainability of the scheme" (section 3(1)(d)). Three further changes stand out.

• Caps. The instrument used to work out plan budgets can now set a maximum amount of funding, a maximum intensity or a maximum worker-to-participant ratio for a support or class of supports, whether or not that covers the cost (section 33(2EA)).

• Evidence. When deciding if a support is effective and beneficial, published, peer-reviewed research ranks first. Evidence of how a support has actually worked for you ranks third, and the NDIA can refuse a support where the research is thin even if your own outcomes are strong (section 34(1E) and (1F)).

• Other systems. A support won't be funded if it would be more appropriately provided by another scheme or government service system (section 34(1)(g)).

On families, the NDIA must now consider whether relying on family, carers or community would expose anyone to a risk of harm that can't reasonably be managed, and the capacity of family and carers, including their age and the intensity of support needed (section 34(1K)). For children, there's a presumption that parents provide substantial care and support, but that doesn't include the extra care a child needs because of their disability (section 34(1G) and (1H)).

Verdict: the sustainability test is now law. The family provisions at least make the NDIA look at carer capacity and risk, but the tension we asked about remains: access is assessed as if nobody helps you, and funding assumes somebody might. If you use group programs or 1:1 support, the ratio cap is the provision to watch.

Part 7: Miss a phone call, lose everything. Answered.

What we flagged: plans being suspended, and participant status revoked, after "reasonable attempts" to contact someone, with no definition. We asked how many attempts, over what period, through what channels, and whether providers or support workers had to be contacted.

What the Act says (sections 40A and 30(1A) to (1D)): reasonable attempts now means at least five attempts using your preferred form of contact, with the last at least three and no more than four months after the first. If your preferred contact isn't written, at least one attempt must also be in writing. If you have a plan nominee or another authorised contact, the attempts go to them. Attempts don't count if the NDIA learns you were in hospital or another institution, or experiencing homelessness, when they were made. Suspension is a reviewable decision. If you get in touch within 90 days, the NDIA must act within 28 days. After 90 days of suspension, your participant status can be revoked.

Verdict: this is the clearest answer we got. What's still missing is any requirement to contact your providers or support workers. It starts on 1 October, so check the NDIA has your current preferred contact details and, if it makes sense for you, a nominee or authorised contact.

Part 8: You must try every treatment first. Unchanged.

What we flagged: an impairment not counting as permanent until you've tried every appropriate treatment, whether or not you can access it.

What the Act says (sections 24(5) and 25A): from 1 January 2028, an impairment isn't permanent unless you've undertaken all appropriate treatment and it's likely to last your lifetime. Appropriate treatment is evidence-based, can reliably be expected to materially improve, reverse or alleviate the impairment, and is regularly available in Australia, which the Act ties to public funding being available. It doesn't include restrictive practices. It still counts as appropriate even if your circumstances, including your finances and where you live, stop you getting it (section 25A(2)). The exceptions are treatment you can't have for medical reasons, and any circumstances the NDIS rules add later.

Verdict: unchanged in substance. You may have read that the final law stops the NDIA requiring a particular treatment or medication. We searched the full Act for it and couldn't find it. This applies to access decisions made from 1 January 2028, including for existing participants.

Part 9: If your disability came from an accident. Unchanged, and wider than the headlines.

What we flagged: impairments caused by motor vehicle accidents or work injuries being excluded where a compensation scheme exists.

What the Act says (section 25B): from 1 January 2028, both exclusions are in. But the NDIS rules can also exclude classes of people, set circumstances, and declare an "alternative support" for any impairment, which makes that impairment excluded too (section 25B(4)). Before declaring one, the Minister must be satisfied the NDIS isn't the appropriate place to fund it. You only need one impairment that isn't excluded to meet this test, but participant status can be revoked for someone who doesn't (section 30(1)(c)).

Verdict: the rule-making powers that legal aid commissions asked Parliament to remove are still there. Watch what the rules declare.

Schedule 2: Fraud. What we supported.

We said in May that the fraud problem is real, and we still think so. Providers must now keep claim records for 7 years, and participants who make claims must keep the kinds of records the rules prescribe for 3 years (section 45B). From 20 November, offering inducements such as gift cards or vouchers is prohibited (section 73VA). From 1 December, claims must be made within 90 days of the support, down from 2 years (section 45A(5)(a)).

Schedule 3: Pricing and automated decisions. Unchanged, with some transparency.

Pricing (section 45C): the Minister now sets maximum prices by legislative instrument, and it doesn't sunset. Price limits apply where funding is managed by a registered plan manager or the NDIA, not where you self-manage, and providers must not charge above them. Prices can be set differently depending on things like provider qualifications, whether a provider is registered, and how a plan is managed. The NDIA's pricing advice, or a summary of it, must be tabled in Parliament within 5 sitting days of a determination.

Automation (sections 59B to 59E): computer programs can now take action for the NDIA, including decisions that involve discretion or judgement. From day one this covers section 33 (what goes into your plan, including funding amounts) and the payment and pricing provisions, and the Minister can add more. The safeguards: automated judgement calls must follow a standard operating procedure published at least 7 days before it's made; any notice you get must tell you if a computer program took the action; the NDIA must publish which provisions are automated and report on errors each year; and your existing review rights aren't reduced. But a failure to follow those safeguards doesn't make the decision invalid (section 59E(3) and (5)).

Verdict: you'll at least be told when a computer made the call, and the procedure it follows will be public. Whether that's enough to challenge it is a question we'll keep asking.

Schedule 4: The new planning framework. Still mostly in the rules.

Needs assessments can be done by NDIA staff, NDIA consultants or anyone the rules prescribe (section 32L(4A)), and the rules decide what information an assessment must and mustn't consider (section 32L(4)). The assessment tool can adopt NDIA documents, such as a questionnaire or manual, as they stand from time to time, so those documents can change without going back to Parliament. The detail we asked for in May is being written now: the Department has released a consultation paper on the new framework planning rules.

One more thing: an independent review

Section 4 of the Act requires an independent review of how these changes operate, run alongside the review of the 2024 NDIS amendments. The reviewers must be independent of the NDIA and the Department, and must look at access, participant outcomes, review and appeal rights, the viability of the provider market, thin markets, and how the changes interact with foundational supports. The report has to be tabled in Parliament.

Where our May questions stand

• Answered: what counts as reasonable attempts to contact someone.

• Partly answered: what happens when circumstances change (there's now a reassessment route for it), and how automated decisions will be disclosed.

• Not answered: what "directly" means; how people with degenerative conditions get a reassessment before substantial decline; how assessing access without informal supports fits with funding that assumes them; what the new planning framework looks like in practice.

• Outside the Act: the NDIA's tribunal spending and the whole-of-government cost of the savings. Nothing in the legislation addresses either.

What you can do now

1. Check the NDIA has your current preferred contact details, and think about whether a nominee or authorised contact makes sense for you.

2. Know your plan's reassessment or end date.

3. If you self-manage, keep your NDIS records for at least 3 years, and from 1 December make claims within 90 days.

4. If your circumstances change significantly, gather evidence before asking for a reassessment, and talk to your support coordinator first.

5. Keep asking questions. Most of the detail is still being written in the rules.

📍 Based on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast

📝 Get in touch with the Loving Life team here.

Sources

• National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Act 2026, Federal Register of Legislation

• NDIS Bill 2026: I Read It. I Have Questions. You Should Too., Loving Life Support Services

This is our reading of the Act as made, current at 21 September 2026. Section numbers refer to the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 as amended. It isn't legal advice. If you're unsure how a change affects you, speak with your support coordinator, an advocate or the NDIS on 1800 800 110.