Evidence / 2026
About the changes to the NDIS
Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (2026). health.gov.au.
- Population
- Current and prospective NDIS participants, including children with developmental delay and/or autism
- Sample
- Official FAQ (not a sample)
- Condition
- NDIS access, planning, budget resets, Thriving Kids handoff, fraud and automation
- Medication focus
- Not a medication source
- Jurisdiction
- Australia
- Last reviewed
- 2 September 2026
- Measurement period
- Page last updated 27 August 2026
Plain-language finding
The department’s FAQ for the 2026 Act states that children aged 8 and under with developmental delay and/or autism and low to moderate support needs will no longer be eligible for the NDIS and ‘will be supported by Thriving Kids’; that children with permanent and significant disability, and those with substantially reduced functional capacity, remain eligible; that there are no access-criteria changes until 1 January 2028; that existing participants will then be reassessed over three years; that social, civic and community participation budgets will be reduced by 50 per cent and capacity-building daily-activity budgets by 10 per cent (from 1 October 2026 for new plans and reassessments, 1 February 2027 for other participants); that essential daily-living and 24-hour care supports are said not to change; and that the Commonwealth is still working on the design and details of Thriving Kids with states and territories.
Important limitation
This is the government’s account of its own Act. It does not publish headcounts of people who will leave the scheme. FAQ language can move; this library records the 27 August 2026 update.
Why we cite this
Primary official description of eligibility, budget resets, clocks, and the Thriving Kids handoff after Royal Assent.
access · service-design · australia · ndis · autism
Supported by clinical guidelines, regulatory information, systematic reviews, or well-established pharmacological knowledge. Still describes populations, not an individual.
Claims this source supports
The National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Act 2026 is law. It passed the Senate on 18 August 2026, both houses on 19 August, and received Royal Assent on 20 August as Act No. 66 of 2026. It changes access, planning, funding instruments, permanence, other-scheme consideration, fraud powers, pricing and automation.
Last reviewed 2 September 2026
The department’s FAQ for the Act states that children aged eight and under with developmental delay and/or autism and low to moderate support needs will no longer be eligible for the NDIS, and that those children will be supported by Thriving Kids. Children with permanent and significant disability, and those in that age group with substantially reduced functional capacity, remain eligible. Access-criteria changes begin 1 January 2028.
Last reviewed 2 September 2026
Under the department’s FAQ, social, civic and community participation budgets are reduced by 50 per cent, and capacity-building daily-activity budgets by 10 per cent, as plans are renewed or reassessed. The government says essential daily-living supports and 24-hour disability-related care will not change. New plans and reassessments from 1 October 2026; other participants from 1 February 2027.
Last reviewed 2 September 2026
The Act still lets the Minister reduce funding for specified groups of supports. House amendments confined determinations to social, community and civic participation and/or capacity-building daily activities, and required them to name which plans they apply to. A later Senate amendment lets people who need continuous 24-hour care apply for a plan variation within 90 days. That pathway is a subset remedy, not a general exemption.
Last reviewed 2 September 2026
The Act names Thriving Kids as the receiving program for children aged eight and under with developmental delay and/or autism and low to moderate support needs. The same department still describes Thriving Kids service design as underway with states and territories, and the Thriving Kids page (updated 31 August 2026) does not publish a complete service catalogue or a worked interface with 2028 NDIS eligibility. A named program is not yet a specified substitute.
Last reviewed 2 September 2026
Journalism and advocacy have reported that around 145,000 autistic people could lose NDIS autism support, and that more than 240,000 participants could be shifted off the scheme after new eligibility rules. The department’s FAQ does not publish those figures. They are projections about a future process, not a completed removal.
This claim retains disagreement in the literature. Open the classification to read both sides.
Last reviewed 2 September 2026
The Act expands NDIS fraud and integrity powers: enrolment and registration, kickback offences, records retention, shorter claim windows, conflict-of-interest rules for plan management, investigative capability and whistleblower protections. Criticising access cuts, budget resets or an unfinished receiving system is not the same as opposing fraud enforcement. Those are different objects.
Last reviewed 2 September 2026
The Bills Digest of the introduced bill records a proposed definition of functional capacity that assesses the ability to undertake an activity without assistance from other people, assistive technology or modifications, and in a context that excludes, as far as possible, the impact of environmental and personal circumstances. The government later said functional-capacity provisions were revised. New-framework planning is described as considering environmental factors. The public FAQ does not republish the final subsection.
This claim retains disagreement in the literature. Open the classification to read both sides.
Last reviewed 2 September 2026
From 1 January 2028, permanence for NDIS access requires ‘appropriate treatment’ subject to specified exceptions. The introduced digest records that treatment may still count as appropriate even where financial circumstances or geographical location restrict access. House amendments defined appropriate treatment as publicly funded care regularly undertaken in Australia and excluded restrictive practices. They did not remove the basic requirement.
Last reviewed 2 September 2026
From 27 August 2026, only a participant, nominee or child representative can request an unscheduled plan reassessment, on a significant and ongoing change. The NDIA has up to 90 days to decide. If no decision is made, the request is treated as refused, with review rights.
Last reviewed 2 September 2026