The NDIS changes of September and October 2026, in plain English

What changed on 24 September 2026?

The Minister for Disability and the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) made the first NDIS pricing determination under the new NDIS laws. It sets the maximum prices for NDIS supports for 2026-27. It took effect straight away.

The announcement says the price limits align with the pricing guidance the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) had already published.

Here is what a price limit does:

• The NDIA can’t pay a claim for more than the maximum price.
• A provider can’t charge more than the maximum price.
• The limits apply to NDIA-managed and plan-managed participants.

A price limit is not a budget. It caps what one hour or one item of support can cost. It doesn’t decide how much funding is in your plan.

What is still to come on pricing?

Three things are still in progress. None of them changes prices today.

• Differentiated pricing. The government is consulting on adjusting prices depending on whether a provider is registered or unregistered. The NDIA’s pricing review recommended a start date of 1 January 2027. That is a recommendation. It isn’t a decision.
• An award change. On 11 September 2026 the Fair Work Commission made a decision in its gender-based undervaluation review of the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010. The award changes take effect on 1 December 2026. The pricing schedule will be updated later this year to reflect any required changes.
• The 2027-28 pricing review. The consultation is open until 1 November 2026. It looks closely at Supported Independent Living (SIL), support worker supports, therapy, community participation and support coordination. Participants can have their say on NDIS Engage.

What changes from 1 October 2026?

Budgets for two support categories are reduced:

• Social, economic and community participation supports, by 50%.
• Improved daily living skills supports, by 10%.

The reduction is applied gradually, over 12 months. It happens when your plan is created, reassessed or renewed. New plans and reassessments count from 1 October 2026. Renewals count from 1 February 2027. All affected plans will have been through the process by 30 September 2027.

The Minister makes these rules as legal instruments that start on 1 October 2026. Parliament can still scrutinise them and seek to reject them.

You can keep using your current plan and supports until it is reassessed or renewed. The Department says you will be told before that happens. When you get your new plan, it shows your total funding and the funding available after the change.

Many people don’t spend their whole budget. The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing gives this example: a plan with $50,000 for community participation, where the person uses $30,000 a year. After the change, $25,000 is available. Their actual spending is reduced by $5,000, not $25,000.

What isn’t affected?

The NDIS says only those two categories change. Other parts of your plan don’t. The NDIS lists these as not affected:

• Help at home with eating, drinking, dressing, toileting, laundry, cleaning, nursing and medication.
• Home and vehicle modifications.
• Personal mobility equipment and transport.
• Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA).

Some supports inside the two categories also stay the same: employment supports, disability-related health supports, high intensity supports, intensive and complex behaviour supports, customised and wearable technology, and hearing services. The NDIS says it will publish a fuller list shortly.

What if I need 24-hour support?

A new plan variation pathway opens on 1 October 2026 for people with high support needs and 24-hour disability support.

The Department says you qualify if both of these are true:

1. Before the reduction, the total in your plan for assistance with daily life, home and living, and social, economic and community participation was $215,030 or more.
2. You receive 24-hour funded NDIS supports for needs that come from your disability.

You, or your nominee, can apply within 90 days of the reduction being applied to your plan. If you don’t have a nominee, someone such as a support worker or advocate can help you. The NDIA can’t start the request for you. It can increase funding only if what is left isn’t enough to keep your 24-hour supports safe. The increase can’t be more than the amount that was reduced. You can ask for a review of decisions made under this pathway.

Can I ask for a review of the reduction?

The reduction itself is not a reviewable decision. You can still ask for a reassessment or variation if your circumstances change in a significant and ongoing way. That can be a change to your living arrangements, education or employment, or the informal support you get from family. The Department says the reduction on its own doesn’t count as that kind of change.

From 1 April 2027, people begin moving to the new way of planning. The Department says this reduction will not apply to those new plans.

Where to get help

Your Support Coordinator is the first person to ask what this means for your plan. The NDIA makes the decisions about your budget. To see how funding is used in a shared home, read what SIL funding pays for. Every term is explained in our NDIS glossary.

If you want to talk to us

Complete Choice is a registered NDIS provider. We deliver Supported Independent Living across Adelaide, within 100km of the CBD. We can’t tell you what your plan will fund. We can tell you how our homes work and how support is arranged. Call us on 08 7009 4462.

This is general information, not advice about your plan. Your Support Coordinator or the NDIS can tell you what applies to you.