Official update · document review
NDIS Amendment Act: first staged changes now in effect
The National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 20 August and was registered on 21 August. Schedule 1 Parts 1–3 and Schedule 2 Parts 1–4 commenced on 27 August. A participant-requested plan reassessment must now come from the participant, their plan nominee or child representative, using the approved form with the required information and evidence. After the NDIA receives a request that meets those requirements, it has 90 days to decide whether to reassess, not reassess or vary the plan. Section 45B also applies to claims made on or after 27 August. For an NDIS provider, it sets a seven-year default from the claim date for Rules-prescribed records related to the claim or claimed support; the Rules may prescribe a shorter period. NDIA says further record-keeping guidance is coming. From 1 October 2026, some budgets in Social, Economic and Community Participation and Improved Daily Living Skills will reduce when plans are created or reassessed; the change applies to plan renewals from 1 February 2027. It is not a blanket cut to every support: NDIA lists excluded support groups and essential day-to-day supports, says individual impacts vary, and has announced a forthcoming variation pathway for some participants with high support needs.
Document and workflow checks
Turn the official change into reviewable actions
- Separate the 27 August plan-reassessment commencement, section 45B's claim-date application boundary, and later commencement dates; do not describe the whole Act as already operating.
- When helping with a participant-requested reassessment, use the current approved form, confirm the requester is the participant, plan nominee or child representative, attach the required evidence, and record NDIA receipt or any further-information request. A provider cannot be authorised by consent to make the request.
- Use the date the NDIA receives a request that meets the form, information, and evidence requirements—not the day a team starts preparing evidence—as the 90-day decision-control reference. Record whether the outcome is reassess, not reassess, or vary.
- For claims made on or after 27 August, map each retained record to the claim or claimed support and verify whether its kind is prescribed by current NDIS Rules. For providers, seven years from the claim date is the default unless the Rules prescribe a shorter period; do not apply it to every progress note or NDIS document.
- Keep the current 90-day plan-reassessment decision period separate from the 90-day claim-submission limit commencing on 1 December 2026.
- For a plan created or reassessed from 1 October, or renewed from 1 February 2027, check the participant-specific NDIA plan and current official exclusions before recording a budget impact. Do not treat the two named categories as a blanket reduction to essential day-to-day supports, and track the announced high-support variation pathway without promising an outcome.
Who may need to review this
- NDIS participants and nominees
- NDIS providers and support workers
- Plan managers and support coordinators
- Claims, records, and provider-registration owners
Impact areas
- Royal Assent, registration, and staged commencement
- Plan reassessment requests from 27 August 2026
- Claim-date and record-kind retention boundaries
- Current plan, support, and pricing continuity
- Later claims and payment administration changes
- Later provider-registration changes
Team review question
Ask whether NDIS teams need a commencement-date, procedure-owner, record-retention, claims, and staged-change monitoring register.
Usage boundary
This update reflects Federal Register and NDIA material checked on 23 September 2026. It distinguishes provisions that commenced on 27 August from later stages. Section 45B applies only to claims made on or after 27 August and only to record kinds prescribed by NDIS Rules that relate to the claim or claimed support; the provider's seven-year default runs from the claim date and may be shortened by the Rules. It is not a seven-year rule for every NDIS document. The plan-reassessment 90-day period follows NDIA receipt of the required form and information and is separate from the 90-day claim-submission limit commencing on 1 December. The support-budget change is participant-specific, includes published exclusions, and is not a CaresLink funding calculation or review outcome. CaresLink does not determine whether a record, request, plan or support meets legal or funding requirements or provide legal, regulatory, claiming, pricing, registration or financial advice.