23/04/2026
Last night was a long one.
We were up going through Minister Butler's Press Club address, the government's fact sheet, and everything the sector was saying in response. When something this significant lands, we want to understand it ourselves before we say anything to make sure what we're delivering takes all the information into account.
So here's what we can tell you right now and the thing that is getting completely lost in the noise today.
A lot of these changes are not happening tomorrow. Or next month. Or even this year in most cases.
Here's the actual timeline:
Around June 2026: tighter criteria for unscheduled plan reassessments take effect. This means requesting a plan review outside your normal cycle gets harder. If your child has a genuine change in support needs coming, raise it with your Support Coordinator now, before this kicks in.
1 October 2026: social and community participation budgets start being progressively adjusted. If this is a significant part of your child's plan, now is the time to review it and make sure you have solid documentation of what it's delivering.
1 February 2027: tighter assessment of reasonable and necessary supports begins, starting with new entrants.
1 April 2027: new Framework Planning system starts.
July 2027: mandatory provider registration expansion begins.
1 January 2028: the new eligibility rules apply to new applicants. Existing participants are transitioned over time after this date.
1 July 2028: new support coordination function begins.
The two changes landing in 2026 are real and worth preparing for. But the structural changes, the ones people are most frightened about, the eligibility changes, the reassessments under new criteria, that's 2028 territory. You have time. Please use it.
A few other things worth knowing right now:
The NDIS is not being abolished. Children with permanent and significant disability, and children assessed as having substantially reduced functional capacity, remain protected under the scheme. That has not changed.
No diagnosis has been removed. Autism, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, psychosocial disability, all remain eligible. What's changing is that a diagnosis alone will no longer be sufficient. Functional impact will need to be demonstrated.
Thriving Kids is the big piece that isn't getting enough airtime. It's the new program being created for children aged 8 and under with developmental delay or autism who are assessed as having low-to-moderate support needs. From January 2028, this group will be directed to Thriving Kids first, not the NDIS. If your child is in this category and you haven't yet accessed the NDIS, the picture has changed. Please, reach out and seek specific advice before assuming which pathway applies.
And if you're already on the NDIS with a child in this age group, your child will not be automatically removed. Their plan continues under its normal reassessment cycle.
What should your family be doing right now?
Know your plan. Understand which funding categories your child's supports sit in and when your plan is due for review.
Start documenting your child's functional needs now: therapy reports, school documentation, your own written account of what your child's day actually looks like. Don't wait until reassessment to pull this together.
If your child is under 8 with autism or developmental delay, get advice now. The window under current rules is real and it does close.
Don't make decisions based on what you're reading in Facebook groups today. Some of it is accurate. A lot of it isn't. Come to sources you trust.
We've written a full breakdown, every question we've been asked today, answered in plain English. The link is below.
And if you want to talk through what any of this means for your child specifically, not the general picture, your child, our team is here.
On 22 April 2026, the government announced major NDIS reforms. Here's what's actually changing, what isn't, and what families of children with complex needs should do right now.
