PWDA Signs Joint Statement on New NDIS Funding Periods

Joint Statement on New NDIS Funding Periods – from Every Australian Counts and Disability Rights Organisations

Wednesday 9 July 2025

From 19 May 2025, the NDIS introduced major changes to how funding is delivered in new and reassessed plans. Instead of receiving their full budget upfront, participants’ funding will now be released for claiming in installments called ‘funding periods’.

These apply to most supports, with money usually released for claiming every three months – or shorter for those deemed ‘high risk’. Home and living supports will typically be released monthly. One-off items like assistive technology or home modifications will still be fully available for claiming at the start of the plan.

A Quiet Shift with Big Impacts

This change was introduced with little clear or accessible communication. Many participants and their supporters were left feeling confused, anxious, and unprepared. 

The policy was also introduced contrary to the advice provided by many representative organisations and advocates, who consistently raised concerns about its potential impact on participants’ autonomy, safety and wellbeing and who didn’t support short funding intervals.

As organisations committed to the rights of people with disability, we’re deeply concerned about the impact on choice, control, and safety.

A Step Backwards

The NDIS was designed to give people with disability control and timely access to the supports they need. Introducing rigid funding periods undermines that. Life doesn’t follow a neat timetable, needs change suddenly, and the scheme must be flexible enough to respond.

The new approach also assumes that participants only need and can access services consistently and predictably within each funding period. But that’s not the reality for many people. Service availability is often irregular, disrupted by waitlists, workforce shortages, cancellations, or the need to front-load supports at key times, especially for those in rural and regional areas. This mismatch between funding structure and service availability risks leaving people without the support they need, when they need it.

New framework plans will take up to 5 years to roll out to all participants and over this time they will need to source allied health reports which often require participants to draw down earlier in the plan.  

Furthermore, we are concerned that the funding intervals do not take into account the differing number of Saturdays / Sundays in a given month, and public holidays in each state and territory.

Participants may now face shortfalls in one funding period, even if their overall plan covers their needs. Providers may be forced to delay services. Self-managers will face a more complex and less flexible system.

A Lack of Transparency

Participants were not notified by the NDIA before the changes occurred. Many still don’t know the changes have started. The lack of accessible information is fuelling confusion and distress.

People should be clearly and promptly informed before major changes are made to a system that directly affects their lives.

We’re asking for

• 12 month plan funding periods as the default, with participants given shorter funding periods where they prefer or where there is a history of inappropriate overspending.
• Processes must allow timely responses to changing needs and risk.
• Transparent and accessible process for participants to provide feedback to the Agency, with clear mechanisms to track how the feedback is being acknowledged, considered, and acted upon.
• Commitment to clear, accessible information for all participants before any further changes occur.

Putting People First

For people who rely on the NDIS every day, delays or disruptions can mean going without critical supports and enduring added stress.

Confusing rules and reduced flexibility take us further from the scheme’s original purpose: empowering people with disability to thrive.

Every Australian Counts and our fellow disability rights organisations stand together in demanding urgent improvements to how these changes are communicated and delivered. Reforms that reduce choice and control and that put participants at harm are not acceptable.

Organisations Supporting:

MEDIA CONTACT

media@pwd.org.au

0491 034 479

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