New NDIS laws are here: what self-managers and people who self-direct their supports need to know | Choice and control | NDIS | laws
| NDIS Fund Management | Policy and Advocacy | News | Know your rights
| Text only
| Choice and control | NDIS | laws
| NDIS Fund Management | Policy and Advocacy | News | Know your rights
| Text only
The NDIS Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Act 2026 has now passed and that means we need to get our heads around what the changes mean for our community.
Some parts of the new law started on 27 August 2026. Other changes will begin between now and April 2027.
There is a lot in this legislation. For people who self-manage or self-direct their supports, these are some of the most important things to know.
Keeping good records is now even more important
From 27 August 2026, record keeping is a specific legal obligation.
Participants must keep records for 3 years. Nominees must keep them for 5 years. Providers must keep records for 7 years.
The records need to be good enough to show that claims were correct and that the support was actually provided. If records cannot be produced, the NDIA may seek repayment of funding. More detailed rules will set out exactly what records must be kept.
For self-managers, this means keeping things such as invoices, receipts, employment and payroll records, service agreements, and other evidence connected with claims.
From December, you will need to claim within 90 days
This is a big practical change for self-managers.
From 1 December 2026, a claim generally needs to be made within 90 days of the support being provided.
If you sometimes leave claims for several months, it will be important to change that habit.
A good approach will be to claim regularly and keep your records at the same time.
The NDIA has stronger powers to ask for information
The legislation expands the NDIA’s information-gathering and compliance powers.
Participants and providers may be required to provide information when the NDIA asks for it. There can be penalties for failing to provide information in some circumstances.
The NDIA will also be able to suspend a plan where a participant does not respond to a request for information, but only after reasonable attempts have been made to contact them. The legal explainer says this requires at least five contact attempts over an extended period.
For people who self-manage, it will be increasingly important to:
- keep your contact details up to date
- read messages from the NDIA
- respond to formal requests for information. For example, don’t repeatedly ignore phone calls or emails from the NDIA, and keep records and receipt numbers
- ask for help if you do not understand what the NDIA is asking for.
Support determinations can reduce funding for some types of supports
From 1 October 2026, the Minister will be able to make what are called support determinations.
A support determination can reduce funding for certain types or classes of NDIS supports.
Some important supports are excluded from these determinations, including:
- critical supports at home, such as help with eating, drinking, dressing, toileting, cleaning, laundry, nursing, and medication
- home and vehicle modifications
- personal mobility equipment and transport
- some continence and menstruation consumables
- Specialist Disability Accommodation
- high-intensity supports
- complex behaviour supports
- some customised and wearable technology and hearing supports.
There is also a safeguard for people with high support needs who require continuous 24-hour support.
If a support determination affects their plan after a reassessment or renewal, they can apply for a plan variation within 90 days. The NDIA can increase the funding if this is needed to make sure their continuous 24-hour support is maintained.
For people who self-manage or self-direct, this is an important area to watch. A broad determination affecting a type of support could change the amount of funding available, even where a person has built an individual support arrangement around their own needs.
Ministers will also be able to set maximum funding and support limits
A separate set of powers starts from 1 February 2027.
The Minister will be able to make rules setting maximum funding for particular supports or groups of supports.
These rules may also set limits on:
- the intensity of support
- the ratio of workers to participants.
This is especially concerning for people who have high or complex needs.
A broad rule about how much support can be funded, how intensive that support can be, or what worker ratio should apply may not reflect what an individual person actually needs.
Self Manager Hub will be watching closely to see how these powers are used and whether they protect individual assessment, safety, choice, and control.
The test for what is “reasonable and necessary” is changing
From 1 February 2027, the legislation changes the test used to decide which supports the NDIS will fund.
Among other requirements, a support will need to address needs that arise directly from an impairment.
There are changes to plan reassessments
Participants, plan nominees, and child representatives can ask for an unscheduled reassessment when there has been a significant and ongoing change. A support coordinator or any other provider can no longer ask for a plan reassessment on a participant’s behalf.
This can include changes to:
- functional capacity or support needs
- living arrangements
- education or work
- informal supports.
The NDIA will have 90 days to decide whether to reassess the plan. If it does not make a decision within that period, the request is treated as refused.
Plans may be renewed automatically
From February 2027, an old framework plan may automatically renew for another 12 months when it reaches its end date. Unspent funds will no longer rollover into the new plan.
The renewed plan will generally be the same, although one-off funding will not automatically carry across and the Minister will have powers to determine some other changes.
It will be important to check a renewed plan carefully.
Bigger changes to planning are still coming
From 1 April 2027, the Government plans to begin moving people towards new framework planning.
This includes a support needs assessment and a different approach to building NDIS budgets.
Why Self Manager Hub is watching this closely
The legislation gives Government and the NDIA significantly more power over funding, supports, compliance, and how plans operate.
For people who self-manage or self-direct, the key question will be whether the new system continues to protect choice and control, flexibility, and the ability to design supports around our individual lives.
Self Manager Hub will continue to follow these changes closely and explain what they mean as the new rules and policies are developed.
What should I do now?
You do not need to understand every part of the new legislation.
For now, the most useful things you can do are:
- keep good records
- make claims regularly
- check that the NDIA has your correct contact details
- respond to important requests from the NDIA
- keep evidence about why your supports are needed
- stay informed as the new rules are developed.
We will keep updating our community as these changes come into effect.