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The NDIS Review recommended a different approach to planning to deliver better and fairer outcomes for NDIS participants.   

This included the development of a new way to gather information about the support people need to inform their NDIS Budget. 

The Review said that this approach will be better and fairer for participants and their families, because they will:  

• no longer need to source their own reports and provide evidence that they need a range of supports, which imposes costs and time burdens   
• have more equitable and fair budgets, reflecting individual support needs   
• have more flexibility in their plan to determine their preferred support arrangements.   

The NDIA is working to design and test a new way of gathering information about the support people with disability need and to set their NDIS budgets.  

Today the NDIA has released: 

• an approach to market (via a Request for Tender) for support need assessment tools for adults (16 years and over) 
• an industry consultation process (via a Request for Information) about how best to understand support needs for children and specific kinds of support funded by the NDIS. 

These processes will identify the best ways of collecting information about the support needs of people with disability in the context of their lives, to help develop an NDIS budget for them.  

The NDIA understands the new ways of gathering information will significantly change participants’ experience and we will continue to talk with and listen to the disability community every step of the way. 

As recommended in the Review, the transition may take 5 years to ensure a smooth process for participants.   

This is the first step in designing and testing the new way of collecting the right information to develop a person’s NDIS budget. This year we will work to design and test this new approach with people with disability and at the end of the year will gradually start working with participants to develop their NDIS budgets using this new approach.  

We will start gradually to make sure the new approach works well for participants, and to continue to learn and improve how to do this well.  

For most participants, they will continue to have their plans developed using the current process for some time to come. It will take five years for all participants to have their NDIS budgets developed in this new way. 

In December 2024, the Government announced $280 million in funding for the NDIA to develop a more consistent approach to understanding participants’ needs for NDIS supports.  

The approach to market documents are available on the AusTender website .

The latest NDIS Quarterly Report highlights the positive results of NDIS reform to better support all participants, as well as ensure the Scheme’s sustainability for generations to come.

The NDIS Quarterly Report (31 December 2024) shows the NDIS is supporting more participants than ever before.

More than 692,000 Australians are receiving disability-related supports from the NDIS, with more than 19,000 new participants joining the Scheme during this quarter.

The Report also shows reforms and legislative changes are making the NDIS stronger as well as a continued and encouraging trend of stabilisation for Scheme cost growth.

Total Scheme expenses for the 6 months to December 2024 of $22.9 billion, which is $390 million below expectations in the June 2024 projections.

These reforms are expected to reduce projected Scheme expenses by $19.3 billion over the four years to 30 June 2028.

The growth rate of the Scheme has also decreased to 11.9% year-on-year from 18.9% in 2023-24.

The Agency is confident that we will deliver the 8% growth target by 2026-27. 

To date the stabilisation of cost growth has primarily been achieved through reducing plan inflation and reducing the risk of overspending of plan budgets.  

NDIA CEO Rebecca Falkingham said the NDIS is a key part of the Australian community, reflecting our values of equity and a fair go for everyone.

“We are continuing our work with people with disability to ensure the NDIS is delivering the best outcomes possible for participants, while improving the sustainability of the world leading Scheme.

“We know there is more work to do to further strengthen the NDIS – we are absolutely committed to continuing to do this in partnership with the disability community.”

The transformational reforms the NDIS needs are being made by listening and responding to the voices of people with disability and the disability community – over 70 co-design sessions with 620+ participants and members of the disability community, and over 30 targeted consultations with 90+ external stakeholders are already helping to shape these improvements.

Highlights this quarter relating to improved participant outcomes include:

• 80% of participants aged 15 and over who have been in the NDIS for over 2 years report having greater choice and control in their lives, up from 67% at entry to the Scheme.
• 43% of participants who have been in the NDIS for at least 2 years reporting increased community and social participation since joining, compared to 35% at baseline.
• Participation in work has more than doubled, growing from 10% to 23% for participants aged 15 to 24 years
• Of the new participants: 9.7% identified as First Nations peoples; 7% identified as being from a culturally and linguistically diverse community; and 2% were living in remote and very remote areas.

The NDIA has also implemented several initiatives and process improvements to improve the participant experience, including:

• Adding more than 800 staff to the frontline service delivery team over the past two quarters, reducing waiting times and improving service access – particularly for participants seeking changes to their NDIS plan.
• More than 15,000 participants have been supported to transition to safer providers.

Key highlights this quarter also include:

• The co-developed inaugural NDIS First Nations Strategy, which was publicly released in mid-January 2025, to ensure First Nations people living with disability receive the culturally safe and accessible support they need through the Scheme.
• Additional Government funding of $280 million to develop a dedicated workforce for strengths-based assessments creating a fairer and more consistent approach to understanding participant’s needs for NDIS supports in developing their plans
• An additional $4.527 million over 2 years to create an early childhood pathway for children under 9, focusing on best practices and early intervention.
• Almost $40 million in grants over 2 years to 69 disability organisations to provide community-based self-advocacy and peer support programs.
• The Crack Down on Fraud program received an additional $110.4 million in November 2024 to enhance systems to prevent misuse of funds.
• The National Contact Centre (NCC) commenced a pilot program to improve identity verification.

View the Quarterly Reports here.

We are aware of recent fraudulent SMS and emails targeting some NDIS participants.

These participants received communication containing a malicious link and request to update or confirm personal details in myGov.

The link directed participants to a fake webpage that looked just like myGov.

We will never ask you to click a link through email, text message or direct message on social media.

We want to help participants learn more about scams and fraud, especially how to know it, spot it and report it.

Understanding what scams are will support participants to protect their plans. 

Be suspicious of unexpected contact or unsolicited requests for your NDIS details.

It is recommended you always log into myGov through the Australian Government myGov app or by accessing my.gov.au in your trusted web browser.

We are continuing to work with participants, their nominees and providers to make improvements to how we detect, prevent and respond to fraud in the NDIS.  

We are supporting participants who may have clicked the malicious link.

If you think you may have been targeted please call the NDIS fraud reporting and scams helpline on 1800 650 717.