Last Updated on 16 minutes ago by Daniel G. Taylor
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) remains the largest social program outside the Age Pension — and the 2026 Federal Budget leaves it standing, growing, and now pointed more deliberately toward the people it was always meant to serve.
The budget brings change. Significant change, in some areas.
At the SALT Foundation, we’ve read the papers. We’ve spoken with our team. And we want you to hear from us first.
“We’re committed to staying up to date with the coming changes so that we can provide informed expert guidance and continue to advocate for you,” said Greg Smith, SALT Foundation Chief Operating Officer. “While the changes are real and will impact many, we are reminded that we live in one of the most blessed countries in the world.”
Key Takeaways
- The 2026 Federal Budget maintains the NDIS while aiming for more efficient funding allocation, projecting a $37.8 billion reduction in payment growth over four years.
- New functional capacity assessments will focus on daily functioning rather than diagnostic categories, promoting fairness in access decisions.
- Funding for social and community participation will decrease from $31,000 to $26,000 per participant over two years, emphasizing the prioritization of support needs.
- The Inclusive Communities Fund receives $200 million to foster genuine community engagement for participants, ensuring substantial investment in their social inclusion.
- SALT Foundation remains committed to navigating NDIS changes, offering guidance and support to clients as reforms roll out gradually.
Table of contents
- What the 2026 Budget Means for NDIS Participants
- Impact on NDIS Providers and Support Coordinators
- A New Investment: The Inclusive Communities Fund
- Key Dates: When Do These Changes Start?
- The Thriving Kids Program: Support Outside the NDIS
- FAQs: Your 2026 Budget Questions Answered
- Stay Informed. Stay Supported.
- Media Contact
What the 2026 Budget Means for NDIS Participants
The government projects $37.8 billion in reduced NDIS payment growth over the next four years.
That figure sounds alarming. Here is what it actually means.
The NDIS will still grow every single year. It will remain a multi-billion-dollar program. The government describes the change not as a cut, but as a course correction — returning the scheme to its original purpose: supporting Australians with permanent and significant disability.
Functional capacity assessments are coming.
The budget allocates $19.2 million to establish a Technical Advisory Group that will design a standardised, evidence-based assessment of functional capacity. Participation by community organisations in consultation is funded.
What does this mean for your clients? Access decisions will shift from diagnostic categories toward how a person functions day-to-day. Assessments will become more consistent — and, over time, more equitable.
Plan reassessments are tightening.
Unscheduled reassessments have driven much of the scheme’s cost blowout — the average reassessment delivers a 20 per cent plan increase. New criteria will tighten when reassessments happen and what they can change. Budgets for social, civic and community participation are being reset.
What the Participation Budget Reset Means for You
The numbers here deserve your attention. Minister Butler confirmed before the budget that the current average budget per participant for social and community participation will decrease from $31,000 to $26,000 over the next two years. The exact reduction in each plan will depend on individual spending patterns.
Scaled back does not mean cut. Social and community participation support continues for most participants — but at a lower average level than many have been receiving.
What it does mean is that priorities matter more than they did before. If your social and community participation allocation decreases at your next plan reassessment, you’ll face decisions about how to concentrate that funding where it delivers the most value in your life.
Ask yourself: which activities build genuine connection, capacity, and confidence? Which ones are habit rather than purpose? The answers to those questions should drive how you spend a tighter allocation.
SALT Foundation’s support coordinators across Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula can help you think through these decisions clearly — before your next review, not after.
New Framework Planning arrives in April 2027.
This is the major structural shift. From April 2027, planning will operate under a new framework designed to deliver more consistent, more sustainable plans. Extensive consultation precedes it. The government has committed time and money to getting this right.
The reassurance here is genuine: these changes are gradual, consultative, and long-telegraphed. Panic helps no one. Preparation does.
“We acknowledge that there is some uncertainty regarding the upcoming changes,” Greg Smith said. “At the heart of what we do, our commitment to walk alongside participants to bring hope and create change for the better remains unchanged. We will continue to advocate for you and be here to navigate changes with you.”
Impact on NDIS Providers and Support Coordinators
You carry the load. You know that. The budget recognises it — in both its investments and its reforms.
Provider commissioning is changing.
The NDIA will directly commission plan management, support coordination, and home and living supports for Supported Independent Living participants. This aims to stabilise provider viability and improve outcomes where the market has underdelivered.
Differentiated pricing arrives for some supports delivered by unregistered providers. Coordinators, watch for how this reshapes your referral options.
Fraud prevention gets $821.2 million.
Mandatory provider registration expands. A new enrolment system adds payment oversight. The Fraud Fusion Taskforce continues. The NDIA gains stronger investigative powers.
This is good news for participants and for legitimate providers. Fraud drains the scheme. It damages trust. It erodes the social licence that makes the NDIS possible.
The SALT Foundation is all over these changes.
Our team in Melbourne and across the Mornington Peninsula tracks every update from the NDIA and from Canberra. We attend sector briefings. We read the detail. We translate it into plain language for the coordinators and participants who rely on us.
A New Investment: The Inclusive Communities Fund
The budget invests $200 million over three years to establish an Inclusive Communities Fund.
Community organisations will receive funding to rebuild genuine participation activities — activities that keep participants connected, contributing, and living full lives.
At the SALT Foundation, genuine inclusion is the heartbeat of everything we do. Our activity centres — at The Well in Heidelberg West and Asha House in Frankston — exist precisely because participation matters.
We will pursue every opportunity this fund creates.
Key Dates: When Do These Changes Start?
Most changes are gradual. Here are the key milestones to hold in your mind:
- May 2026 – ongoing: Fraud Fusion Taskforce, mandatory registration, differentiated pricing
- 2026–27 financial year: NDIA direct commissioning ($49.4 million)
- 2026–27 financial year: Technical Advisory Group established, community consultation begins
- Early 2027: Tighter reassessment criteria, participation budgets reset
- 1 April 2027: New Framework Planning goes live — the major milestone
The lead time matters. It means you have months — not weeks — to prepare your clients, your referral networks, and your own practice.
The Thriving Kids Program: Support Outside the NDIS
Not every child with developmental delay or autism needs the NDIS.
The budget invests $2 billion in Thriving Kids — matched by states and territories — for children aged eight and under with low to moderate support needs.
Thriving Kids delivers support where children already are: in schools, in childcare centres, in the community. Services reach families without requiring NDIS access.
The government has also provisioned a further $3 billion over five years for broader Foundational Supports outside the NDIS, to be matched by states and territories.
For coordinators: this is the scheme’s long-term direction — the right support, in the right setting, at the right time, whether that’s the NDIS or something else.
FAQs: Your 2026 Budget Questions Answered
For most participants, yes. Plans currently in place are not automatically changed by this budget. The new framework doesn’t take full effect until April 2027, and the government has committed to extensive consultation before then.
If your plan comes up for review before then, the existing NDIS planning rules still apply. Your support coordinator — or the SALT Foundation team — can walk you through what to expect.
A functional capacity assessment examines how a disability affects your day-to-day life: your ability to move, communicate, care for yourself, manage tasks, and participate in the community.
The government is designing a standardised assessment tool. It doesn’t yet exist. Community consultation, led by Disability Representative Organisations, shapes its development. The SALT Foundation will communicate updates as they emerge.
We stay current so you don’t have to start from scratch.
Our support coordinators across Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula monitor every NDIA update, every piece of new guidance, and every policy shift. We translate complexity into clarity.
We offer calm, expert navigation — in person, by phone on 1300 777 258, and by email at support@thesaltfoundation.org.au — for participants, for families, and for the support coordinators who refer to us.
Stay Informed. Stay Supported.
These changes don’t happen all at once. The SALT Foundation walks with you through every step.
Partner with a provider that stays ahead of the curve. Contact the SALT Foundation to secure your NDIS journey today.
Media Contact
For media comment on the 2026 Federal Budget NDIS changes:
Name: Greg Smith
Title: Chief Operating Officer
Phone: 0488 071 103
Email: greg@thesaltfoundtion.org.au
Website: thesaltfoundation.org.au
Daniel G. Taylor has been writing about the NDIS for six years. His focus has been on mental health and psychosocial disabilities as he lives with bipolar disorder I. He’s been a freelance writer for 32 years and lives across the road from a surf beach in Adelaide. He’s the author of How to Master Bipolar Disorder for Life and a contributor to Mastering Bipolar Disorder (Allen & Unwin) and he’s a mental health speaker. In May 2026, he celebrated 25 years without a major manic or depressive episode.