Last Updated on 14/08/2026 by Daniel G. Taylor
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Turning 65 doesn’t switch off your NDIS support. That rule hasn’t moved. The system on the other side of the decision has moved, though, and so has the financial picture behind it.
Join the NDIS before your 65th birthday, and you can stay for life. The choice in front of you now still looks different than it did a year ago.
Key Takeaways
- Turning 65 does not automatically change your NDIS support; your plan and providers remain the same unless you enter residential aged care or start permanent home care after turning 65.
- Eligibility for NDIS support remains unchanged; apply before 65 for lifetime coverage, or else you’re directed to the aged care system through My Aged Care.
- Home Care Packages have been replaced by the Support at Home program, which has new funding classifications and government funding coming for clinical care and personal assistance in the future.
- Weighing your NDIS plan against aged care involves considering assessed needs versus income and assets; planning ahead will help you make informed decisions.
- Ensure you confirm your NDIS participation status before age 65, review funding against recent reforms, and consider a My Aged Care assessment if moving to aged care.
Table of Contents
What Happens to Your NDIS Plan When You Turn 65
Nothing happens automatically. Your plan continues. Your providers stay the same, and you keep the choice and control the NDIS was built on. Your birth certificate doesn’t trigger a reassessment, and no letter arrives demanding you reapply.
Two events end that continuity. The first is moving permanently into residential aged care. The second is starting permanent home care for the first time after you turn 65. Either one closes your NDIS plan for good, and no internal review can reopen it. Short of those two triggers, the scheme keeps funding you exactly as it did the week before your birthday.
The Rule That Hasn’t Changed
Eligibility still runs on one clean line. Apply before 65, and you’re covered for life. Apply after 65, and the NDIS door stays shut, redirecting you toward the aged care system through My Aged Care instead. The NDIS Act sets that threshold, and none of 2026’s reforms have touched it.
What’s different is what waits on the other side. That threshold now leads somewhere new, whether you’re choosing to leave the NDIS or applying fresh past 65.
What Changed When Home Care Packages Disappeared
Home Care Packages no longer exist. The Support at Home program replaced them on 1 November 2025, and the shift runs deeper than a rebrand.
The old four-level package system is gone. Eight funding classifications, tied to assessed need rather than a fixed tier, replaced it. Funding now arrives quarterly instead of annually, and each quarter’s budget loses a 10% care management fee. The government now fully funds clinical care — things like nursing and wound care — regardless of income. Personal care follows on 1 October 2026. From that date, showering, dressing and continence support move to full government funding too, and the old co-contribution disappears. Government price caps on individual services haven’t landed yet, and no new date has been set.
The NDIS and Support at Home are structured quite differently, which keeps the comparison confusing for a lot of families. An NDIS plan is generally built around a person’s individual goals and support needs, while Support at Home runs on set funding tiers and contribution arrangements, so it’s often hard to work out what’s actually available, what it costs, and how much choice a person will have under each system. “We help people look beyond the funding labels,” says Shannon Richards, SALT Support Coordinator, “and focus on which option gives them the right support, flexibility and independence.”
Weighing NDIS Against Aged Care in 2026
The comparison itself hasn’t flipped, but the numbers behind it have shifted on both sides. Aged care remains means-tested; your income and assets shape what you contribute. The NDIS still funds purely on assessed need. Nothing about it is means-tested.
That said, “purely on need” carries more asterisks in 2026 than it used to. The federal government handed down a reform package alongside the 2026-27 Budget. That package targets roughly 160,000 fewer participants across the scheme over four years. It also targets an average cut to plan funding near $5,000 over two years. None of that changes your right to stay on the NDIS past 65. But the plan you’re comparing against aged care may itself be worth less than it once was. Check it closely at your next review rather than assuming last year’s budget still holds.
Anyone weighing Supported Independent Living as part of this decision should know one more thing. Registered SIL providers now face mandatory registration with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission from 1 July 2026. It’s part of the same broader push toward tighter provider oversight across the scheme.
“SALT’s view is simple: stay with the NDIS if it’s still working for you,” says Greg Smith, COO of The SALT Foundation. The NDIS generally offers more choice and flexibility in choosing providers, support workers and managing a plan, he notes, though aged care can still hold real value — the right choice comes down to whichever option delivers the support, choice and control a person actually needs.
Making the Decision
No universal answer exists here, and anyone offering one is skipping the actual work. Complex or long-term disability support needs tend to favour staying on the NDIS. Self-management and provider choice both remain broader there than anything Support at Home currently offers. Some needs lean more toward straightforward personal care and home help. Those needs sometimes suit the aged care system just as well, especially now that clinical and personal care costs are moving toward full government funding.
Either path benefits from planning before the birthday arrives, not after.
People often leave this decision until they’re under pressure to look at their options, says Catherine, a SALT Support Worker, which leaves less time to understand what’s available and put the right supports in place. “It’s much easier to make a good decision when you start the conversation early,” she says, “rather than having to make a rushed choice.”
Action Steps
- Confirm whether you joined the NDIS before turning 65. This determines whether you have a genuine choice or a redirected pathway.
- Review your plan’s funding against the 2026-27 reforms at your next scheduled review. Don’t assume prior figures still apply.
- Considering a move to aged care? Request a My Aged Care assessment early. Support at Home’s quarterly budget structure takes time to settle into.
- Confirm your SIL provider’s registration status ahead of the 1 July 2026 requirement, if Supported Independent Living is part of your plan.
- Book an NDIS Readiness conversation with The SALT Foundation for a second opinion before you lock in a decision either way.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, but only if you became a participant before your 65th birthday. Applying fresh after 65 redirects you to the aged care system instead.
Nothing changes automatically. Your plan, providers and funding continue as before. That only changes if you move into permanent residential aged care or start permanent home care after that date.
The main pathway is Support at Home, the aged care program that replaced Home Care Packages in November 2025. My Aged Care assessments and Commonwealth-funded aged care services sit alongside it.
Request an assessment through My Aged Care. It determines your funding classification under Support at Home. Leaving the NDIS for aged care is generally a one-way move, so plan the timing carefully.
Yes, through the aged care system rather than the NDIS. Support at Home now fully funds clinical care, with personal care following from October 2026.
Conclusion: The Choice Still Belongs to You
Sixty-five marks a decision point, not a deadline forced on you. The NDIS still won’t end your plan the moment you cross that birthday. The choice to stay, or to move toward aged care, remains yours on your own timeline. What’s changed is the system waiting on the other side, and the funding picture shaping both options. Start the comparison early. Ask the people who see this transition daily, and let your actual support needs drive the decision, not the calendar.
Related Reading
- What Is Disability?
- NDIS Meaning Explained: What You Need to Know
- How Do I Apply for NDIS Support for Loved Ones
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. 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.