KEY FACTS — NDIS CHANGES 2026
✅ Announced: 22 April 2026 — NDIS Minister Mark Butler, National Press Club
✅ Community participation cuts: From 1 July 2026
✅ New eligibility criteria: From 2028 — based on functional capacity, not diagnosis
✅ Assessment tool: I-CAN (new functional capacity assessment)
✅ Participants affected: 761,000 Australians
✅ Annual scheme cost: Over $50 billion (2025–26)
✅ New growth target: 2% per year (down from 5–6%)
✅ What to do now: Check myplace.ndis.gov.au — use unspent community participation funding before July 1
Yesterday, NDIS Minister Mark Butler stood at the National Press Club and announced the biggest changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme since it launched.
I want to tell you what was announced — not the political version, not the reassuring government framing, and not the alarm-first disability sector response. Just the facts, and what they mean for the families and participants I work with every day.
What was announced:
From 1 July 2026 — reductions to social and community participation funding begin. This is weeks away.
From 2028 — new eligibility criteria come into effect. The current system, where some people access the NDIS based on a diagnosis from an approved list, will end. Eligibility will instead be based on functional capacity — how much a person’s disability affects their actual daily life. A new assessment tool called I-CAN has been selected for this purpose. The government says it will indicate a “significant reduction in a person’s functional capacity” to qualify for the scheme.
Other changes include a digital payment system for greater oversight of claims, a reduction in the number of organisations that can operate as plan managers, and fewer unscheduled plan reassessments.
The scheme currently supports 760,000 participants — nearly double the 410,000 originally predicted — at a cost of over $50 billion this year. The government’s new growth target is 2% per year, down from the previous 5–6%.
My honest response:
I understand why these changes are happening. A scheme growing at 22% per year in 2022 was not going to continue unchanged. The question of sustainability was always going to arrive.
But understanding why doesn’t make the landing any easier for the people who will feel it first.
The participants I work with in Western Sydney are not statistics in a budget line. They are people with real routines that depend on real support. The reductions to community participation funding starting on 1 July affect plans that exist right now. The new eligibility rules arriving in 2028 will require every participant to demonstrate not just their diagnosis, but its functional impact on their life.
Some of them will be fine. Some of them will not be.
The people I am most concerned about are those with complex or fluctuating conditions — conditions that are not always visible in a structured assessment, conditions that affect daily life in ways that are hard to quantify, conditions that have been consistently underestimated by systems designed around visible, measurable impairment.
A fairer assessment process is only fairer if it sees the whole person. An assessment tool that misses complexity is not more objective. It is less accurate.
What to do before July 1 2026:
If your plan includes social and community participation funding — use it now. Do not leave it sitting unspent when reductions are beginning in weeks.
If your plan review is coming — treat this as the most important review you have ever prepared for. Every therapy report. Every progress note. Every piece of evidence that shows what you need and how your disability affects your daily functioning — not just your diagnosis. That evidence is now more important than it has ever been.
If you are in Western Sydney and you want help working through what this means for your specific plan — call us on 0437 733 744. The conversation is free.
We are a registered NDIS provider. We have been through every change this scheme has produced. We will be here through this one too.
The people who need support will always need someone who shows up.
Q&A
What NDIS changes were announced in April 2026?
On 22 April 2026, NDIS Minister Mark Butler announced major changes to
the National Disability Insurance Scheme at the National Press Club. The
changes include reductions to social and community participation funding
beginning 1 July 2026, and new eligibility criteria based on functional
capacity (not diagnosis) coming into effect from 2028. A new assessment
tool called I-CAN will be used to assess eligibility under the new framework.
When do NDIS community participation funding cuts start?
Reductions to NDIS social and community participation funding begin on
1 July 2026. Participants with unspent community participation funding
should use it before this date.
What is the new NDIS eligibility assessment tool?
The NDIA has selected a tool called I-CAN to assess functional capacity
under the new eligibility framework arriving in 2028. Eligibility will
be based on how significantly a disability affects daily functioning,
not on a formal diagnosis alone.
Will existing NDIS plans be affected by the 2026 changes?
Existing plans may be affected as they come up for review under the new
framework. Participants whose plans include community participation funding
should be aware that allocations may be reduced from July 2026 onwards.
Collecting evidence of functional need before plan reviews is strongly
recommended.
What should NDIS participants in Western Sydney do right now?
Log into myplace.ndis.gov.au and check your community participation funding
balance. Use unspent funds before July 1 2026. Collect all therapy reports
and progress notes before your next plan review. Document how your disability
affects your daily functioning — not just your diagnosis. Contact Kinship
Uniting Services on 0437 733 744 for help understanding what the changes
mean for your specific plan.
— Aishah Shah Director & Care Coordinator | Kinship Uniting Services kinshipunitingservices.com | 0437 733 744 | Colebee, Western Sydney NDIS Registration: 4-GWVHCEY
Sources: NDIS Minister Mark Butler, National Press Club 22 April 2026 | UNSW Sydney analysis