10/01/2026
This is a great summary by The Growing Space of an article in The Saturday Paper, reviewing recent changes made by the NDIS.
If you have had a plan review/reassessment since May 2025 and received less funding for supports, you are not alone.
According to the article approximately one-third of people who have been reviewed have received approximately 22.5% less funding.
Please take the time to have a read 🪷
🧾 Big Cuts to a third of NDIS Plans
This is an easy version of a newspaper story "One third of reassessed NDIS plans see cuts to funding" by Rick Morton in today's Saturday Paper
📝 Changes to Disability Support Plans
👥 Many people in the National Disability Insurance Scheme had their support cut.
📅 This started in May last year.
📉 About 1 in 3 people less money in their NDIS plans.
📊 On average, people lost 22.5 (about a quarter) percent of their support dollars.
📜 This happened because of new rules called funding periods.
💰 People now get their money in parts, not all at once.
⚖️ This means less money and less choice for people.
🔎 How the New Rules Work
🏛️ In 2024, a new law was made.
🗣️ People were told funding periods would only be used for high-risk cases.
🔁 But now, almost all new and changed plans use funding periods.
📈 Since May last year, 104,964 people got this new plan.
🆕 33,750 of these people were new to the scheme.
✂️ 21,056 people had their money cut.
📣 The agency says almost 50,000 people got more money.
💸 Some of the plans with more got it because of inflation.
🤔 Why the Changes Happened
💼 The government wants to save money.
🚫 They want to stop fraud and waste.
💵 They hope to save billions of dollars in 10 years.
⚙️ New laws in 2024 gave the agency more power.
🧾 One new law lets the agency cut support without a new check or reassessment.
⚠️ Some people worry this could hurt people.
🧪 New Assessments and Tools
🗓️ From July, everyone will need a Support Needs Assessment.
🎓 This is a set of questions made by the University of Melbourne and the Centre for Disability Studies.
🧩 It is called I-CAN version 6.
💻 The answers go into a computer program.
🧮 The computer decides the new plan funding dollars.
🩺 People cannot use reports from their own doctors.
⏱️ The agency says this saves time and money.
⚖️ But some people say it is not fair.
🧭 Appealing Decisions
🔄 Right now, people can ask for a review if they do not like their plan funding.
⚖️ They can also go to a special place called the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) to ask.
🏆 Many people win more support this way.
🚫 But the agency often does not follow the ART's orders.
🔁 From July, people can only get another assessment with the same tool.
🔒 This makes it hard to change a funding decision.
⏭️ More Changes Coming
📉 The government wants to slow down the cost of the NDIS.
📈 They want costs to only grow by 5 or 6 percent each year.
👶 They are moving some children with mild autism to a new program called Thriving Kids.
🚀 This program starts in July.
🚪 Fewer children will join the main scheme after July 2027.
🔍 The agency is checking more people to see if they can stay in the scheme.
⚖️ About half of these checks end with people not being in the NDIS anymore.
🔮 What Happens Next
🧱 The government is still making new rules.
❓ People do not know all the details yet.
😟 Some people worry about losing support.
🧑⚖️ Lawyers and advocates say many changes are happening fast.
💬 The government says these changes will save money.
⚠️ Make it Easy can make mistakes. Check important info
📘 Hard words:
• 👤 participant - A person who takes part in something.
• 🔁 reassessed - Checked again.
• 📦 support packages - Help plans with money and services.
• 💬 controversial - Causing disagreement.
• 📜 legislation - A law or set of laws.
• 🧍 vulnerable - Easily hurt or at risk.
• 🕵️♂️ provider fraud - When a helper cheats for money.
• 📈 indexation - Changing money for price rises.
• 💸 inflation - When prices go up.
• 📝 mandate - To make something required.
• 🚨 sanction - A rule to punish bad actions.
• 🗣️ advocate - A person who speaks up for others.
• 🗒️ memorandum - A short written note.
• 📄 provision - A rule or part of a law.
• ✏️ amendments - Changes to a law or rule.
• ✅ mandatory - Must be done.
• 🧪 assessment - A test or check.
• 🤖 algorithm - A set of steps for a computer.
• ⚖️ inequity - Not fair.
• 🏛️ tribunal - A special court.
• ✔️ substantive - Important or real.
• 🧩 elaborate - To give more details.
• 🚫 disregarded - Did not follow.
• 🤝 yield - To give in or agree.
• 🚀 initiated - Started.
• 📄 provision - A rule or part of a law.
• 📌 obligation - Something you must do.
• 🧱 framework - A set of rules or ideas.
• 💬 consultation - A meeting to talk about something.
• 🧾 exposure draft - A first version of a rule.
• 💰 fiscal - About money or budgets.
• 🐢 moderate - To slow down or control.
• 💡 initiative - A new plan or action.
• 🎯 eligibility - If you can get something.
• ❌ revoke - To take away.
• 🏛️ parliamentary - About the government.
• 🧭 mainstream - The usual or normal way.
• 📊 evaluation - A check to see how something works.
• ⬇️ nadir - The lowest point.
✨ EasySnap with Make it easy! www.MakeItEasy.com.au
pic desc: a screenshot of the article described above with a headshot on Minister Mark Butler.
