23/04/2026
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆’𝘀 𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗦 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀
If you are a parent of a child with additional needs, today’s NDIS announcement may have landed with a thud.
Many families are already carrying a lot. Therapy. School. Reports. Finances. Big feelings. Uncertainty. The everyday work of raising a child who needs more support than most.
So, when a minister stands up and talks about tightening the NDIS, reducing growth and changing access, it is no surprise that parents feel worried.
Kids First founder, Sonja Walker, has heard and read what the Minister said and has created this quick summary for parents and professionals
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱-𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵
Over the past few weeks, there has been a steady drip of “insider” stories in the media about what today’s speech might include.
It is hard not to wonder whether some of that was allowed to leak out so the public would be a little less shocked when the full announcement came. Whether that was deliberate or simply the usual Canberra way of doing things, it did seem to soften the ground before today’s speech landed.
Even so, hearing it all brought together in one speech was still confronting for many families.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄
𝘛𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺’𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥’𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘵.
What the Minister announced was a clearer picture of where planned changes appear to be heading.
Some parts of the Government’s plan are likely to move sooner, with legislation expected when Parliament returns for the Budget sittings from 12 May 2026.
At this stage, those earlier changes sound more like a crackdown on fraud, payment systems and areas of spending the Government says are out of control, rather than an immediate overhaul of support for most children already on the NDIS.
The bigger changes to eligibility still seem to be further down the track.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼
In plain English, the Government is saying that the NDIS will continue and will still grow, but that it has become:
🔹 too expensive
🔹 too vulnerable to fraud
🔹 too broad in who it supports
The Minister’s message was that the Scheme needs to be tightened so it can keep supporting people with permanent and significant disability into the future.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗰𝗵
The Government is trying to:
🔹 reduce fraud and poor provider behaviour
🔹 slow down NDIS spending growth
🔹 tighten who can access the scheme
🔹 make providers and intermediaries more accountable
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗿
A few changes appear to be on the nearer horizon.
𝟭. 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘂𝗽𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀
The Minister said he intends to introduce legislation in the federal Budget sittings, beginning 12 May 2026.
𝟮. 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗱
The rollout of New Framework Planning (which has been talked about for a while now) has now been pushed back again to 1 April 2027.
𝟯. 𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲
There is an existing reform date already on the public record for mandatory registration from 1 July 2026 for:
🔹 Supported Independent Living providers
🔹 platform providers
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴
The parts of the speech likely to trouble families most are these:
🔹 tighter eligibility
🔹 a stronger focus on functional capacity
🔹 less reliance on diagnosis alone
🔹 more scrutiny of plan spending
🔹 cuts to growth in social and community participation funding
In simple terms, the Government is saying that future access should depend more on how significantly a person’s disability affects everyday life.
The Minister also made it clear that spending on social and community participation is going to be wound back, and that this will have a real impact on participant plans.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲𝗱
This is the part families need to keep in mind.
The speech gave a clear direction, but not all the practical detail.
Some of the biggest changes still need to be worked through, including:
🔹 the new functional capacity access model
🔹 the fine print of future eligibility rules
🔹 broader provider registration changes for higher-risk supports
🔹 the design of the Inclusive Communities Fund
🔹 changes to plan management and support coordination
So while the tone was very clear, many of the details families need are still not settled.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗞𝗶𝗱𝘀?
This is still a very important question.
Thriving Kids was not the focus of today’s speech. It was mentioned briefly, but not explained in a practical, detailed way.
And that is why many families are still uneasy.
There is still clearly a long way to go before parents can feel confident about:
🔹 what supports will sit outside the NDIS
🔹 where they will be available
🔹 when they will be available
🔹 how consistent they will be from one state to another
The official position remains that Thriving Kids has been agreed in principle, with staged rollout dates attached, but it is still being worked through with states and territories.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁
No one wants families to walk away from today thinking:
🔹 “My child is definitely losing their plan now.”
🔹 “Nothing outside the NDIS will be available.”
🔹 “Diagnosis no longer matters at all.”
🔹 “These changes are all settled and final already.”
That would be going further than the speech was actually saying.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗹𝘆
What I'd encourage families to take seriously is the direction in which the NDIS is heading.
The Government is signalling a stronger focus on:
🔹 functional impact, not just diagnosis
🔹 day-to-day disability-related needs
🔹 tighter scrutiny of plans and spending
🔹 clearer evidence about why supports are reasonable and necessary
So, if your child has an upcoming review, reassessment or access request, this is not the time for vague wording or broad statements.
You're likely to need stronger evidence than ever about how your child’s disability affects:
🔹 communication
🔹 learning
🔹 independence
🔹 emotional regulation
🔹 safety
🔹 participation
🔹 everyday family life
𝗔 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗮𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱
Please don't panic.
Stay the course.
🩷 Keep loving your child.
🩷 Keep turning up.
🩷 Keep advocating.
🩷 Keep going to therapy.
🩷 Keep going to school meetings.
🩷 Keep asking sensible questions.
🩷 Keep good records.
🩷 Keep making sure your child’s needs are being described clearly and practically.
All of this still matters enormously.
𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀, 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀
If you are one of the many professionals carrying families through this uncertain period, please hang in there too.
Keep doing what you are doing.
Children still need:
💚 good teaching
💚 good therapy
💚 calm, caring adults
💚 sensible planning
💚 practical support
💚 people who understand what day-to-day life is really like for them
Their need for 'lighthouses' who keep them safe has not changed.
𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗲 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘋𝘐𝘚 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨.
But it is clearly moving into a tighter phase. That likely means:
🔹 harder access for some groups over time
🔹 more emphasis on functional impact
🔹 greater scrutiny of budgets and plan spending
🔹 more pressure on families to provide clear, real-world evidence
For now, the wisest response is not fear.
It is steadiness.
🔹 Stay informed
🔹 Stay connected
🔹 Keep advocating
🔹 Keep supporting your child
🔹 Keep doing the work that matters
𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 - 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 - 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲.
