What the Act is
Its full name is the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No. 1) Act 2024. It amends the NDIS Act 2013 rather than replacing it. Parliament passed it in August 2024, it received Royal Assent on 5 September 2024, and most changes started on 3 October 2024.
It was the first law to put the NDIS Review's recommendations into practice. Many of its changes are frameworks that need NDIS rules to fill in the detail, which is why some are still rolling out in 2026 and beyond.
NDIS supports: what your funding can be spent on
Section 10 of the NDIS Act now defines NDIS supports. From 3 October 2024 participants can only spend funding on supports that are NDIS supports, or on an approved replacement support.
Transitional rules created lists of supports that are NDIS supports, supports that are not, such as everyday living costs, and replacement supports. A participant can ask to use funding on a replacement for an NDIS support where it would give better value, for example a standard item instead of a specialised one.
Plans: total funding amounts and funding periods
Current plans, now called old framework plans, must state a total funding amount and can set amounts for particular supports or groups of supports. Funding is released in funding periods across the plan, so money lasts the whole plan. Since 19 May 2025 most new and reassessed plans usually have 3 month funding periods, while one off supports such as assistive technology can be available when needed.
Spending outside the rules matters more now. The NDIA can change how a plan is managed if a participant is at risk of physical, mental or financial harm, or if funding is not spent in line with the plan.
Access and impairments
The NDIA must now record whether you met the disability requirements, the early intervention requirements or both, and give you a notice of the impairments your access is based on. Plan funding is linked to the impairments in that notice. You can ask for the notice to be varied, and a decision not to vary it is reviewable.
The Act also set out a clearer process for reassessing whether someone remains a participant, including letting participants be assessed by a health professional of their choice.
New framework plans
The Act created new framework plans. Instead of building a plan line by line, the NDIA uses a needs assessment report to set a reasonable and necessary budget, made up of a flexible budget, a budget for stated supports, or both. The detail sits in NDIS rules that need agreement from the states and territories.
After consultation the start was delayed: participants begin moving to new framework planning from 1 April 2027, with everyone moved by 31 December 2030.
Other changes in the Act
- A legislated claims and payments framework setting out what a valid claim needs
- A new process for agreeing Category A NDIS rules with the states and territories, including a way to resolve disagreements
- A requirement to consider co design and include a consultation statement when NDIS legislative instruments are made
- New powers for the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, including conditions on quality auditors who employ someone with a banning order
What came after: the 2026 Act
A second major law, the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Act 2026, became law on 20 August 2026. It builds on the 2024 Act with support determinations and the October 2026 funding reset, tighter rules for unscheduled reassessments, no rollover of unspent funds from February 2027, 90 day claiming, the Minister setting prices, and the kickbacks ban. If you are reading about a 2026 change, it most likely comes from the 2026 Act.