Where the name comes from
The Getting the NDIS Back on Track changes in 2024 created two kinds of plan in the NDIS Act. A new framework plan is prepared under one set of rules, and an old framework plan is prepared under the other set, which is essentially how plans have been made all along.
The NDIA now uses the name in its guidelines: all current plans are called old framework plans, and it will keep making them until every participant has moved to the new framework. The word old does not mean your plan is out of date or about to stop.
What is in an old framework plan
Every plan has a statement of your goals and aspirations, written in your words, and a statement of participant supports. Plans approved since 3 October 2024 organise the funding in three layers:
- A total funding amount, shown in your plan as your total budget amount
- Funding component amounts for a support or group of supports, described with support categories and marked as flexible or stated
- Funding periods, usually 3 months, that release part of your funding at a time. Unspent money rolls over to the next period in the same plan, but not into a new plan
How long it lasts
An old framework plan does not expire. It stays in effect until a new plan is approved or you leave the NDIS, even if the reassessment date passes. If your needs are stable, the NDIA's guideline says a plan will generally last 5 years if you are 9 or older and 2 years if you are younger than 9.
Once the NDIA gives you written notice that you are to have new framework plans, the Act says it must not reassess your old framework plan. Instead it prepares your first new framework plan.
The 2026 funding reset applies to old framework plans
Support determinations, the legal tool behind the October 2026 funding reset, apply to old framework plans only. When your old framework plan is created or reassessed on or after 1 October 2026, or renewed from 1 February 2027, funding is reduced by 50% for social, economic and community participation and by 10% for improved daily living skills, with some supports excluded.
Your plan then shows two amounts: the reasonable and necessary amount the planner decided, and the amount available to spend. The reset does not apply to new framework plans, so it stops affecting you once you move.
Price rises and old framework plans
Since August 2026 the Minister sets NDIS price limits. When the Minister raises a price limit, the Act requires the Minister to also consider whether to increase the unclaimed funding in old framework plans for the affected supports, so budgets keep pace. Any increase is applied automatically and your plan document does not need to be reissued.
Moving to a new framework plan
From 1 April 2027 the NDIA starts moving participants to new framework plans, gradually, with everyone moved by 31 December 2030. A new framework plan is built from a support needs assessment with a trained NDIS assessor, and has a flexible budget plus a budget for stated supports.
You do not need to apply. The NDIA will contact you before you move. Until then, keep using your old framework plan as normal and keep records of the support you need across a typical week.