What is in your plan
Under the NDIS Act every plan has two main parts:
- Your statement of goals and aspirations: your goals, plus the context of your life, such as where you live, who supports you and how you take part in the community and work. You prepare it, and the NDIA records it in your words
- Your statement of participant supports: the funding the NDIA has approved, how it is organised, how it is managed, and your plan reassessment date
How the funding is organised
Plans approved since 3 October 2024 show your funding in three layers:
- Total funding amount: everything in your plan, shown as your total budget
- Funding component amounts: the money for a support or group of supports, described using support categories. Funding can be flexible, so you choose how to spend it within that component, or stated, so it can only be used for the support described
- Funding periods: when each part of the money becomes available, most often every 3 months. Unspent money rolls over to the next period in the same plan, but not into a new plan
The 2026 funding reset shows on your plan
Since 1 October 2026, support determinations reduce social, economic and community participation funding by 50% and improved daily living skills funding by 10% when a plan is created or reassessed, and from 1 February 2027 when it is renewed. If a reset has been applied, your plan shows two amounts: the reasonable and necessary amount the planner decided, and the amount available to spend after the reset.
How long a plan lasts
If your needs are stable, the NDIA's guideline says your plan will generally last 5 years if you are 9 or older, and 2 years if you are younger than 9. Shorter plans are used in some situations, for example early intervention, a degenerative condition, a behaviour support plan with restrictive practices, or a big life change coming up.
Your plan does not expire. It stays in effect until a new plan is approved or you leave the NDIS. The NDIA checks in with you during the plan, usually at least once a year.
Getting and using your plan
- The NDIA aims to approve your first plan within 56 days of you becoming a participant
- You get a copy within 7 days of approval, and it appears in the my NDIS app and portal
- Your plan starts on the day it is approved, and the NDIA can only pay for supports delivered after that
- You can ask for a budget breakdown showing how the total was worked out
- If you disagree with the plan, you have 3 months to ask for an internal review
Changing your plan
You can change your goals at any time. For other changes, a plan variation handles smaller changes, such as how funding is managed or short term crisis support. A plan reassessment creates a new plan when your needs or circumstances have changed in a significant and ongoing way. Since 27 August 2026 only you, your plan nominee or, for a child, the child's representative can request one.
From 1 February 2027, when a plan reaches its reassessment date, a renewed plan is created and unspent funds from the old plan do not carry over.
Old framework and new framework plans
Plans made under the current rules are called old framework plans. From 1 April 2027 participants start moving to new framework plans, where your budget is set from a support needs assessment with a trained NDIS assessor, made up of a flexible budget and stated supports. Everyone is due to move by 31 December 2030, and the NDIA will contact you before you change. The 2026 funding reset does not apply to new framework plans.