What a reassessment is
A plan reassessment used to be called a plan review. The NDIA looks again at your goals, circumstances and support needs, using the same reasonable and necessary criteria as when your first plan was made. At the end it either varies your current plan or approves a new plan.
It is different from an internal review, which is when you ask the NDIA to look again at a decision you disagree with.
Scheduled reassessments
Every plan has a reassessment date. The NDIA must complete a reassessment before that date, even if you do not need any changes. It will check in with you beforehand to talk about how your plan has worked and what might need to change. For scheduled reassessments during the 2026 funding reset, the NDIA contacts participants 2 to 3 months ahead.
If your plan is working well, the NDIA may instead move your reassessment date later and adjust the funding to cover the extra time. This is called a plan continuation.
Unscheduled reassessments: the rules since 27 August 2026
- Who can ask: you, your plan nominee, or for a child, the person who acts for them. Support coordinators and providers can help you prepare, but cannot make the request
- When: there must be a significant and ongoing change in your support needs, because of a change in your functional capacity, or in your living, education, work or informal support arrangements
- The change can be expected or foreseeable, as long as it is significant and ongoing
- How: use the plan reassessment request form and include evidence
- Timeframe: the NDIA has 90 days to decide whether to vary your plan, reassess it, or not reassess it. If it has not decided within 90 days, it is treated as a decision not to reassess, and you can ask for a review
Variation or reassessment?
Not every change needs a reassessment. A plan variation handles smaller changes to your current plan, such as changing how your funding is managed, fixing a mistake, adding short term crisis or emergency support, or adding support quickly so you do not miss a job opportunity.
A reassessment is for ongoing changes that mean your plan no longer fits. If you are in a crisis or have experienced fraud, ask the NDIA about a variation.
What changes in 2026 and 2027
- From 1 October 2026: the funding reset, 50% off social, economic and community participation and 10% off improved daily living skills, is applied when a plan is created or reassessed
- From 1 February 2027: when a plan reaches its reassessment date a renewed plan is created, unspent funds do not roll over, and the reset applies to renewals too
- From 1 April 2027: participants start moving to new framework plans. Once the NDIA tells you that you are moving, it no longer reassesses your old framework plan, and prepares a new framework plan instead
How to prepare
- Keep a simple diary of changes in your needs, with dates and examples
- Ask your therapists for progress reports that link to your goals
- Look at what you actually used in your plan, and why any funding was not spent, such as not finding a provider
- Update your goals before the meeting
- Bring someone who knows you well, and ask about anything you do not understand