NDIS Plan Reassessments: Understanding the changes starting on 27 August 2026

If you read this blog before 27/08/2026 at 5.30pm AEST, please note the information below has been updated to include information about two new forms: Plan Reassessment Request Form & Plan Variation Request Form

Following the passage of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Act 2026, new procedures for requesting an unscheduled plan reassessment apply from 27 August 2026.

On 27 August 2026, the NDIA released further guidance, including new Plan Reassessment Request Form and a Plan Variation Request Form, as well as clearer requirements around the evidence participants need to provide.

Here’s what participants, families, Support Coordinators and allied health professionals need to know about the new process and forms:

1. Who can request a plan reassessment has changed

An unscheduled plan reassessment can only be requested by:

• the participant
• the participant’s plan nominee
• for a child, their child representative.

A Support Coordinator, allied health professional, advocate or other provider cannot make the request on the participant’s behalf, unless they also hold one of these formal roles.

Providers can still help participants understand their options, gather evidence and prepare their request. But the request itself must come from the participant, nominee or child representative.

2. There’s now a specific form to use

The NDIA has released a Plan Reassessment Request Form, which must be completed when requesting a significant change outside a regular check-in.

The NDIA says it can only consider a request when it is made using the correct form, includes the required evidence and comes from the participant, nominee or child representative.

There is also now a separate Plan Variation Request Form for participants requesting changes to their existing plan without a full reassessment. Importantly for OTs, this form specifically includes requests relating to assistive technology (AT), home modifications (HM) and vehicle modifications (VM).

3. Evidence needs to be recent

Evidence supporting a plan reassessment must demonstrate a significant change to the participant’s ongoing support needs. This could include assessments, reports or other evidence from treating health professionals, therapists or support workers.

Importantly, the NDIA says evidence should usually be:

• within four months of the reassessment request, and
• completed after the participant’s current plan was approved.

For OTs, this is an important detail when preparing reports or assessments intended to support a reassessment request.

4. The NDIA now has up to 90 days to decide

Previously, the NDIA had 21 days to decide how to respond to a reassessment request. This has increased to 90 days.

Importantly, that is 90 days to decide whether to conduct the reassessment – not necessarily 90 days until the participant receives a new plan.

If the NDIA doesn’t make a decision within 90 days, it is taken to have decided not to conduct the reassessment. This can then be reviewed as a reviewable decision under section 100.

5. There’s a higher threshold for requesting a reassessment

Broadly, there must now be a significant change to the participant’s ongoing disability-related support needs arising from a change to their functional capacity and/or personal or environmental circumstances.

Where functional capacity has changed, additional requirements apply, including that the change is significant and ongoing and has resulted in a substantial reduction in the participant’s ability to perform daily activities.

Changes to personal or environmental circumstances can include significant and ongoing changes to the participant’s living arrangements, education, work or informal supports.

So what might ‘significant and ongoing’ look like?

An example: A change in informal supports

Imagine a participant whose parent has provided substantial informal support for many years.

Scenario A – significant and ongoing

The parent permanently moves into residential aged care and can no longer provide that support. If this significantly changes the participant’s ongoing disability-related support needs, a plan reassessment may be appropriate.

Scenario B – significant, but temporary

Instead, the parent has surgery and can’t provide their usual support for eight weeks. The participant may temporarily need additional assistance, but their parent is expected to recover and resume their caring role.

A full reassessment may not be appropriate. A plan variation may instead be considered to respond to the temporary change.

Reassessment or variation? This distinction matters

Not every change will require a completely new plan, and the release of the two separate request forms makes it even more important to consider what you’re actually asking the NDIA to change.

A reassessment is intended for situations where there has been a significant and ongoing change to the participant’s disability-related support needs and a new plan may be required.

A plan variation allows changes to be made without completing a full reassessment. The new Plan Variation Request Form specifically identifies requests for AT, home modifications and vehicle modifications, alongside other circumstances where a change to the existing plan may be required.

The NDIA may also decide to vary a participant’s plan after receiving a reassessment request if the current plan is mostly working and it determines a full reassessment isn’t necessary.

For OTs, the starting question should therefore be:

Does this participant need a new plan because their ongoing support needs have significantly changed?

Or:

Are we asking for a specific change to the existing plan that may be better addressed through a plan variation?

That distinction will be particularly relevant when supporting participants with AT, HM and VM requests.

What should OTs include in their evidence?

Rather than simply stating that a participant has experienced a ‘change in circumstances’, OT evidence should clearly explain:

• what has changed and when
• whether the change is ongoing
• how disability-related support needs have changed
• how functional capacity and daily activities are affected
• any relevant changes to living, education, work or informal supports
• why the existing plan no longer meets the participant’s needs.

And remember: for a reassessment, the NDIA says evidence should usually be within four months of the request and completed after the current plan was approved.

Before preparing evidence, it’s also worth being clear about which pathway the participant is pursuing. If the request relates to a specific AT, HM or VM change, check whether the Plan Variation Request Form is the more appropriate starting point.

What will the NDIA consider?

When deciding whether to reassess, the NDIA will consider the participant’s current plan and use of supports, the evidence provided, community and mainstream supports, the requested change and how the overall package of NDIS supports relates to their needs and goals.

Participants can continue using their current plan while the NDIA makes its decision.

What happens next?

After considering a reassessment request, there are three possible outcomes. The NDIA may:

• decline the reassessment if the evidence doesn’t demonstrate a significant and ongoing change
• reassess the plan and determine the participant’s NDIS supports, or
• vary the existing plan without completing a full reassessment.

If a new plan is approved following reassessment, the NDIA says it will provide the participant with a copy within seven days. Participants who disagree with a decision can request an internal review.

One final point

The new reassessment process also apply to requests made before 27 August but not yet decided by that date.

As we see how these new processes are applied in practice, OTs will need to become much clearer about which plan change pathway we’re supporting and what evidence is required.

For now, think:

Significant + ongoing change requiring a new plan → consider a plan reassessment.

A specific or more targeted change to the existing plan → consider whether a plan variation is appropriate.

And particularly for OTs working in AT, home modifications and vehicle modifications, the release of the Plan Variation Request Form is one to have on your radar.

Whichever pathway is being considered, make sure you’re working from the latest NDIA guidance and using the correct form.