Understanding the impact of the NDIS funding reset

We knew the NDIS funding reset was coming. We knew the government wanted to bring spending back under control. But knowing something is coming and sitting across from a participant’s family, trying to explain what it means for them, are two very different things.

I’ve spent much of the past week reading legislation, reviewing participant plans, updating report templates for both Verve OT and Verve OT Learning and trying to work out what we can actually do to help people navigate these changes.

And I’ll admit, there have been tears. Mine included.

The new Support Determination commenced on 1 October 2026, introducing a 50% reduction in accessible Social, Economic and Community Participation funding and a 10% reduction in Improved Daily Living for relevant new and reassessed plans. From 1 February 2027, the changes will also begin applying to plan renewals.

And if you’re a paediatric OT thinking Thriving Kids is the only major NDIS change you need to worry about right now, unfortunately there’s more to add to your reading list!

Some important protections we need to understand

One thing that caught my attention when reading the final Support Determination was the exclusions from the 50% community participation funding reset. Certain support subgroups are protected, including eligible high intensity supports and intensive and complex behaviour supports.

I immediately started thinking about the participants we assess and whether their plans accurately reflect the support they require. In fact, I was reviewing one participant’s funding breakdown this week and noticed everything was classified as standard, despite their support needs suggesting that a higher classification may be appropriate.

This participant has epilepsy and seizure management needs, along with behavioural support needs that warrant closer consideration. It made me think about how important it is that we’re not simply documenting a diagnosis or noting that a behaviour support plan exists. We need to explain the complexity of the support required, the risks involved and the evidence supporting our recommendations.

I’ve included sections addressing high intensity and intensive and complex behaviour supports in our Functional Capacity Assessment templates for some time, but these changes make that level of detail even more important.

This isn’t about finding loopholes. It’s about making sure participants receive the correct support classification based on their actual needs.

The safeguard gap that worries me

The new High Support Needs safeguard provides a potential plan variation pathway for certain participants where the funding reset creates a gap in their ability to safely receive disability supports across 24 hours.

On the surface, that sounds reassuring. But eligibility requires participants to already have NDIS-funded disability supports across the full 24-hour period and meet the relevant annual funding threshold.

And this is where I have a real problem. What about participants who need support across 24 hours but aren’t currently funded for support across 24 hours? Perhaps their parents provide overnight care or their partner fills the gaps. These participants can have substantial disability-related support needs yet still fall outside this particular safeguard.

I’m working with someone in exactly this situation.

After years of advocacy, including proceedings at the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART), we finally received confirmation that the NDIA would agree to almost everything we’d recommended. An independent OT had assessed the participant and agreed with almost all our recommendations. It should have been a wonderful outcome.

But when I read the confirmation, my immediate reaction wasn’t relief. It was dread.

This participant attends a day program five days per week and requires support across 24 hours, but doesn’t currently receive NDIS-funded supports for the full 24 hours. Accepting a new plan could mean a 50% reduction in accessible community participation funding, yet the participant wouldn’t qualify for the High Support Needs variation pathway.

Suddenly, I was questioning whether accepting a positive ART outcome might create another significant problem for this participant and her family. How do you explain that to a mother who has already spent years advocating for her daughter?

I had that conversation this week. It was heartbreaking. We’re now examining whether the participant’s support classifications accurately reflect her needs and what other options might be available.

Finding ways to work differently

Alongside these concerns, I’ve been thinking about what we can actually change within our own OT practice.

A 10% reduction in therapy funding doesn’t necessarily mean reducing every appointment by 10%. Perhaps we need to consider the funding available across an entire year rather than assuming the same appointment frequency every week. Could we deliver intervention in blocks, use telehealth where appropriate or incorporate more parent coaching?

Of course, none of this means pretending that less funding won’t affect outcomes. Sometimes it absolutely will, and we need to be upfront about that.

My approach has always been to assess what someone needs first, then make recommendations based on their goals and functional needs. If the available funding doesn’t match those recommendations, we need an honest conversation about what can realistically be achieved.

I’ve also spent the past several weeks overhauling our Functional Capacity Assessment report templates at Verve OT and Verve OT Learning. And when I say working on them, I mean they’ve occupied far more of my evenings than I’d care to admit!

We’ve looked at where we’re repeating information, how recommendations and risks are documented and where we can reduce unnecessary reporting time without compromising clinical reasoning. I’m really pleased with where we’ve landed.

For me, it’s about finding efficiencies that don’t compromise the quality of our assessments. If a participant previously had 15 hours available for a SIL assessment and report and now has 13.5, we need to consider how we can work within that budget while still producing meaningful evidence and recommendations.

The emotional toll of these changes

When I shared the outcome of my ART case with my team, I became emotional. I was supposed to be celebrating a win, but all I could think about was the impact the funding reset could have on this participant and her family.

And it hit me that this is what moral injury can look like. Knowing what someone needs, seeing the potential harm of a decision and feeling powerless to prevent it.

I’ve since spoken with another OT who became emotional while navigating a similar conversation with a participant. I worry about what this means for our profession.

OTs are often the people explaining these changes to participants and families, sometimes before other parts of the support team have fully understood what’s happening. We’re expected to stay informed, interpret complex information and help people make difficult decisions.

We do that because we care, but we also need to recognise the emotional toll. Supervision, psychologically safe workplaces and support for clinicians are becoming increasingly important, particularly when there isn’t an easy solution.

Where to from here?

I don’t want this to read as though there’s nothing positive to take from these changes. The exclusions for certain high intensity and complex supports are important, and there may be participants whose existing plans don’t accurately reflect their support needs.

There are also opportunities to rethink how we deliver Occupational Therapy and make better use of the funding available.

But I remain deeply concerned about participants who need support across 24 hours and fall outside the safeguard because they don’t currently receive funding across the full 24 hours. And I worry about the pressure being placed on OTs trying to help families navigate these decisions.

For now, I’m focusing on what I can influence. Strengthening our assessments, improving our processes, identifying the support needs that may qualify for protection and helping my team navigate these changes as best we can.

I can’t fix every part of what’s happening within the NDIS. None of us can. But we can continue to advocate for the people we support, make sure our recommendations are backed by strong evidence and look after each other along the way.

How can I get up to speed with the changes?

If you've read this far and are thinking there's a lot to get your head around, I completely understand! That's exactly why I've put together my new live workshop, New NDIS Era: OT Navigation Guide.

I've designed this three-hour session to go beyond simply explaining the legislation. We'll look at what the changes actually mean for our everyday OT practice, from navigating plan changes and Support Determinations to strengthening our assessments, clinical reasoning and recommendations.

We'll also work through practical examples of how to gather stronger functional evidence, make our reasoning clearer and streamline report writing without compromising quality.

There are still places available in tomorrow's live session: Tuesday 13 October 2026, 1.00pm to 4.00pm AEDT

Both Part 1, Understanding the Reforms, and Part 2, Strengthening OT Assessment, Evidence & Recommendations, are included in the one session.

Can't join me live? You can join the waitlist to be the first to know when the self-paced version becomes available.

Looking for something else?

I've also recently updated our NDIS Functional Capacity Assessments for Adults workshop, which is available through the Verve OT Learning self-paced Learning Library.

The training now includes new content covering NDIS plan change and review pathways, Support Determinations, the High Support Needs safeguard and a walkthrough of the updated FCA report template.

I've also added practical resources, including a Plan Pathway Cheat Sheet, Support Determination Funding Reset resource, High Support Needs Safeguard Flowchart and Eligibility Test.

These updates are designed to help you understand the changes and apply them directly to your assessments and reporting, whenever you're ready to work through the material.

👉 Explore NDIS Functional Capacity Assessments for Adults