Advocates Warn New Payment System Erodes Choice and Control
The NDIA has changed the way funding is delivered, sometimes paying for services up to three months after they’re delivered. Support providers say they need the money upfront.
The statement made it seem like a minor matter, just a simple rearrangement to the payment system. The effect’s been dramatic. Under the new system, instead of getting the full budget upfront, money is paid out in installments called 'funding periods'.
Although home and living supports are typically released monthly, most supports now only have funding released every three months in arrears - a massive shift. Service providers now have to find money to provide the services from somewhere else. Even if they do get the money eventually, they will face extra funding costs.
The government has effectively bought itself three-months interest free, by shoving the costs over to service providers.
The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) states that these changes aim to help participants manage their budgets more effectively and ensure consistent use of funding over the plan's duration.
That’s cold comfort for participants, providers, and advocacy groups, who are angry over the lack of communication, although they’re saying they’re worried about the potential impacts on participants' autonomy and well-being. They were against the new policy from the start, and ask why the NDIA is now implementing measures that appear almost deliberately designed to force them to scale back services.
In response the NDIA has indicated that funding periods are not new and are being introduced gradually, supposedly simply “to support participants in managing their budgets more easily”. The Authority emphasises that funding periods do not change the total amount of funding in a participant's plan, only when the funding becomes available.
Of course, that’s cold comfort while you’re waiting for it to appear in your bank account.
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From Flexibility to Frustration: How Instalments Threaten Participant Access and Safety
The new approach assumes that participants can access services consistently within each funding period. However, service availability is often irregular, disrupted by waitlists, workforce shortages, cancellations, or the need to front-load supports at key times, especially in rural and regional areas. This mismatch between funding structure and service availability risks leaving people without the support they need when they need it.
Furthermore, concerns have been raised that the funding intervals do not account for the differing number of weekends and public holidays in each state and territory, potentially leading to shortfalls in one funding period even if the overall plan covers participants' needs. Providers may be forced to delay services, and self-managers face a more complex and less flexible system.
Participants were not notified by the NDIA before the changes occurred, and many remain unaware that the changes have started. The lack of accessible information is fueling confusion and distress among participants.
It’s important to note that one-off items like assistive technology or home modifications remain fully available for claiming at the start of the plan.
In response, advocacy organizations are calling for the following measures:
Implementing 12-month plan funding periods as the default, with shorter periods available upon participant preference or in cases of inappropriate overspending history.
Establishing processes that allow timely responses to changing needs and risks.
Creating transparent and accessible channels for participants to provide feedback to the Agency, with mechanisms to track how feedback is acknowledged, considered, and acted upon.
Committing to clear, accessible information for all participants before any further changes occur.
Organizations supporting these calls include the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO), Disability Advocacy Network Australia (DANA), Reimagine, Deaf Australia, New Wave Gippsland, Voices for Change, Community Mental Health Australia, Autistic Self Advocacy Network Australia and New Zealand (ASAN-AUNZ), The Australian Neurodivergent Parents Association, Physical Disability Australia, Women With Disability Australia, People With Disability Australia, Blind Citizens Australia, Deafblind Australia, Australian Autism Alliance, Positive Powerful Parents, All Abilities Advocacy, Voices for Change (ABI), Occupational Therapies Australia, Melbourne East Disability Advocacy (MEDA), Luminary Community Services, Wilsons OT, Coactive Occupational Therapy, Authentic Self OT, OTSi, APDC (Australian Psychosocial Disability Collective), and ARATA.
As the rollout continues, stakeholders urge the NDIA to engage in meaningful consultation with the disability community to ensure that the changes enhance, rather than hinder, the lives of participants.