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A new national test will decide who gets into the NDIS from 2028 — and there’s only one month to help shape those rules.

Government is promising a clearer, diagnosis-neutral gateway, based on evidence, as the new gateway for entry to the NDIS. Health is calling for user feedback to help the Technical Advisory Group provide advice.

But although the window is now open, it will snap tight in exactly one month and one day. By midnight on 2 October the department has decided it will have a sufficient evidence bank upon which to act.

Advocates point out Government hasn’t yet fully explained what supports will exist for people left outside the Scheme, yet is already consulting on how to decide who it will remove.

And this remains the larger question: what happens to people who no longer qualify for the NDIS?

Deakin researchers Emma Cowie and Sophie Goldingay say children aged nine and over may sit outside both the NDIS and Thriving Kids. They argue foundational supports need professional coordination, informed schools, community networks, tiered support and clear transitions — not a transfer of responsibility to teachers or families.

Bottom line:

Why this matters: An access tool can make decisions more consistent, but consistency does not prevent a service gap. The reform will be judged by the supports people can actually reach, not only by the assessment used to redirect them.

What to watch next: Whether the Technical Advisory Group and governments publish a funded pathway for older children before access changes begin in 2028.

Sources: Department of Health, Disability and Ageing; The Conversation

Access feedback: The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing has opened feedback on proposed NDIS access processes, evidence requirements and draft guiding principles. Submissions close at 11.59pm AEDT on 2 October and will inform advice from the Technical Advisory Group on functional capacity.

Source: Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

Testing diversity: The NDIA’s CALD Expert Advisory Group called for support-needs-assessment testing to include people with complex needs and intersecting characteristics, with both face-to-face and online options. Members also raised lower NDIS access rates for culturally and linguistically diverse communities and asked for more detailed data.

Source: National Disability Insurance Agency

Four actions: The NDIS Commission made permanent bans against Ahmed Rezkhar Jalal and Innovative Disability Services and Solutions, and revoked Boiz Holdings, trading as Mama’s Heart, and The Better Day Community Care from 5pm on 31 August. The Commission says the two revocations followed major audit non-conformities the providers allegedly failed to rectify.

Source: NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission

Agency plan: Previous-run recovery — the NDIA released its 2026–27 Corporate Plan in accessible Word, PDF and Easy Read formats. It adds an efficiency measure comparing agency operating expenditure with total Scheme expenditure and sets implementation of new planning from April 2027 among the next four years’ priorities.

Source: National Disability Insurance Agency

Supports contradiction: Children and Young People with Disability Australia says the $200 million Inclusive Communities Fund cannot replace individual NDIS supports that enable participation. It points to participation-budget reductions beginning for new plans on 1 October, while first Fund grants are not expected until June 2027.

Source: Children and Young People with Disability Australia

Psychosocial timetable: The Mental Health Coordinating Council is urging health and mental-health ministers to set timelines for co-designing, funding and implementing psychosocial foundational supports. It warns that participation reductions from 1 October may affect daily living because social and community participation accounts for about 30 per cent of plan budgets for primary psychosocial disability.

Source: Mental Health Coordinating Council

Support after eight: Deakin University researchers Emma Cowie and Sophie Goldingay say children aged nine and over who lose NDIS eligibility need coordinated foundational supports, not another fragmented referral pathway. They propose interprofessional work, better-informed schools and community networks, tiered support and clear transitions as needs change.

Source: The Conversation — Emma Cowie and Sophie Goldingay | researchers and allied-health professionals

Attraction study: University of Plymouth lecturer Farid Pazhoohi reports that UK men rated women without visible limb amputations as more attractive than women with them, while women showed no comparable difference when rating men. Women rated men with visible physical disability as more emotionally intelligent; the opposite-sex photo-rating study does not establish attitudes to disability more broadly.

Source: Psychology Today — Farid Pazhoohi | research commentary

Carers demand NDIS reforms impact assessment

Previous-run recovery — ABC AM reports young carers fear NDIS changes will transfer more responsibility to families and states. Carers Australia chief executive Joanna Cave calls for a baseline impact assessment covering what carers do now and the likely effect on work and wellbeing; the Government points to Thriving Kids and national foundational-support agreements.

Source: ABC AM | AUDIO | 31 August 2026, 6.00am AEST | Transcript

Bunbury to host immersive and tailored show for South West children living with disability

The Bunbury Herald reports that Sensorium Theatre’s tailored production is coming to Bunbury. BREC says Wonderbox runs from 2–6 November as a relaxed, multi-sensory performance for up to 15 children and carers per session, including up to six wheelchair users, with performers adapting the work to each audience.

Source: Bunbury Herald | Paywall: Yes.