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The argument over the new NDIS law ended last week. This week the burden shifted from Parliament to those living with it.

Monday supplied the warning. Queensland remains outside Thriving Kids but Canberra still can’t explain what services will replace it.

Tuesday exposed the same problem across geography. More than 220,000 NDIS participants live in regional, remote or very remote Australia. For many, changes to the scheme are nothing more than academic.

Then, on Wednesday, Health Minister Mark Butler bought the government more time by saying children admitted to the NDIS by the end of 2027 will remain in the scheme. Thriving Kids will not be the only route for new young entrants until January 2028.

The government could have saved a lot of grief by announcing that earlier.

This was not just a political failure, however. It offered us a window into a chaotic failure to plan for smooth implementation of these reforms. The guarantee protects entry until the end of next year; it does not yet prove the alternatives will work.

Thursday turned legislation into forms. Only a participant, nominee or child representative can now seek an unscheduled reassessment. The NDIA says the request must use the correct form and include recent evidence showing a significant, continuing change. Evidence should usually be no more than four months old and prepared after the current plan was approved.

But the agency then has 90 days to decide whether to reassess, vary or refuse. That is not necessarily 90 days to produce a new plan. If no decision arrives, the request is treated as refused and review rights begin.

It’s a tough timeline - one the NDIA may have difficulty meeting.

Data Watch

The first two figures come from the Department’s current NDIS changes guide. The third comes from the Reform Advisory Committee record reported by abilityNEWS this week.

Reassessment gate: The NDIA says only a participant, plan nominee or child representative can now request an unscheduled plan reassessment using the required form. Evidence must show a significant, continuing change and should usually be less than four months old and prepared after the current plan began.

Source: National Disability Insurance Agency — What is a plan reassessment | Participant guide

Claims clock: The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing says participants or plan managers must now keep records for NDIS support payments for three years. From 1 December, claims must be lodged within 90 days of service delivery rather than the previous two-year period.

Source: Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing — About the changes to the NDIS | Implementation guide

Rules still unsettled: UNSW public policy lecturer Georgia van Toorn says new NDIS eligibility and reassessment rules will rely on functional-capacity and permanence tests that are still being designed. She warns automated decision-making powers lack adequate safeguards and says people with disability must help shape the assessment system before phased reassessments begin in 2028.

Source: Georgia van Toorn — The Conversation | Expert analysis

Decision delay: Occupational therapist Sarah Collison says the NDIA’s new 90-day limit covers the decision whether to reassess a plan, not necessarily delivery of a new plan. Her updated Verve OT explainer distinguishes reassessment from the separate variation route covering assistive technology, home and vehicle modifications.

Source: Sarah Collison, Verve OT — NDIS plan reassessments: what changes from today |

Dependency designed: Former South Australian disability official Richard Bruggemann argues NDIS funding and hourly provider payments can reward continuing dependence rather than capability. He calls for planning built around funding tied more closely to outcomes, while acknowledging the need for reform.

Source: Richard Bruggemann — Pearls and Irritations | expert commentary

Both the 'worst' GST deal and the NDIS blew out by billions. Only one is sacred

ABC political analysis contrasts the government’s defence of the increasingly expensive Western Australian GST guarantee with bipartisan legislation projected to cut NDIS spending by about $38 billion over four years. Jake Evans argues Canberra accepted tighter access and reduced participant budgets while refusing to reconsider a GST arrangement forecast to cost $60 billion by 2030.

Source: ABC News | Paywall: No