NDIS Changes Starting 1st July - What You Should Know
Hi NDIS Participant, Family Member, Caregivers and people supported by the NDIS,
My name’s Giarne. I’m an OT, Multiply Neurodivergent (Autistic, ADHD & C-PTSD), a NDIS Participant, and the parent to a Neuro-fabulous 4 year old NDIS Participant. There are some big changes starting 1st July that might affect your NDIS supports. Some may impact you directly, others might not - but I believe you deserve to know what's happening so you can make informed decisions about your supports, or what else you might like to do.
Rather than you finding out when your provider suddenly can't offer the same service, I'm giving you the heads up now.
What's Changing
Cost of living has gone up, and we haven’t seen changes across the sector match inflation.
What’s that mean? Well, you know how you used to be able to buy things for a lot less? In 2020 you could buy a loaf of bread $3.00, a 2L milk is $2.60, and a 1kg bag of potatoes was $2.30. Today, a loaf of bread will cost you $4.50, 2L milk $5.00, and that 1kg bag of potatoes is now $4.
Well the same things has happened to businesses across Australia in all sectors. Its why your haircut costs more, fuel is more expensive and you can’t get a coffee for the same price you used to.
Some providers haven’t seen any increase in up to 7 years, and some have even seen their rates go down. This isn’t just therapy providers, it includes support coordination, plan managers and core support providers.
We have also seen travel payments for therapy providers go down. For the travel to visit your home, depending on where you live, most providers could charge the whole of the time it took to get to you. If you lived in the outback, there were incentives to get people to come bush and support Aussies who live in the sticks.
This has halved, and there’s no longer any support to make it easier to reach our rural and regional communities.
All new plans have changes to how you access the funding. Instead of 12 months of funding, you will only be able to access 3 months at a time. Keeping the NDIS sustainable is important, and making sure the way we do it doesn’t harm participants. Not all plans are meeting people’s needs, so a change to 3 months, if not accurate, means people cannot access the supports they need.
We could get into the politics, business economics or numbers of all this, but what really matters, is how this might impact you when they come into effect on July 1st. Providers are having to make rapid decisions about how they can continue to support participants.
So what is happening?
Each provider has to work out ways to adjust their support; we are hearing
Some providers are de-registering, and won’t be supporting agency managed participants
Others are making the decision to only support self-managed clients
We are hearing some providers asking for upfront payment, with participants requesting reimbursement from their plan manager
Some are introducing co-payments, similar to many GP practices where you have to cover a gap.
Others are making plans to step away from the NDIS all together
Many providers are having to stop home visits entirely, or cease visiting rural and regional communities altogether.
Some are moving to telehealth only models.
While others are significantly reducing how far they will travel to
I don’t want this email to feel scary, so let’s run through how to prepare and what you can do next.
If you are Agency Managed: Check with your providers if they are planning to de-register and if switching your plan management method is something you may need or want to do. There may be less Agency managed options available if lots of providers do de-register.
If you Rely on Home visits: Check with your providers about if they are still able to service your area. If clinic or telehealth isn’t suitable for you, you may need to consider finding a provider who will still visit your home. If you can visit a clinic but don’t have a way to get there, discuss with your supports how you can get assistance with travel to get there.
If you live in regional and remote areas: If providers aren’t able to travel to your area, unfortunately telehealth or travelling to providers yourself may be the only options. Your community may have the option for uniting to support someone visiting your community or splitting the costs involved in travelling.
If you see Multiple Providers: Know that each one may be making different decisions around how to adjust to these changes. Most providers are not wanting to pass on costs, reduce services or change model completely.
What can you do Right now?
Ask your Provider what their plan is. Some scripts you could use:
“how will the July changes impact my appointments with you?”
“Will you still be able to provide home visits?”
“Will there be any additional costs to me?”
“Will my current plan management still allow me to access your supports?”
Consider keeping a record
It’s easier to remember later on if we have written down. You can ask your provider to send what is changing in their support of you in writing, tell your support person or ask for another option that works best for you. E.g. video, audio etc.
You might need to use more of one funding type to let you continue to access another type of support. E.g. support work hours to help you visit your therapy supports in clinic.
Write down what your supports look like now, so you can compare with after the changes. This may be really important with preparing for any plan reviews, if these changes mean your circumstances have changed and your planing not meeting your current needs.
Explore your Options
If your provider can’t provide you the support you need, it is okay to ask who they suggest you might see instead.
You can also ask if there is a period of adjustment where they will continue to support you before needing to transition your supports to another provider.
Be aware that other providers may not have capacity, and you may want to ask a support person to help you with putting your name on waitlists or finding a new provider.
If possible, you may want to consider if a telehealth model works for you, or if you need to change your plan management.
If your plan doesn’t meet your needs:
You can ask for a plan review, or if your needs have changed a change of circumstances. There are lots of reasons why our needs can change, and the NDIS knows this.
3-month funding blocks may make it harder to adjust your supports to help you more when you need it.
It may also make it harder to get the reports, or evidence the NDIA needs to make decisions about whether your plan needs to change.
If there’s not enough money in a 3-month drop of funding, you will have to wait or try to access other supports outside of the NDIS.
This is only for NEW plans from the 19th of May 2025. Knowing this helps you to understand what to expect when you get your next plan.
Is there anything else I can do?
If you are feeling worried, anxious or upset about these changes, that is completely understandable. Your supports matter, and uncertainty and change around them can be stressful.
You can:
Reach out to your LAC, or contact the NDIA to express your concerns
If self-advocacy can feel hard, you can ask a support person or contact an advocacy organisation to help have your concerns heard.
There are several petitions available that you could sign https://www.itsnowornever.com.au/
(please note change.org petitions do not pass on donations to the cause, you can contact it’s now or never, if you would like to sponsor the campaign)
You could reach out via email, call or walk into the office to your local member of parliament or a senator to ask them to follow up with the NDIS and raise your concerns.
You can share with other participants about these changes so they can prepare and make their own decisions regarding their supports.
You can ask for help or share your story and how this will impact you.
https://www.itsnowornever.com.au/ will be collecting Participant stories to aid in advocating for these changes to be reviewed by the NDIA.
Whether these changes were right or wrong, the NDIA has made them, and they are coming into effect from July 1st. While many of the sector, both participants and providers are hopeful the NDIA will make changes to ensure participants are not at risk of losing essential supports, what we can do for now is prepare and make sure you're not blindsided by them.
There are also helplines you can access and please do.
Both participants and providers are burnt out and with the continuous changes, it is okay to reach out for support.
Crisis Support Options
Lifeline Australia 13 11 14 | https://www.lifeline.org.au/ | 0477 13 11 14 (text)
Lifeline is available 24/7 and provides All Australians crisis support. They are available via phone, text 0477 13 11 14 and online chat.
13YARN 13 92 76 – 24/7
crisis support for first nation Australians who need someone to have a yarn.
Beyond Blue 1300 224 636 | https://www.beyondblue.org.au/about/contact-us
for anyone experiencing symptoms of distress. You can also chat to a counsellor online if you aren’t able to speak on the phone.
Other Contact information that may be helpful:
Your Local MP & Your State Senators
- You can find your local and state members here
NDIA
1800 800 110 | NDIA contact options here
Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm They also have online chat, a feedback and complaints and enquiries email you can contact.
SANE
1800 187 263
Monday to Friday 10am – 8pm. Although not a crisis support they do have mental health support workers, with experience in complex mental health needs and supports for people with intellectual disability, autism or acquired brain injuries.
People With Disability Australia – 1800 422 015 |
support people with disability to promote, protect, and enact their rights – and its free.
Disability Advocacy Support Helpline 1800 643 787
short term and phone-based disability advocacy support, no matter where you live in Australia.
Disability Gateway 1800 643 787
helps all people with disability, their families and carers to find trusted information and connect to services in their area. Monday to Friday 8am-8pm
Carer Gateway 1800 422 737 |
helps carers get the support they need before reaching crisis point. Monday to Friday 8am – 5pm
But wait, there’s more:
I know, there is a lot of change to get your head around but the NDIA is trying to make sure it stays able to keep supporting participants, so they are making lots of changes, and they will likely keep coming. At the moment they are asking for YOUR feedback about what you think they should support and what they shouldn’t. It is open from 16th June to 27th July – and you can have your say here.
You deserve to know what's happening with your supports before changes affect you. You deserve to have choices about how you navigate these changes.
Your supports exist to help you live a life with dignity, and when systems change around you, you deserve to understand what that means for your life.
Take care,
Giarne