NDIS Reset: What Providers Need to Know
On 22 April 2026, Health Minister Mark Butler announced a sweeping overhaul of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. It's the biggest structural change since the scheme launched — and it affects every registered and unregistered provider in the country.
We won't sugarcoat it: some of these changes will be difficult for parts of the sector. But for providers already focused on quality, compliance, and transparent operations, this reset reinforces the direction you're already heading.
Here's what's changing, what it means for your organisation, and what you can do now.
Digital payments are coming
One of the headline reforms is the introduction of a digital payment system across the NDIS. The government wants full visibility over how NDIS funds are claimed and spent — and digital payments are how they plan to get there.
The details are still emerging, but the direction is clear: providers will need to be enrolled in a traceable digital payment system. Paper-based or opaque claiming processes won't cut it.
What this means for you:
Your case management software needs to produce clean, auditable records of every service delivered — who, when, where, how long, and against which line item. If your current system can't do that, you'll be scrambling when the requirements land.
Comm.care already tracks service delivery from appointment through to claim in a single, auditable trail. Every progress note links to a rostered appointment, every claim ties back to a verified service. When digital payment requirements are confirmed, providers using Comm.care will already have the data integrity the system demands.
We'll share more as the government releases the technical specifications. For now, the best thing you can do is make sure your service records are already digital, structured, and traceable.
Mandatory registration is expanding to higher risk activities
Currently, only some NDIS support categories require provider registration. That's changing.
Minister Butler announced that mandatory registration will expand to include higher risk activities, specifically:
- Personal care
- Daily living supports
- Supports provided in closed settings
This builds on the earlier decision to require mandatory registration for Supported Independent Living and platform providers from 1 July 2026.
What this means for you:
If you deliver personal care, daily living supports, or services in closed settings — and you're currently unregistered — you'll need to register. That means meeting quality and safeguards standards, passing audits, and maintaining the documentation to prove it.
For providers who are already registered, this is a reinforcement of what you're already doing. But it also means your documentation, incident reporting, and worker screening need to be airtight. The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission will have more providers to oversee — and more reason to look closely at compliance.
Comm.care is built for exactly this kind of scrutiny. Progress notes with validation, worker screening and certification tracking, incident and complaint management with full audit trails, and structured reporting that aligns with what auditors actually ask for. If you're delivering higher risk activities, your system needs to hold up under examination — not just keep records, but prove quality.
Eligibility is tightening — and plans are getting smaller
The reset also includes significant changes to who qualifies for the NDIS and how much funding they receive:
- Participant numbers will be capped at around 600,000 by 2030 — down from a projected 900,000.
- Average plan funding will come down from around $31,000 to $26,000.
- Social and community participation funding will be reduced by approximately 30%.
- Eligibility will shift from diagnosis-based access to functional capacity assessments, with the new I-CAN Support Needs Assessment tool rolling out from 2028.
What this means for you:
Smaller plans mean tighter budgets. Providers will need better visibility over how funding is being used — and participants will be more sensitive to whether they're getting value from their supports.
This is where funding period tracking, budget monitoring, and clear service reporting become essential. If you can show participants and plan managers exactly where the money is going and what outcomes it's delivering, you're in a stronger position — both commercially and at audit time.
The provider landscape is being reshaped
The government is also targeting intermediaries — plan managers and support coordinators — with a goal of reducing intermediary spending by 30%. A new shortlist system will establish accountable providers for supported independent living, support coordination, and third-party plan management.
This is a signal: the government wants fewer, better providers. Not more of them.
For quality providers, this is an opportunity. As the market consolidates, providers with strong systems, clean data, and demonstrable outcomes will stand out. The ones relying on manual processes, spreadsheets, and ad-hoc record-keeping will find it harder to meet the new bar.
What you can do now
The full detail of these reforms will take months to land. But the direction is clear, and there are things you can start doing today:
- Audit your records — Can you trace every claim back to a verified service? If not, start fixing the gaps now.
- Check your registration status — If you deliver personal care, daily living supports, or services in closed settings, prepare for mandatory registration.
- Review your worker screening — Make sure every staff member's certifications, NDIS Worker Screening Checks, and qualifications are current and documented.
- Get your funding period tracking in order — With smaller plans, you need real-time visibility over budget utilisation.
- Move away from manual processes — Spreadsheets and paper records won't survive the digital payment transition.
The bottom line
This reset is significant. It will change who's in the scheme, how much they receive, and how providers get paid. Some of that will be painful for the sector.
But for providers who've been investing in quality — in proper documentation, in structured service records, in compliance-ready systems — this is validation. The government is moving the bar to where you already are.
If you're not sure whether your current systems will hold up, book a demo with Comm.care and we'll walk you through what audit-ready, digital-payment-ready service management actually looks like.
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FAQ
What are the new NDIS digital payment requirements for providers?
The government is introducing a traceable digital payment system across the NDIS. While the technical specifications haven't been released yet, the intent is clear: providers will need to demonstrate full traceability from service delivery through to claim. That means digital records linking appointments, progress notes, and claims in a single auditable trail.
Which NDIS activities will require mandatory provider registration?
Mandatory registration is expanding to include higher risk activities: personal care, daily living supports, and supports provided in closed settings. This is in addition to the existing requirement for Supported Independent Living and platform providers from 1 July 2026. Providers currently delivering these services without registration will need to register and meet the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission's standards.
How will NDIS plan funding change under the reset?
Average plan funding will reduce from approximately $31,000 to $26,000. Social and community participation funding will be cut by around 30%. Eligibility will shift from diagnosis-based access to functional capacity assessments using the I-CAN tool, rolling out from 2028. These changes mean providers need better budget tracking and clearer reporting on outcomes.
How can NDIS providers prepare for these changes now?
Start by ensuring your service records are fully digital and traceable — every claim should link back to a verified service delivery record. Check that worker screening and certifications are current. If you deliver higher risk activities and aren't registered, begin the registration process. And make sure you have real-time visibility over participant funding periods and budget utilisation, as smaller plans will leave less room for billing errors.
Sources: The Conversation, The Nightly, Department of Health