What has happened
The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing has opened a public consultation on proposed changes to NDIS access. The department says the reforms are intended to help secure the NDIS’s future and to make access decisions clearer, fairer and more consistent, with a focus on how disability affects everyday life.
What the consultation covers
The consultation material invites feedback on proposed changes to the access process, including the processes themselves, evidence requirements and draft guiding principles. The department is asking for input from NDIS participants, people with disability, families, carers, providers, advocates, peak bodies and community members.
How responses will be used
The department states that submissions will help the Technical Advisory Group for NDIS functional capacity develop advice for the Australian Government. The announcement does not itself make any changes to access rules or confirm how any proposed changes would be implemented.
What this does not change
The consultation is a request for feedback on proposals. It is not an enactment of new access rules, and the department has not published any final policy, legislative or operational changes as part of this announcement.
What to do now
Stakeholders who wish to contribute can make submissions through the consultation page. Public consultation is open until 11.59pm AEDT on 2 October 2026.
What to watch next
Watch for the Technical Advisory Group’s advice to the Australian Government and for any further material from the department that sets out proposed or final changes to access processes.
Bottom line
The government is seeking stakeholder feedback on proposals to change NDIS access processes, evidence requirements and guiding principles. Submissions are open and will inform the Technical Advisory Group’s advice to government; no access-rule changes have been announced in this consultation notice.