Big Changes to Australia's Disability Support Program: What Just Happened with the NDIS?
Australia's two biggest political parties, Labor and the Coalition, have made a deal to pass a new law that changes how the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) works. The NDIS is a government program that pays for support services for Australians with disabilities, things like help at home, equipment, and support workers who help people go about their daily lives. The program currently costs about $52 billion a year.
The deal includes 63 changes to the bill, which were announced by NDIS ministers Mark Butler and Jenny McAllister. Butler said some changes were small and technical, while others were "relatively substantial" The Guardian. The bill was introduced to the Senate on 12 August 2026 and is expected to pass on Tuesday night.
The new law would change three main things about the NDIS: who can join the program, how participants' support plans get reviewed, and how funding is decided. It follows 14 recommendations from a review of the NDIS and links the definition of what counts as "NDIS supports" to rights in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It also sets a limit on how fast the program's costs can grow, at 8% per year starting 1 July 2026 Ministers' speeches. In February 2026, the federal government and state and territory leaders signed an agreement that set up the framework for these changes DSS.
The most controversial part of the bill gives the government minister a new power: the ability to cut funding from certain categories of support by up to 99%, affecting all participants at once. The government says the NDIS will more than double in cost within ten years if nothing changes, and the bill's changes are projected to save the federal budget $37.8 billion over four years. This funding-cut power was heavily criticised by the Greens (a smaller political party), ACT senator David Pocock, and disability advocates. Pocock called it an "indiscriminate cut" that would affect hundreds of thousands of people The Guardian.
Greens senator Steele-John warned that the bill would cut funding for support workers who help disabled people leave their homes and take part in the community. The Greens' opposition put them against both Labor and the Coalition, which meant the deal between those two major parties was what moved the bill forward.
The 63 amendments address some of the biggest concerns. One change creates a new process: participants who need round-the-clock care can apply for a review of their funding within 90 days of being affected by a support decision. Another change lets participants whose budgets are cut by the new ministerial power apply for extra funding through that same review process. Think of these as escape hatches, giving people a way to ask for individual help instead of just accepting a blanket cut.
Getting here took a long time. The bill was previously sent back to a committee that raised human rights concerns. Minister Gallagher told Parliament in June 2026 that the government would work with the Coalition to pass the NDIS reforms in August. Earlier, Minister Shorten had said the Coalition and Greens were delaying the changes, while also noting that the Coalition agreed the NDIS is "fundamentally important."
The broader context here is a clash between saving money and protecting disability rights. The $37.8 billion in savings over four years is a big help to the government's budget, and the 8% growth cap puts a hard limit on how fast the program can grow. But the real question is whether the new review processes are strong enough to protect people with high needs from the minister's power to cut funding categories. The 90-day window for round-the-clock care participants and the option for vulnerable people to seek extra funding are what the government has offered. How well they work will become clear only as the rules are put into practice.
The deal also changes the political landscape. By getting the Coalition on board, the government pushed aside the Greens and independent senators like Pocock, whose ability to shape the bill shrank once the two major parties agreed. Senator Pauline Hanson also supported the bill during earlier votes, which helped the numbers. The Senate passage, expected at 8pm Tuesday, sends the amended bill back to the House of Representatives for final approval of all 63 changes.
