AOQ Webinar - Empowering voices of people with disability in quality processes

NDIS Quality Under Pressure

Australia's National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), serving over 739,000 participants as of mid-2025, is midway through significant reforms triggered by sustainability concerns, cost growth, and quality failures. Legislative changes since October 2024 have clarified 'reasonable and necessary' supports and enforced stricter provider registration, particularly for high-risk services like accommodation and support coordination.

The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission has set 2025-26 priorities around reducing restrictive practices, better high-risk health management, and rights protection. Its Disability Action Plan 2025–2030 commits to inclusion, including co-design with participants and refreshed consultative forums through 2027 to center lived experience in regulation.

A pivotal change arrives mid-2026 with new framework planning: shifting from functional assessments to structured support needs evaluations, aiming for consistency and fairness. Yet internal briefings reveal computer-generated plans with limited staff discretion, sparking fears of depersonalized decisions and curtailed appeal rights.

This arrives amid ongoing co-design on safeguarding frameworks and risk assessments, where advocates stress authentic participant involvement to avoid superficial engagement. Providers confront rising burdens—transition periods for mandatory registration, new SIL standards from July 2026—while balancing costs against quality demands.

The core tension lies between streamlining for fiscal restraint (targeting 8% growth by 2026) and ensuring quality processes reflect participant voices, lest reforms prioritize efficiency over dignity and safety.