The related Capacity Building – Daily Activities (Improved Daily Living) budget funds skill-building and therapy to increase your independence in daily tasks.

What exactly is changing?

Under the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Act 2026, the Government can adjust funding settings for specific support categories. This is called a ‘support determination’.

A support determination can only apply to old framework plans, which are the plans participants have under the current NDIS planning system.

Participants will progressively transition to new framework plans from 1 April 2027 through to 31 December 2030.

The government has said it plans to use a support determination to reduce funding for:

• Social, Civic and Community Participation (referred to in the Act as assistance with social, economic and community participation) – 50% reduction in budget allocations.
• Capacity Building – Daily Activities (referred to in the Act as improved daily living skills) – 10% reduction in budget allocations.

Important nuance: These changes will not necessarily mean a 50% or 10% reduction in how much a participant actually spends, as they may not currently be using their full budget allocation.

The changes will be introduced gradually, as individual participants’ plans come up for renewal or reassessment.

When do the changes start?

• From 1 October 2026: the new settings start to apply when you receive a new plan or have your plan reassessed.
• From 1 February 2027: the changes also apply via the new plan renewal process for all other participants.
• The rollout is phased over approximately 12 months, so not everyone’s plan changes on 1 October. Your current plan continues unchanged until its next reassessment or renewal, and changes are not backdated.

Will I get 50% less support?

Not necessarily. The reduction applies to your SCCP allocation. If you currently use most of that budget, you are more likely to feel a significant reduction once your plan is reassessed/renewed. If you use less than your allocation, the practical impact may be smaller.

What is protected?

The Government states the following critical supports are not affected by the reset:

• Help with eating and drinking
• Employment supports
• Disability-related health supports

Other reforms also protect supports such as home and vehicle modifications, in-home supports, transport, consumables, mobility equipment and Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA).

Some support subgroups will not be affected

Social, economic and community participation, and improved daily living skills, cover a broad range of support types funded through the NDIS.

However, some support subgroups within these categories will not be affected by the funding changes. These supports are considered essential to participants’ health, safety and wellbeing.

The support subgroups that will not be affected include:

• Supports in employment
• Disability-related health supports
• High intensity supports
• Intensive and complex behaviour supports
• Customised and wearable technology
• Hearing services

When applying the funding changes, the NDIA will identify whether a participant’s plan includes any of the supports listed above. Where these supports are included in a participant’s plan and a payment has been made for them, the funding reduction will not apply to those supports.

Participants do not need to provide the NDIA with any additional information.

What could this mean for me?

If you rely on SCCP to attend weekly activities, build social skills, or participate in the community, a lower allocation may mean:

• Working with your provider on scheduling and pricing within the new budget.
• Shifting to more group-based options where appropriate.
• Considering other changes to your usual services like different days or hours of attendance, different social or centre-based activities, or potentially reducing attendance
• Prioritising the supports most tied to your goals.
• Exploring community or mainstream supports outside the NDIS that may help you stay connected and participate.

How to prepare before your next reassessment or renewal

• Check your plan end date (front page of your plan or portal).
• Use your current approved funding before renewal – unspent funds do not carry into a renewed plan.
• Ask providers to invoice promptly – from 1 December 2026, claims must be made within 90 days of support delivery.
• Keep evidence of what your SCCP support enables (attendance records, support notes, your own short account of outcomes).
• Get a spending summary by category and talk with your Support Coordinator/LAC about local options and what’s being funded in renewed plans.

What happens next?

The changes to Social, Civic and Community Participation funding will be introduced gradually. From 1 October 2026, the new funding settings will apply to new plans and plans that are reassessed. From 1 February 2027, they will also begin applying when participants’ plans are renewed.

This does not mean everyone’s plan will change on 1 February 2027. It’s the date from which plan renewals can begin incorporating the new funding settings. The timing of the change will depend on when your individual plan is reassessed or renewed.

Until then, your current plan continues as usual. The changes will not be backdated, and critical supports and continuous 24-hour care are protected.

If you rely on Social, Civic and Community Participation funding, it is worth understanding how much of your current budget you use, which supports are most important to you, and how a change in funding could affect your goals and daily life.

For the latest information, visit the Australian Government’s official Securing the NDIS page.

To view the video summary of the content in this article, please watch this video.