What the new NDIS funding periods mean for you

From 19 May 2025, the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is rolling out new funding periods as part of a broader effort to support better financial planning, improve access to supports and reduce the risk of funding being used up too early.

If you or your loved one has an NDIS plan, these changes will gradually affect how funding is accessed, but it will not affect your total plan budget.

We at Leora Healthcare are committed to helping participants, carers and families stay informed and feel confident as these updates begin to roll out.

A funding period is a new feature in NDIS plans that determines when portions of your total plan budget become available. Instead of receiving all of your funding at the start of your plan, you will now receive it in smaller amounts across regular intervals, most commonly every three months.

This structured release of funds doesn’t change a participant’s overall entitlement. The total funding amount in their plan remains the same. What’s different is how and when a participant can access it.

According to the NDIA, this change won’t apply until a participant has a new or reassessed plan, after the NDIA has spoken with them to understand their individual needs and situation.

The NDIA (National Disability Insurance Agency) is introducing funding periods to make budgeting easier and more predictable. Many participants have shared that receiving their entire plan budget up front makes it difficult to manage supports over time, especially with unexpected changes or the need for ongoing services.

By breaking down the funding into shorter intervals:

It also aligns the NDIS with other government programs like the age pension and the Support at Home program which provide staged payments to help people manage their resources more effectively.

Read: Support at home: Aged care at home is changing in July 2025

The new NDIS funding periods will not apply to everyone at once. This is a gradual rollout, starting from 19 May 2025. Participants won’t be affected by this change until they receive a new or reassessed plan, and only after a conversation with the NDIA to understand their circumstances.

That means if your current plan is still active, nothing changes until your plan is either renewed or reassessed—depending on when the NDIA initiates that process with you. Until then, your funding will continue to work the same way it does now.

Your updated plan will show:

Each funding component has its own funding period. For example, you might receive Core funding every three months, while Capital funding (like for assistive technology) may be made available in a larger portion up front.

The default setting will be 3-month funding periods. However, in some situations, the NDIA may set different intervals depending on the nature of the support. For example:

If you don’t use all your available funding within a funding period, don’t worry, it rolls over. Unspent funds will carry into the next period within the same plan, giving you extra flexibility if things don’t go exactly as planned.

This rollover feature ensures that participants aren’t penalised for careful spending. However, it’s important to remember that once the plan ends, any unused funds don’t carry over into a new plan. So it’s important to stay on track with spending across the plan duration.

In general, funding from a future period cannot be brought forward. This staged approach is designed to help participants pace their spending.

That said, the NDIA recognises that urgent or exceptional situations can happen. In those cases, it may be possible to bring forward funding from a future period but this will only be approved in exceptional circumstances, and it won’t increase your overall budget.

If your needs change, the best course of action is to request a plan reassessment with the NDIA.

Three-month intervals have been chosen as the standard funding period length because they strike the right balance. They’re long enough to give participants flexibility and short enough to encourage consistent spending.

According to the NDIA, this approach helps participants, providers and support coordinators plan better both financially and operationally. It also reflects the quarterly rhythm that many Australians already experience in other areas, like tax, billing cycles or aged care funding.

In some cases, participants may have different funding periods to reflect specific service needs. But for most people, quarterly funding releases will be the norm.

Once the new NDIS funding periods are in place for your plan, you’ll be able to track your funding through:

These tools will clearly show:

With your consent, your plan manager and support coordinator will also be able to view this information in the NDIS provider portal. This allows everyone on your support team to have the most up-to-date information to help you plan and spend wisely.

If you’re not happy with the structure of your funding periods or if you believe your budget doesn’t match your needs, you have the right to request an internal review through the NDIA.

This applies to any part of your plan, including the amount, the funding intervals or the types of supports approved. A reassessment discussion can also lead to changes in how your plan is structured.

If you’re an NDIS participant with an active plan, no immediate action is needed. Nothing changes until your next review. But if you have a plan meeting coming up or you’re due for reassessment, that’s when funding periods may come into effect.

During your meeting, your planner or LAC will talk to you about how these changes could affect you, and what options are available. If you have any questions about how to navigate NDIS changes, reach out to our team. We’re here to support you, every step of the way.