Tue Apr 21

The Coalition wants NDIS reform to focus on 3 things. Here’s what this would mean for users – and the budget

Written by Libby Callaway, Associate Professor, Rehabilitation, Ageing and Independent Living Research Centre and Occupational Therapy Department, School of Primary and Allied Healthcare, Monash University

The government is expected to announce further changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) this week, focused on containing the rising number of participants and the growth in costs, and cracking down on fraudulent activities.

The Coalition has also signalled ^[1] some suggested focus areas for reform, centred on three pillars:

a real-time payment system that can verify claims before funds are released
a stronger registration system with greater requirements for providers who deliver more risky types of care
a commitment to slashing “red tape”.

These measures could help restore fiscal discipline and public confidence in the scheme. But they mustn’t create new barriers for the very people the NDIS was designed to empower.

The NDIS can be life-changing

The NDIS was conceived to support the social and economic participation ^[2] of people with disability, and their rights under international treaties. Its world-leading design puts the person with disability at the centre and builds supports and funding around them.

In the ten years since its full roll out, the NDIS has funded people to move out of residential aged care ^[3] and into their own homes, supported others to transition from school to paid work ^[4], and allowed participants to choose what supports they actually need.

But such major reforms are rarely simple – which both Labor and Coalition governments have realised in their time presiding over the scheme.

While the Coalition has long been critical of the rising costs of the NDIS, it has offered few policy alternatives until now ^[5]. Let’s consider what each of its three proposals could look like in practice.

The case for real-time payment verification

The most tech-heavy of the Coalition’s proposals is a real-time payment system designed to verify claims before funds are released.

The logic is sound. For years the NDIS has operated on a “pay now, check later” model, opening the door to poor quality services and fraud.

Validating services at the point of transaction would help the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) prevent “ghosting” of invoices. This is where participants are charged for services they never receive, or payments are made to participants who don’t exist.

There is much to learn from a health system that uses a single Medicare card, enabling payments at the point of service. Such approaches respond to calls for greater NDIS payment transparency and simplicity ^[6].

However, for a real-time system to work, it must be as seamless and as secure as a credit card transaction – not a new bureaucratic hurdle.

Tighten registration – but don’t pit safety against choice

The Coalition’s second pillar is a “step-up” provider registration system, which would be achieved through a tiered, risk-based model.

Some changes to registration are already planned through the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission ^[7], the independent regulator of NDIS providers. This includes new, mandatory registration ^[8] starting in mid-2026 for providers of specific types of NDIS support, including Supported Independent Living (SIL) providers.

Currently, the NDIS market is split between registered providers, who are subject to heavy auditing, and unregistered providers, who are not required to undergo auditing but can only be used by self- or plan-managed participants.

The latest NDIS quarterly reporting data ^[9] lists 276,581 active providers delivering NDIS supports in 2025 alone. Monitoring the quality and safety of that number is challenging, and even more so if they’re not visible through some form of registration.

But forcing every provider into a one-size-fits-all registration box could limit access and choice within a provider market. For this reason, there have been calls to retain unregistered providers ^[10].

The Coalition’s proposed tiered model seeks a middle ground between blanket mandatory registration, and a graded approach. This aligns with recommendations ^[12] of a previous NDIS registration taskforce.

The government’s recent legislative changes ^[13] to strengthen the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission’s ability to stop fraudulent activity in the scheme are also positive.

These approaches, when combined, could lead to greater oversight and quality of the NDIS provider market.

Cut red tape – but try to avoid this backfiring

In recent years, the NDIS has become an administrative nightmare for both NDIS participants and providers.

The Coalition’s most ambitious goal is the promise to tackle “red tape”. But it hasn’t said exactly how it would do this.

A simple way to cut bureaucracy is to avoid repeated assessments when nothing has changed for the person with disability. An NDIS plan of longer duration (for example, three to five years) would save the costs involved in unnecessary reassessments, reducing the demand on participants and families.

The paradox of the Coalition’s plan is that integrity measures such as real-time payments and tiered registration can increase red tape in the short term.

Many NDIS participants and those they trust have a lifetime of experience seeking out and creating innovative solutions that work better, are simpler, or offer better value (and sometimes all three) than traditional disability equipment or services.

Recent reforms have included development of “in” and “out” lists ^[14] outlining what can and cannot be funded in the NDIS. The aim was to reduce misuse of funds. However, these rigid lists have also reduced creativity and cost-benefit analyses in planning solutions. In some cases, they have even increased scheme costs ^[15].

Concerns have also been raised ^[16] that a new NDIS planning framework, due to start in mid 2026, will draw on algorithms to identify participants’ needs and set plans. This approach has been likened to “Robodebt”, with “robo-planning” of support needs and plan budgets.

Any new reforms must avoid these unintended impacts.

Moving beyond just a ‘savings plan’

The Coalition’s backing of proposed NDIS reforms – including new provider registration processes and increased market oversight – suggests a rare moment of bipartisan agreement on scheme improvements that are needed.

However, the way these changes are implemented matters. While focused on strategies to achieve savings, it’s important to remember the NDIS is an investment in an “insurance” scheme so people with disabilities can access supports to lead an ordinary life.

Integrity and sustainability are essential to protecting that right. They must not become the very things that take it away.