Are the Latest NDIS Legislative Reforms Truly Fit for Purpose?

Written By Daniel Jess

The recent National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No. 1) Act 2024, effective from 3 October 2024, represents one of the most significant overhauls of the NDIS framework since its inception in 2013. The stated aim is to improve sustainability, fairness, and clarity within the scheme (Australian Government Department of Health, 2025). Yet for providers, managers, and allied-health professionals, an important question remains: will these changes enhance participant outcomes, or simply tighten administrative control?

What Has Changed

The reforms introduce several notable shifts. The definition of NDIS supports has been broadened to align with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Commonwealth’s welfare power (Australian Government Department of Health, 2025). Lists now clarify which supports qualify and which do not, bringing new transparency but also greater restriction (Polaris Care, 2024). The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) has gained increased authority over budget variations and reassessments (Australian Government Department of Health, 2025). Importantly, core eligibility—requiring a “permanent and significant disability”—remains unchanged (RSM Global Australia, 2024).

Positive Aspirations

The intent of these reforms is admirable: to strengthen scheme integrity, improve transparency, and ensure that funding is directed to participants most in need. Commentators have observed that the changes seek to restore the scheme’s “foundational purpose” (Amplify Alliance, 2025). Additionally, the reforms’ alignment with international human-rights frameworks reinforces Australia’s obligations under the CRPD.

Critical Questions and Concerns

Clarity versus Choice and Control
Clarifying eligible supports may reduce misuse, yet does this clarity erode the NDIS’s founding principle of participant choice and control? Narrower definitions risk limiting flexibility for those seeking non-traditional or complementary therapies. For example, the official exclusion of “cuddle therapy,” reiki, and crystals has drawn both support and criticism from the disability community (News.com.au, 2024).

Sustainability versus Service Access
The reforms place strong emphasis on cost control. While fiscal sustainability is important, tightening access criteria could unintentionally exclude those with complex or fluctuating needs. Smaller community providers—particularly in regional or culturally diverse settings—may find compliance demands challenging (UNSW Human Rights Centre, 2024). The risk is that sustainability efforts shift costs onto participants or diminish service availability.

Implementation and Workforce Readiness
Legislative reform is only as effective as its implementation. Workforce capacity, provider readiness, and inter-jurisdictional coordination remain weak points (Cambridge University Press, 2024). Without investment in training and consistent interpretation of new rules, frontline workers may struggle to deliver on the Act’s objectives.

Governance, Accountability and Participant Voice
Greater NDIA authority over budgets and reassessments may streamline processes—but does it compromise transparency or participant agency? Some critics fear that administrative errors could create “robo-debt-style” outcomes if oversight is insufficient (The Guardian, 2024). Maintaining robust appeal mechanisms and independent review structures will be vital to protect participant rights.

Equity Across Regions and Cohorts
An enduring concern is whether reforms will deepen inequity. Participants in rural and remote areas already face reduced access to services, and stricter definitions of “reasonable and necessary” may further disadvantage them. Policy analysts have warned that reform continuity and equity are key to the NDIS’s long-term legitimacy (Cambridge University Press, 2024).

What This Means for Care Managers and Allied-Health Providers

For those operating within disability, allied-health, and community-care sectors, these reforms require immediate strategic attention. Organisations should:

  • Review service offerings to ensure alignment with updated support criteria.

  • Educate staff on new rules, documentation standards, and participant rights.

  • Strengthen governance systems to support fair and compliant decision-making.

  • Collect data that evidences participant outcomes, not just service delivery.

  • Monitor how reforms affect diverse cohorts and advocate where inequities appear.

Conclusion

The 2024 NDIS Act amendments seek to restore confidence and sustainability to Australia’s disability support system. Yet, as with any legislative reform, the true measure of success lies in implementation. Unless reforms enhance workforce capability, preserve participant voice, and maintain fairness across regions, they risk narrowing the very freedoms the NDIS was designed to protect.

At the Institute of Care Management, we encourage leaders and professionals to approach these changes critically—embracing compliance where it improves quality, but continuing to question where policy diverges from lived experience. The next phase of NDIS reform will not be defined by legislation alone, but by how well the sector turns reform into genuine progress for people with disability.

References

Amplify Alliance. (2025, January 5). Overview of the recent NDIS amendments. https://amplifyalliance.org.au/overview-of-the-recent-ndis-amendments/

Australian Government Department of Health. (2025). Changes to the NDIS Act. https://www.health.gov.au/topics/disability-and-carers/reforms-and-reviews/ndis-act-changes

Cambridge University Press. (2024). Agendas of reform, continuity and change in Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Social Policy & Society. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/social-policy-and-society/article/agendas-of-reform-continuity-and-change-in-australias-national-disability-insurance-scheme-ndis/F95F89CE717F0D79F2572AC194928476

News.com.au. (2024, August 1). Cuddle therapy, crystals, reiki axed in final NDIS supports list. https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/cuddle-therapy-crystals-reiki-axed-in-final-ndis-supports-list/news-story/b440568535ba1572c1175ed5cc0cf865

Polaris Care. (2024, November 21). Major reforms in NDIS legislation: What you need to know. https://polariscare.com.au/major-reforms-in-ndis-legislation-what-you-need-to-know/

RSM Global Australia. (2024). Planning for 2025: What do the NDIS changes mean for providers? https://www.rsm.global/australia/insights/planning-2025-what-do-ndis-changes-mean

The Guardian. (2024, July 31). Concerns NDIS changes will create “robodebt 2.0” are complete rubbish, Bill Shorten says. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/jul/31/concerns-ndis-changes-will-create-robodebt-20-are-complete-rubbish-bill-shorten-says

UNSW Human Rights Centre. (2024). A decade of the NDIS: Triumphs, challenges, and controversies. https://www.humanrights.unsw.edu.au/research/commentary/decade-ndis-triumphs-challenges-controversies

Daniel Jess
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