NDIS news today: 7 October 2026

A sourced roundup of what's actually moving in the NDIS this week, for participants, providers and support workers trying to keep up with a scheme that is changing fast.

Thriving Kids begins its phased rollout

Thriving Kids, the new non-NDIS foundational supports program, started its phased rollout this month for children aged 8 and under with developmental delay or autism and low-to-moderate support needs, according to the NDIA. It sits outside the NDIS and is backed by a joint federal and state commitment of roughly $4 billion over five years. Families with a child in this age band and support level should expect to be guided toward Thriving Kids rather than an NDIS plan going forward.

Support budget changes now applying at reassessment

The 1 October funding reset covered in our earlier piece is now live: Social, Economic and Community Participation budgets down roughly 50% and Improved Daily Living Skills budgets down roughly 10%, per the NDIA. It only applies as a plan is created, reassessed, or renewed - not retroactively - and carve-outs remain for employment supports, disability-related health supports, and high-intensity or complex behaviour supports.

Fraud crackdown continues ahead of the reform bill

The Securing the NDIS for Future Generations Bill continues to move through Parliament, built around four pillars: tackling fraud, slowing cost growth, clearer eligibility, and lifting service quality. Negotiated amendments add new civil and criminal penalties for kickbacks between providers. Separately, the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission issued 111 banning orders between April and June 2026 alone, a record quarterly total, per The Nightly - enforcement against non-compliant providers is already well underway, separate from whatever the bill itself eventually locks in.

What this means in practice

None of this changes what a compliant, well-run NDIS business needs day to day: current Worker Screening and insurance, invoices carrying the right 2026-27 support item numbers, and shift notes that hold up if a plan or claim is reviewed. The pace of enforcement activity this year is a reason to keep those basics tight, not a reason to worry if you already do.

This article is general information, is dated 7 October 2026, and reflects reporting available at that time. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the NDIA or the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. For advice about your own circumstances, speak to your planner, plan manager or an independent advocate, and verify current requirements at ndis.gov.au.