5 August 2025
About the NDIS funding periods
There are a lot of changes to the NDIS at the moment, and we want to make sure you understand what is happening and why. This post is to tell you about a change to NDIS plans called funding periods.
This change began in May 2025. You may have not seen this change in your plan yet because funding periods only begin after a plan review.
What are funding periods?
Before this change, NDIS participants would usually get 12 months of their plan funding at one time.
Now, most plans will be divided up into 3-month long funding periods. You will still have the same amount of funding overall, but you will only have access to some of it at one time.
For example, at the start of your plan you will receive 3 months’ worth of funding. You will have to wait for 3 months to pass before you receive the next portion of funding. Anything you do not spend in a funding period rolls over to the next period (but only within the current plan).
If you have home and living funding in your plan like SIL, you may have 1 month funding periods.
Can I change my funding periods?
As a participant, you have the right to request a funding period that suits you.
You can discuss the funding period that works best for you during your planning meeting or plan reassessment.
Be prepared to explain why a particular funding period works best for you and how it supports your goals. For example, you may have unpredictable health needs that can change the amount of support you need.
You might want to request:
- Longer funding periods overall – for example 12-month funding periods.
- A different split in funding between periods to better reflect needs, or to provide some funding for unexpected circumstances. For example, within 3 month funding periods you could ask for more in the first funding period to cover any unexpected changes in support needs, knowing that if it is not used, it rolls over to subsequent periods.
- Different funding periods for different categories of supports – for example shorter periods for items such as core funding, and longer periods for capacity building supports.
It is important to know that funding periods is a reviewable decision.
This means that if short funding periods will make managing your supports more difficult, you can ask the NDIA to change through a plan reassessment.
Hints and tips for funding periods:
Consider what works for you:
- Think about your goals, support needs, and any upcoming changes in your life.
- Are your support needs currently evenly spread across the year or are there peaks and troughs and how predictable are those peaks and troughs?
- Have you had any issues in managing the Plan budget in the past? Would shorter funding periods help you?
- Do you have a concern about unexpected changes in support needs that might impact how the funding is spent.
Remember, your NDIS plan is about you. Don’t hesitate to ask questions and advocate for what works best for your situation.
The details in this article are accurate as of 5 August 2025, but they are likely to change. Please check the NDIS website for more information,or speak to your support coordinator or other support person.