NDIS changes in 2026: every date a provider needs, in order

Dates, as at 14 November 2026

1. 1 June 2026Done
   SCHADS sleepover changes

   From each worker's first full pay period starting on or after this date, work either side of a sleepover is one shift, and can run to 12 hours by agreement ([2026] FWCFB 79, PR798459).

2. 1 July 2026Done
   2026-27 NDIS price limits and SCHADS rates

   The 2026-27 price limits apply to supports delivered from this date to 30 June 2027. The 2026-27 SCHADS minimum rates and allowances apply from the first full pay period starting on or after it.

3. 11 September 2026Done
   Fair Work Commission settles the SCHADS increase

   Decision [2026] FWCFB 232 and determination PR814259 move the home care disability increase from 1 October 2026 to 1 December 2026, and set the new structure for 1 October 2027.

4. 24 September 2026Done
   Price limits become law

   The NDIS (Pricing Arrangements) Determination 2026, made under section 45C of the NDIS Act, comes into force and gives the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27 the force of law.

5. 30 November 2026Ahead
   Last day for older unclaimed supports

   Read on the face of the Act, the last day to claim any support delivered from 1 December 2024 to 2 September 2026 that has not been claimed.

6. 1 December 2026Ahead
   90 day claim limit starts

   Section 45A(5)(a) of the NDIS Act changes from 2 years to 90 days (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations Act 2026, Schedule 2, item 89). The 90 days start on the day the support is provided.

7. 1 December 2026Ahead
   SCHADS increase for home care disability employees

   An initial increase of up to 15% on the minimum award rate, from the first full pay period starting on or after this date, for home care employees who provide disability care.

8. 1 October 2027Ahead
   New SCHADS classification structure

   Schedules B, C, E and F are replaced, with new minimum rates that include any change from the 2027 Annual Wage Review.

Price limits: 1 July, then 24 September

The 2026-27 limits apply by the date the support was delivered, not the date it is claimed: a shift on 30 June 2026 is claimed against the 2025-26 limit even when the claim goes in later. The standard weekday daytime support worker limit (01_011_0107_1_1) went to $73.58 an hour, from $70.23 in 2025-26.

Since 24 September 2026 the limits are set by the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27, which has the force of law under the NDIS (Pricing Arrangements) Determination 2026, made under section 45C of the NDIS Act. They bind funding managed by the NDIA or a registered plan manager.

Claiming: 90 days from 1 December

From 1 December 2026 a claim for an NDIS support must be made within 90 days, starting on the day the support is provided, down from 2 years. Read on its face, the new limit applies on the day a claim is made, so every unclaimed support delivered from 1 December 2024 to 2 September 2026 needs to be claimed by 30 November 2026.

For plan-managed funding the plan manager is the claimant, so a provider's invoice has to reach them with time to spare. A late claim can still be accepted only where exceptional circumstances justify the delay (s 45A(6)). The 90 day claim rule guide counts the last day for any support date.

“A claim must be made in accordance with subsection (3) before the end of the following period starting on the day the support is provided to the participant”

NDIS Act s 45A(5), Compilation No. 28

Pay: three SCHADS dates

Sleepovers changed from the first full pay period on or after 1 June 2026, the 2026-27 rates and allowances started from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026, and home care employees who provide disability care get an initial increase of up to 15% from the first full pay period on or after 1 December 2026.

Social and community services employees on Schedule B, which covers many support workers in group homes and SIL houses, are not part of the 1 December step. Their changes start with the new classification structure from 1 October 2027.

What to do before 1 December

The two 1 December changes land on the same office: claims and pay. A short list covers both.

• Sweep every unclaimed support delivered before 3 September 2026 and claim it by 30 November
• Move NDIA-managed claiming to a weekly run and fix rejected lines inside the same week
• Chase unpaid plan-managed invoices well before day 60
• List workers on home care classifications and map their first full pay period on or after 1 December
• Load the 1 December rates from the Fair Work Ombudsman's pay guide, then check the first run

NDIS changes 2026: straight answers

Sources

Read from these editions on 14 November 2026. This guide explains the rules; it is not advice on one person's pay or one incident.

• National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013, Compilation No. 28 (C2026C00451), section 45A
• National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Act 2026 (No. 66, 2026), Schedule 2, item 89 and the commencement table in section 2
• National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013, Compilation No. 28 (C2026C00451), section 45C
• National Disability Insurance Scheme (Pricing Arrangements) Determination 2026 (F2026L01268), section 5, in force 24 September 2026
• NDIA, Pricing arrangements (NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27 and claiming guidance)
• Fair Work Ombudsman, Changes to sleepovers in the SCHADS Award (published 7 May 2026, updated 1 June 2026), on the Fair Work Commission's decision [2026] FWCFB 79 and determination PR798459
• Fair Work Ombudsman, Changes to the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Award (published 21 September 2026)
• Fair Work Commission, Decision [2026] FWCFB 232 (11 September 2026), matter AM2024/21