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NDIS plan reassessment: what to expect

The check-in, the meeting, and what happens after · Last updated 2 August 2026

A plan reassessment is when the NDIA (the National Disability Insurance Agency — the government agency that runs the NDIS) looks at your whole plan again and replaces it with a new one. Older guides call this a ‘plan review’ — that term was retired years ago, but you will still see it around. Today, ‘review’ only means reviewing a decision you disagree with. The routine look at your plan is a reassessment.

A reassessment is normal. It is not a test, and it is not the NDIA questioning whether you belong in the scheme. This guide walks through the whole process — what triggers it, the meeting, what to prepare, what happens after, and what to do if the new plan is worse.

First, the big worry: your plan does not run out

NDIS plans no longer have an expiry date. They have a reassessment date — the date the NDIA plans to look at your plan again. Nothing stops on that date. Your supports keep going.

If a new plan is not ready by your reassessment date, your current plan simply continues. The NDIA can roll it over for another 12 months with the same funding amounts in your core and capacity building budgets, indexed (adjusted for price changes). Any unspent funding stays available in the continued plan. You do not need to do anything to make this happen.

Reassessment, variation, check-in — what the words mean

Three similar words do three different jobs:

• A plan reassessment looks at your whole plan and replaces it with a new one.
• A plan variation changes parts of your plan — you keep the same plan.
• A check-in is a conversation about how your plan is going. It does not automatically change anything. After a check-in there are three possible outcomes: the NDIA varies your plan, creates a new plan, or continues your plan unchanged.

One more, because mixing it up causes real fear: an eligibility reassessment is completely different. That one checks whether someone still meets the rules to be an NDIS participant at all. It happens in two situations: when the NDIA gets information suggesting someone may no longer be eligible, or as a scheduled check for some participants — for example, children who joined the NDIS through the early intervention pathway for developmental delay have one after they turn 6. A scheduled check is planned and normal, not a sign the NDIA suspects anything. And a plan reassessment is routine — it does not threaten your place in the NDIS.

How it starts

Your my NDIS contact — your local area coordinator, early childhood partner, or NDIA planner — will contact you about 2 to 3 months before your plan's reassessment date to organise a check-in. Behind the scenes, the NDIA starts working with you on your next plan once your current plan is 56 days from its reassessment date.

You do not have to wait for that call. If your situation changes and your plan no longer meets your needs, you can ask the NDIA for a reassessment at any time. Under the Participant Service Guarantee, the NDIA aims to tell you within 21 days whether it will do one. If it agrees, it aims to complete the reassessment within 28 days. If it decides a variation is the better fit, it aims to make that change within 28 days too.

Those timeframes are service standards the NDIA aims for, not promises — they are sometimes missed. Either way, you can keep using your current plan while the reassessment happens.

What to prepare

The strongest thing you can bring is evidence: assessments or reports from your treating health professionals, therapists or support workers. The most useful reports show how your current supports help you work toward your goals, and recommend the supports you might need next.

The NDIA also suggests having a think about:

• life changes you expect over the next 3 years — like leaving school, starting or leaving work, or a change in where you live
• how connected you are with social and community supports
• your goals, and how long you would like your next plan to run

You can give the NDIA your information through the my NDIS portal, by post to NDIA, GPO Box 700, Canberra ACT 2601, or in person to your my NDIS contact or a local NDIS office. And you are allowed backup: you can bring family, a carer or support people to any NDIS planning meeting or assessment.

If sorting your thoughts is the hard part, Matey can read your current plan with you and help you list what is working and what is not — you decide what to tell the NDIA.

The reassessment meeting

At the meeting, an NDIA planner checks whether your supports are related to your disability, help you work toward your goals, increase your independence, and help you work, study and join social activities. The planner looks at how you used your current plan, the evidence you brought, and how the supports fit together as a package.

Be honest about what you actually use and what you struggle with. A reassessment can increase your funding, keep it the same, or reduce it — no one can promise which. Clear, current reports give the planner the best picture to work from.

After the meeting: your new plan

If your plan changes, the new plan is uploaded automatically to your participant portal and the my NDIS app, and your planner invites you to a plan meeting to explain it. If your plan is varied or continued instead, there is no plan meeting — you just get the update.

Two money things to know about the new plan:

• Funding periods. Since 19 May 2025, new and reassessed plans release funding in instalments — usually every 3 months — instead of all at once. The total is the same; only the timing changes. If your old plan showed the whole budget on day one and the new one does not, this is why, not a cut. Unused funds roll over from one funding period to the next within the plan, but money from a future period generally cannot be brought forward, except in urgent circumstances.
• Unspent funds. Savings carry over when your plan is continued, and between funding periods inside one plan. They do not carry over into a brand-new plan.

Reading a fresh plan is its own job — our pillar guide Understanding your NDIS plan walks through every section, and NDIS budget categories explained covers where the money sits.

If the new plan is worse

If you disagree with a decision about your new plan, you can ask the NDIA for an internal review — a different NDIA officer looks at the decision again. You have 3 months from the day you receive the decision to ask. You can ask by completing the review request form, submitting an enquiry through the portal with your supporting evidence, or calling 1800 800 110. The NDIA aims to complete internal reviews within 60 days.

One thing to know upfront, calmly: asking for a review does not pause the decision. The new plan stays in effect while the review happens — the old plan does not keep running. Plan your supports around the new plan while you wait.

If you still disagree after the internal review, you can apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) — the independent body that checks government decisions, which replaced the old AAT in 2024. You must have an internal review decision first, and you have 28 days from that decision to apply. The tribunal can extend that timeframe in some circumstances, but it is safest not to rely on that. Free advocacy support is available through the NDIS Appeals Program; NDIS plan funding cannot be used to pay for legal representation.

A short, clear letter makes a review request much stronger. Writing an internal review letter shows what to put in it — and Matey can help you draft one. You send it yourself.

Planning is changing — in stages

The NDIA has announced that the NDIS planning process will begin changing from mid-2026, phased in over time, with trained assessors carrying out support needs assessments. The NDIA says you will still be able to ask for a reassessment or variation when your circumstances change, and your review rights — internal review and the tribunal — stay in place. Many participants will not see any change for some time. For the latest, check ndis.gov.au or ask your my NDIS contact.