Australia · NDIS legislation
NDIS reassessment rules are now in force: the 21-day clock has become 90 days
Australia's NDIS overhaul received Royal Assent on August 20, 2026. Since August 27, a properly made plan reassessment request can take up to 90 days, and no decision by then is treated as a refusal that can be reviewed.
Published . Updated .
Reported and checked by Caroline M. Last checked September 2, 2026. Research and verification follow the QueueCheck editorial standards. How we verify information
The new clock started on August 27
The waiting is over for this part of the law. The NDIS amendment received Royal Assent on August 20, and its first access and planning changes began on August 27. A participant, nominee or child representative who asks for a plan reassessment must now use the required form and provide the information and evidence the NDIA needs. Once the request meets those requirements, the agency has up to 90 days to decide whether to reassess, refuse to reassess or vary the plan. If it makes no decision by day 90, the law treats that silence as a refusal, which can be taken to review.
Who the 90-day rule now governs
NDIS participants weighing whether to request a plan reassessment, nominees and child representatives who file requests on a participant's behalf, and new access applicants whose separate decision window also changed on August 27.
What took effect after Royal Assent
- The House accepted the Senate's amendments on August 19, 2026. Royal Assent followed on August 20, making the bill Act No. 66 of 2026.
- Parts 1 to 3 of Schedule 1 began on August 27. They include the new functional-capacity definition, the plan reassessment rules and the tighter link between an impairment and the supports a plan funds.
- Only a participant, their plan nominee or, for a child, the person authorized to act for the child can request a plan reassessment under the new rule.
- A reassessment request must use the approved form, explain what changed and include the required evidence. The NDIA says the 90-day decision period runs once it has the information it needs.
- The rest of the Act is staged. Further provisions begin on October 1 and December 1, 2026, February 1, 2027, and January 1, 2028.
Access, reassessment, and the staged calendar
The 90-day deemed refusal is an administrative endpoint, not a finding that the participant's circumstances did not change.
The Act says an undecided request is treated as a decision not to conduct a reassessment. That creates a decision the participant can seek to have reviewed.
The required evidence may come from a GP or another health professional, depending on what changed and why the plan no longer meets the participant's needs.
New NDIS access requests also moved from 21 to 90 days on August 27. Access and plan reassessment remain different processes even though both now carry a 90-day outer window.
Reader questions: which rule applies
Does the 90-day reassessment rule apply from today?
Yes. The reassessment provisions began on August 27, 2026. They apply to requests made from that date and to earlier requests that were still undecided when the provisions began.
I filed a reassessment request last week. Which rules apply to it?
If it was still undecided on August 27, the Act's transition clause brings it under the new provisions. Ask the NDIA to confirm whether your request meets the form and information requirements and which date it is using for the 90-day period.
Does no answer at 90 days mean the reassessment failed on its merits?
No. The law treats the agency's silence as a refusal so there is a decision to review. It does not mean the agency weighed the evidence and found that your circumstances had not changed.
What changed for pending and new requests
A request made on or after August 27 runs under the new rules. The Act also applies them to an earlier request that had not been decided before August 27.
The old 21-day reassessment decision window is no longer the planning number. For a compliant request, the current outer window is 90 days.
A participant whose needs are urgent, minor or short-term can still ask about a plan variation. The NDIA says urgent circumstances should be raised with the participant's NDIS contact rather than left inside a routine reassessment request.
Forms, evidence, dates, and review
- Use the current NDIS reassessment form and explain what has changed, why the plan no longer meets your needs and what evidence supports the request.
- Keep the submission confirmation and the date the NDIA says it has the information it needs. That is the date needed to track the 90-day window accurately.
- If the change is urgent, minor or short-term, contact your NDIS representative about a plan variation instead of assuming a full reassessment is the only route.
- If 90 days pass without a decision, ask the NDIA to confirm the deemed refusal and the review route in writing.
How the passage record became the current update
This page began as the August 19 passage record. It was updated after Royal Assent and commencement so a reader arriving from the older headline gets the law that applies now.
The enacted Act supplies the dates and transition rule. The NDIS notice supplies the agency's current filing instructions in plain language.
What the 90-day figure does not cover
- This record covers plan reassessment requests, not every provision in the Act or every kind of plan change.
- The 90-day period depends on a request satisfying the statutory form and information requirements. An incomplete request may not start the decision duty described here.
- The Act, any rules made under it and a case-specific NDIA notice govern where a general summary differs.
The queue these provisions will govern
This update covers more than one queue. Choose the service that matches your own application before sharing a date or comparing waits.
Help improve the wait data
The queue these provisions will govern
If this update matters to your NDIS access decision wait, share the date that starts your timeline so other readers can compare like with like. It takes about a minute. QueueCheck checks each report before it affects public wait numbers.
Official citation
Published August 19, 2026. Original source: Parliament of Australia: bill record.
- Also checked: Department of Health, Disability and Ageing: the bill and its implementation timeline.
- Also checked: Department of Health, Disability and Ageing: final changes to the bill (fact sheet).
- Also checked: Federal Register of Legislation: Act No. 66 of 2026.
- Also checked: NDIS: changes to plan reassessments.