NDIS Change of Situation: When to Tell the NDIA and What Happens Next

What counts as a change of situation

The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) runs the NDIS and builds your plan around your life as it was when the plan was made. When something in your life changes, you can let the NDIA know, and some changes may mean your plan needs to change too.

The NDIS page on how to ask for a change to your plan says you can tell the NDIA about changes to your details without asking for a plan change. The kinds of change that can affect your plan, according to its page on what a plan reassessment is, are ongoing changes to:

• Your ability to do daily activities, for example if your disability or functional capacity changes
• Your living arrangements, such as moving house or changing who you live with
• Your education or work
• The help you get from others, such as a family member who can no longer provide the care they used to

A new phone number or email is simple admin. Changes like those above can affect what your plan needs to fund. The important point is that telling the NDIA about a change and asking for your plan to change are not always the same thing.

A change does not always mean a new plan

Many changes do not need a new plan. The NDIA says you can update your details without asking for a change to your plan, and if you expect a change to be short-term, you can use your plan flexibly instead.

When a change does affect your supports, there are two main pathways, explained on the NDIS page on ways to change your plan:

	Plan variation	Plan reassessment
What it does	Changes part of your current plan	Replaces your plan with a new one
Suits	Smaller changes that fit within your overall supports, fixing details, a crisis or emergency	A significant and ongoing change in your needs or circumstances
Form	Plan variation request form	Plan reassessment request form

You do not have to work out the right pathway on your own. When you tell the NDIA about a change, it can decide whether a variation or a reassessment is needed. The NDIS guide to what a plan variation is covers the smaller changes in more detail.

The rules for asking for a reassessment changed in August 2026

The NDIS Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 20 August 2026, according to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing's page About the changes to the NDIS. That page lists tighter criteria for unscheduled plan reassessments (a reassessment you ask for before your plan's scheduled date) starting on 27 August 2026:

• Only you, your plan nominee or your child representative can ask for an unscheduled reassessment (the Department's summary says guardian; the NDIA's own pages say child representative). You cannot give consent for someone else, such as a provider, to ask for you, although a provider or support coordinator can help you prepare.
• A reassessment is only possible when there has been a significant and ongoing change in your functional capacity and support needs, or a significant and ongoing change in your living, education, work or informal support arrangements.
• The NDIA has up to 90 days to decide whether to vary or reassess your plan. If it has not decided by then, the request is treated as refused, and you can then use your review rights.
• If you had already asked for a reassessment before 27 August 2026, the new criteria apply to that request.
• If you have experienced fraud, or you are in a crisis or emergency, you can ask for a plan variation instead.

The government's summary of the final changes to the Bill adds two useful details. A change to your living, education, work or informal support arrangements does not need to be unexpected: a foreseeable change, like a planned move, still counts if it is significant and ongoing. And because an undecided request is treated as refused after 90 days, you do not need to keep reapplying while you wait.

How to tell the NDIA

The NDIS page on how to ask for a change to your plan lists these ways to tell the NDIA about a change to your details:

• Call the NDIA on 1800 800 110
• Submit an enquiry through the NDIA's service hub
• Talk to your my NDIS contact, such as your local area coordinator
• Visit your local NDIS office in person

If you are sending a plan variation or reassessment request form with your evidence, you can use the service hub, mail it to NDIA, GPO Box 700, Canberra ACT 2601, or deliver it in person to your local office.

If you are asking for a reassessment, use the plan reassessment request form. If you need help filling it in, the NDIS page on how to ask for a change to your plan explains how to get it.

Not sure who your contact is? Our guide to the difference between a local area coordinator, support coordinator and plan manager explains who does what.

How to prepare your evidence

Simple changes, like a new phone number, need no evidence at all. A change to what your plan funds is different. The NDIA has to be satisfied that the change has affected your need for supports, so the evidence you give it does most of the work.

The NDIS guide on how to prepare for a plan reassessment suggests assessments or reports from your treating health professionals, therapists or support workers, which can also recommend supports you might need. The NDIA's page on what a plan reassessment is adds that the evidence must show a significant change to your ongoing support needs, and should be recent: usually within 4 months of your request and after your current plan was approved.

Some practical ways to make your evidence stronger:

1. Describe the change, not the diagnosis. The new rules focus on whether a change is significant and ongoing. Say what has changed in your day-to-day life, when it started and why it is not short-term.
2. Ask your professionals to be specific. A report from a doctor, occupational therapist or other allied health professional is most useful when it describes what you can and cannot do now, what support you need, and how often.
3. Show the effect on informal supports. If a parent, partner or friend can no longer provide the care they did, a short written statement from them explaining what has changed, and why, helps the NDIA see the gap.
4. Include living arrangement details. For a move, include what is different about the new home or who you live with, and any supports you now need that you did not before.
5. Keep copies and dates. Note when you sent your request and how. With the 90-day limit, knowing your submission date tells you when you can use your review rights if no decision arrives.

A support coordinator, if your plan funds one, can help gather reports and put a request together. Our guide to what an NDIS support coordinator does covers that role.

What happens next

Once the NDIA has your information, it will decide what, if anything, needs to change:

• No change to your plan. Your details are updated and your current plan continues.
• A plan variation. Part of your plan is adjusted, for example to fix an error or respond to a crisis.
• A plan reassessment. You get a new plan that reflects your changed needs.
• A refusal. If the NDIA decides a reassessment is not needed, or does not decide within 90 days, you can ask for a review of that decision.

If your change means you need new supports, or a provider near your new home, you can search CareLocate by suburb and support type. Our directory is built from the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission's public register and covers more than 6,000 businesses. Where a provider has told us whether they are taking new clients, the listing shows it, with the date they last confirmed. If you would rather describe what you need and have providers come to you, you can use Find Care.

The most useful thing you can do today is write down what has changed and when, then ask the professionals who know you for the reports that describe it. Whatever pathway the NDIA chooses, that record is what it will decide on.