New framework plan

What is a new framework plan?

A new framework plan is the new type of NDIS plan created by the 2024 amendments to the NDIS Act, where the NDIA sets a single reasonable and necessary budget from a standard support needs assessment instead of building the plan support by support. Most of the budget is flexible funding the participant can spend on any NDIS support, with a smaller set of stated supports that must be used as described. Participants are due to start moving to new framework plans from 1 April 2027.

The Act now recognises two kinds of plan. An old framework plan is the plan most participants have today, with budgets such as Core, Capacity Building and Capital. A new framework plan is prepared under a different part of the Act, with its own rules for budgets, funding periods and variations (NDIS Act, sections 32A–32L). "New framework planning" is the name the Department and NDIA use for the whole process that produces these plans.

Every new framework plan still includes two familiar parts:

• The participant's statement of goals and aspirations, prepared by the participant (see NDIS goals).
• The statement of participant supports, which now contains the reasonable and necessary budget, the plan's maximum period of effect, how funding will be managed, and when the plan must be reassessed.

How new framework planning works

The Department describes four steps in the participant journey: preparing for a support needs assessment, the assessment itself, building a plan, and using the plan.

The support needs assessment

The Act requires the NDIA to arrange an assessment of the participant's disability support needs as soon as practicable after it starts preparing a plan, using the assessment tool set out in NDIS rules. The Department's support needs assessment fact sheet describes it as a guided conversation with a trained, accredited NDIA assessor, made up of four parts:

1. Core needs assessment — the participant's core disability support needs, recorded in the NDIS Needs Assessment Tool.
2. Personal and Environmental Circumstances Questionnaire (PECQ) — living arrangements, informal supports, education and employment, assistive technology and home modifications.
3. Targeted assessments — for complex needs, drawing on evidence from health and allied health professionals.
4. Instructions to assessors — so every assessor turns the information into a description of support needs the same way.

Participants can bring a support person such as a nominee, family member or advocate. The results go into a support needs assessment report, which the participant receives a copy of.

Working out the budget

The NDIA then applies the report to the budget method rules — NDIS rules that staff must follow to calculate a participant's budget. The budget fact sheet says funding for each group of supports is calculated in one of several ways, such as a direct estimate of hours (used for in-home supports), relative need levels (used for community supports, therapy and support coordination), or an approved quote or benchmark (used for assistive technology assets and home modifications). Adjustments apply in some cases, for example for rural or remote locations. The method's detail was still being developed and tested when these fact sheets were published.

What a new framework plan contains

Under the Act, the reasonable and necessary budget is made up of flexible funding, funding for stated supports, or both. Flexible funding may be spent on any NDIS support for that participant, subject to any restrictions in the plan. Stated supports funding must be spent on the stated support as described. The Department's Step 3 fact sheet says the majority of supports will be flexible and gives examples:

Other features of the budget set by the Act:

• Restrictions — the NDIA can require part of the flexible funding to be spent on specified supports, for example if the participant would be likely to suffer physical, mental or financial harm without the restriction. Participants can also ask for a restriction to set money aside.
• Requirements — conditions on buying a support, such as getting a quote or using an appropriately qualified professional before funds are released.
• Funding periods — flexible and stated funding are released in periods of no more than 12 months, with unspent amounts rolling into the next period.

New framework plans vs old framework plans

The biggest shift is from the NDIA deciding on individual supports to the NDIA deciding a total budget using a standard method.

When participants move to new framework plans

The rollout has been delayed. Earlier consultation material described a start in mid-2026, but the Department has since said new framework planning will begin on 1 April 2027 to allow more time for feedback, testing of the rules and information about the transition. Under section 32B of the Act, the NDIA must give each participant written notice that they will have a new framework plan, and it can't start preparing that plan until the notice is given. Draft transition rules proposed that participants aged 16 and over move first, with children later, because the core needs assessment tool is designed for people aged 16 and over (draft transition rules, explanatory document).

Until a participant receives their notice, their existing plan continues. Once a participant has been told they will have new framework plans, the Act stops the NDIA reassessing their old framework plan, so check the latest dates on the Department's reform timeline before planning around them.

Reviews and what providers should expect

Review rights stay the same. Participants can ask for an internal review of the decision approving their plan and then apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal. What changes is the content of a review: the reviews and appeals fact sheet says the reviewer or tribunal will look at whether the assessment accurately captured the participant's needs, whether the budget method was applied correctly, and decisions about funding periods, plan management and restrictions. A participant who thinks the assessment missed something can ask for a replacement assessment as part of the review.

For providers, the practical changes are:

• More flexible budgets — participants can shift spending between support types within flexible funding, so demand for a service may change mid-plan.
• Stated supports stay fixed — supports such as SDA, behaviour support and support coordination must be used as described.
• Evidence still matters — targeted assessments draw on allied health and other professional reports, and quotes still drive funding for some items.
• Claims still check funding periods — confirm available funds with the participant or plan manager before large or one-off supports.

Common misunderstandings about new framework plans

• "Everyone moved to new framework plans in 2026." The start was pushed back to 1 April 2027, with a gradual rollout over several years.
• "The assessment decides my plan on its own." The report feeds the budget method; an NDIA delegate still checks and approves the plan.
• "I can't appeal any more." Internal review and the ART remain available.
• "Flexible means no rules." Funding must still be spent on NDIS supports, and restrictions or requirements can apply.
• "My goals no longer matter." Every plan still contains the participant's statement of goals and aspirations, and the assessment asks about goals.