The Senate has passed the NDIS Bill with changes – what it means and what Inclusion Australia thinks

This information was written by Inclusion Australia on 18 August 2026.

Where we say we it means Inclusion Australia.

This information is written in Easy Read.

Hard words are in bold. We explain what they mean.

It is a good idea to read this information with support.

This information is about some changes that were made to the NDIS Bill in the Senate today before they agreed that it should become law.

The Senate is one part of the Australian Parliament.

The Senate has been talking about the NDIS Bill since May 2026.

Today the Senate agreed to the NDIS Bill with some more changes.

Agreeing to the Bill is called passing the Bill.

The government said it made these changes after hearing from:

• People with disability
• Families
• Advocates
• Disability organisations
• Other politicians.

There will be extra protections for some people with 24/7 disability support needs.

This means when someone has support 24 hours a day and every day of the week.

The change means that if money is cut from one part of a NDIS plan a participant can ask for support to be funded in another part of their plan.

This is to help make sure people do not have time with no support.

There are also changes about how the NDIA thinks about support from families and carers.

This is called parental responsibility.

The NDIA will need to think about:

• Whether a family or carer is able to provide support
• The age of family members and carers
• How much support the person needs.

They also need to think about:

• What type of support the person needs
• Whether it is appropriate for a particular family member or carer to provide the support
• Whether someone could be at risk of harm if NDIS support is not provided.

There are also new rules about what NDIS providers can give people to encourage them to use their services.

Providers will not be allowed to give some gifts to get someone to use their service.

These are called inducements.

They can include money or gift cards.

The changes will also make it easier to ask for a plan reassessment when someone’s situation changes.

For example if there are changes to:

• Where someone lives
• The support someone needs for work
• The support a person gets from family.

There have been lots of other changes to the Bill.

We need to understand more about what these changes could mean for people with an intellectual disability and their families.

We are very pleased to see some extra protection for people who need 24/7 support.

We are pleased that so many people with disability spoke up about what they are worried about.

It is good that the government has listened to people who have said the Bill could make people unsafe.

We need to make sure these changes work well in real life.

We still do not support the Bill being made law.

The Bill is not law yet.

The Senate has passed the Bill with some changes.

The Bill now needs to go back to the House of Representatives to see if they agree with the changes.

The House of Representatives is another part of the Australian Parliament.

We think this will happen on Wednesday or Thursday this week.

This does not mean your NDIS plan or funding will change straight away.

We will keep finding out more about what the changes mean.

We will keep speaking up for people with an intellectual disability and their families.

We will share more Easy Read information when we know more about what happens next.

You can read Easy Read information on other changes that have happened so far on our website: https://www.inclusionaustralia.org.au/news

We don’t know what will happen with the NDIS law yet.

It can be hard when we don’t know what things will be like in the future.

It is normal to feel sad. You might also feel angry or worried.

It is important to take care of yourself and talk to someone you trust about how you are feeling.

Lifeline is free counselling service for people who feel overwhelmed or are having unsafe thoughts.

Call: 13 11 14

Text message: 0477 13 11 14

Lifeline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Lifeline will keep your conversations private.

Online chat: https://www.lifeline.org.au/crisis-chat

13 Yarn is free confidential phone counselling for First Nations people

13 Yarn is available 24 hours a day every day of the week

Call: 13 92 76.

Neve is a website made by and for:

• Women
• Girls
• Non-binary people with disability.

It has Easy Read information about getting support here: https://www.neve.wwda.org.au/category-page/support