NDIS Cuts Social and Community Participation Budgets from October 2026 — What It Means for Your Plan

Key points:

• Average social and community participation budgets are reducing from roughly $31,000 to $26,000 over two years, effective 1 October 2026.
• Capacity-building daily activity budgets face a 10% cut.
• A new $200 million Inclusive Communities Fund opens for consultation from July 2026 to help rebuild community organisation capacity.
• These changes sit within the broader NDIS Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026.

Information current as of July 2026. Policy is evolving. This article is general information only — not NDIS, legal, or financial advice.

What’s actually changing?

The Department of Health has confirmed that from 1 October 2026, average funding for social and community participation — the budget category covering things like community outings, social groups, and civic participation — will fall from around $31,000 to approximately $26,000 per participant over two years. Capacity-building supports for daily activities are also being reduced, by around 10%.

This is part of a wider reform package, the NDIS Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026, which the government has framed as necessary to keep the Scheme financially sustainable long-term.

Why is this happening?

The stated rationale is sustainability — bringing NDIS cost growth back toward a target growth rate the Commonwealth and states agreed to in earlier reform negotiations. Independent reporting on the changes has been consistent: this is a genuine tightening, not a minor administrative adjustment.

What’s the $200 million Inclusive Communities Fund?

Alongside the cuts, the government is opening consultation from July 2026 on a $200 million Inclusive Communities Fund, intended to help rebuild the capacity of mainstream and community organisations to include people with disability — separate from individual NDIS plan funding. Details of how to access it are still being finalised through consultation.

Does this affect Support Coordination itself?

Not directly — Support Coordination sits in a different part of the plan (Capacity Building — Support Coordination, 07_002) to the social and community participation budget being reduced. But it affects the conversations coordinators need to have with participants:

• Budgets that previously covered a broader mix of community activities may need to be prioritised more carefully from October 2026.
• Plan reviews falling near or after the October 2026 date are the ones most likely to see the new lower reference amounts applied.
• Existing, current plans are not retrospectively cut — this affects the amounts used when plans are next reviewed or renewed.

What should you do now?

1. Don’t assume your current plan changes today. These figures apply from 1 October 2026 onward, and mainly at your next plan review.
2. Talk to your coordinator before your next review, especially if community participation is a large part of how you use your plan.
3. Keep records of what your community participation funding actually achieves — evidence of outcomes matters more when budgets are tighter.
4. Watch for the Inclusive Communities Fund consultation if you’re connected to a community organisation that might benefit from it directly.

Where to learn more

• Department of Health: About the changes to the NDIS
• UNSW Newsroom: NDIS changes — tightened eligibility and cuts to plans
• InSight+ (MJA): What the NDIS changes mean for participants

If you’re a participant in Perth or WA and want to understand what these changes mean for your specific plan — get in touch. We’re here to help.

Xyston Support Coordination | Registered NDIS Provider No. 4050127478 | Serving participants across Perth and WA