With the NDIS reform bill still before the Senate, most of the attention has been on what might change. But something is already happening on the ground: plan reassessments are rolling through the Scheme now, and some participants are opening decision letters that reduce their supports. If that’s you, or someone you support, the most important thing to know is this: a plan decision is not the end of the conversation. Here are the rights you have and how to use them.
Step One: The Internal Review
If you disagree with a decision the NDIA has made, whether that’s a reduced budget, a support that wasn’t funded, or a change to how your plan is managed, you can request an internal review. You have three months from receiving the decision to ask for one, and it costs nothing.
An internal review means a different NDIA staff member, someone not involved in the original decision, looks at it again with fresh eyes. You can request it by phone on 1800 800 110, in writing, or through your my NDIS portal, and you should explain specifically why you believe the decision doesn’t reflect your support needs. The official process is set out on the NDIS review of decisions page.
Step Two: The Tribunal
If the internal review doesn’t resolve things, you can apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal, an independent body outside the NDIA entirely. The tribunal takes a fresh look at the decision and can substitute its own. Many matters settle through case conferencing before a full hearing, and free advocacy and some legal support are available specifically for NDIS appeals through the National Disability Advocacy Program.
The order matters: you generally must complete the internal review before the tribunal becomes available, which is another reason not to sit on that three-month window.
Evidence Wins Reviews
The single biggest difference between reviews that succeed and those that don’t is evidence. Decisions get overturned when participants can show, concretely, how a support relates to their disability and what happens without it.
Practical preparation: keep your specialist and therapist reports current, keep a simple diary of daily support needs including your harder days, and ask your providers for letters that link supports to function (“without X hours of support, Y cannot safely happen”) rather than general endorsements. If a decision letter arrives, request the reasons for the decision too, knowing exactly what the delegate relied on tells you exactly what evidence to answer with.
Your Supports During a Review
Requesting a review doesn’t pause your plan, your current plan continues to operate while the process runs. If your circumstances change during that time, or something in the decision creates immediate risk, say so explicitly in your review request and ask for it to be prioritised.
The Bigger Picture
Reform is coming, and the government has committed to consulting the disability community as it lands.
“Nothing about us, without us,” is the principle the government has publicly committed to for the reform process.
But whatever the legislation eventually says, the review rights above exist right now, under current law, and they are used successfully every week. The participants who navigate this period best won’t be the ones who never receive a difficult decision, they’ll be the ones who know that a decision letter is the start of a process, not the end of one, and who walk into that process with their evidence in order.
Epik Wire covers the NDIS in plain language for participants and families. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed.
