Plan Managers have experienced a steady stream of changes to the NDIS over the past few years — from the rollout of the PACE system to new restrictions and processes and an increase in payment integrity activity.
The introduction of Funding Periods is the latest in this series of changes, and it’s one that will shape how Participant budgets are structured and accessed going forward. We recognise that keeping up with these reforms can be challenging while continuing to deliver vital support to participants.
This article has been created to help you understand what’s changing, why it’s happening, and how you can prepare — so you can continue to support participants with confidence.
What are Funding Periods?
Funding Periods define how often Participants can access portions of their total NDIS budget.
Currently, Participants can access all funding in their plan at any time. While this offers flexibility, it can make it harder for Participants to budget across the life of their plan and can increase the risk of funds running out too early.
The aim of Funding Periods is to help Participants budget more effectively, reduce risk, and make their funding last in line with their support needs.
This change is underpinned by Section 33 of the new legislation, which outlines how participant plans are managed and funding is made available. The introduction of Funding Periods is one of several reforms designed to improve budgeting, reduce plan inflation, and manage risk.
Here’s how it works:- A Participant’s plan will specify Funding Periods that determine how much of their budget is made available and how often.
- Funding Periods can be set at intervals of 1, 3, 6 or 12 months, depending on the Participant’s circumstances and needs. The default for most supports will be 3 months, with 1 month Funding Periods for Home and Living.
- Funding Periods can also vary by support category or support item — meaning different parts of a Participant’s plan may have different release schedules.
- Unspent funds accumulate over time, so Participants can access all funds released to date at any point during their plan.
- Unspent funds will not roll over into a new plan.
- Future funding cannot be brought forward early.
- Participants will need to spend within the funding amount in a given Funding Period.
More information can be found on NDIS Websites below:
- How Funding in your Plan is Organised
When are Funding Periods being introduced?
Funding Periods were included as part of the latest legislation changes from 3 October 2024 onwards, which stipulated that for Plans to be legislatively compliant, the maximum allowable Funding Period was 12 months.
From Monday 19th May 2025, budget information for all Participants in the PACE system (the NDIS’s new IT system) will start reflecting Funding Period structures, even if the Participant hasn’t yet been formally allocated Funding Periods in their plan.
Funding Periods will start to roll out for any new PACE plans and PACE reassessed plans from this date. Legacy plans (Participants still managed on the old system) will not be affected.
How will Funding Periods affect Plan Managers?
For Plan Managers, Funding Periods will mean:- Budget visibility changes: you’ll see new structures in Participant budget data, reflecting the amounts available for the current Funding Period and total released funds to date.
- Plan claims and fund tracking: it will be essential to stay across how much funding has been released and remains available, to assist Participants with accurate claiming and budgeting.
- Insufficient Funds: the NDIA have advised in their webinars that if a Funding Period has insufficient funds, the claim line will be rejected, NOT partially paid.
- Claiming across Funding Periods: if supports are delivered across funding periods, you will need to split the claim line - one line for the previous Funding Period, and one line for the current Funding Period.
- Communication with Participants: Participants may need guidance understanding how much funding is available to them at different points and how rollover works. Planability will include the Funding Period schedule on the NDIS Budget page and in the generated Monthly Statements that Participants, Nominees and Support Coordinators receive.
- System updates: Plan Management software, such as Planability, is being updated to interpret and display Funding Period data correctly. Expect a period of transition as systems adapt to the new structure.
Stay informed
We encourage all Plan Managers to attend the NDIS’s upcoming webinars titled “Introducing Section 33 budget changes for providers” to ensure you are across the details of this change and can clarify any questions directly with the NDIA.
At Credability Systems, we’re working closely to ensure Planability supports Funding Periods as smoothly as possible and we will continue to provide our customers with updates as the rollout progresses.