Two years since the NDIS Review: which recommendations have been implemented
It’s been two years since the Independent Review of the NDIS — chaired by Bruce Bonyhady and Lisa Paul — handed down its 26 recommendations. The Review remains the policy backbone for everything currently being implemented or under design.
What’s been done
- Recommendation 1 (foundational supports) — A federal–state agreement on the architecture is in place. State delivery models are at varying stages, with SA’s Thriving Kids program operational. Most other states expect adult foundational supports to launch through 2026–27.
- Recommendation 6 (assessment tool design) — Procurement and design work is underway. Public consultation closed in September 2025. Operational target remains 2028.
- Recommendations 12–14 (registration framework) — The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission has started consultation on a refreshed category structure. The signalled “90% of payments to registered providers” position is being implemented through pricing and payment rules rather than a hard cutover.
- Recommendations 19–22 (pricing reform) — The 2025–26 Price Guide implements a number of these changes (see our March 2026 update).
What’s still in design
- The detail of how functional capacity assessments will be conducted, by whom, and how appealable they are
- The mechanics of transition for participants who move off NDIS to foundational supports
- Workforce funding and minimum-standards arrangements (which intersect with the SCHADS Award and Disability Royal Commission recommendations)
What looks unlikely to land soon
Some recommendations — particularly around national data infrastructure (Recommendation 25) and the consolidated complaints body (Recommendation 23) — appear to have stalled in inter-government negotiation. They haven’t been abandoned, but they haven’t moved meaningfully in the past 12 months either.
Why this matters now
The April 2026 announcement was not new policy — it was the visible front-end of work that has been progressing since the Review handed down. The shape of what comes next is more predictable than it might feel, because it’s largely already specified in the Review.
If you want to understand where the reform is going, the NDIS Review final report itself remains the most important document.
Sources
- Working Together to Deliver the NDIS — final report, Bonyhady and Paul, December 2023
- DSS implementation tracker (mid-2025)
- NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission consultation papers
Information current as of 12 December 2025.
This article is based on publicly announced information and is for general information only — not official guidance. NDIS reform rules are still being finalised and are subject to change. For advice specific to your situation, speak with your plan manager, support coordinator, or a free NDIS advocate. Full disclaimer
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