2026 Federal Budget
Special Update
Last night (Tuesday 12 May), the Federal Government released the 2026/27 Budget. For many within the disability community, the lead up to the Budget has been a time of anxiety and concern following proposed reforms to the NDIS flagged by Minister Mark Butler on 22 April 2026.
The Government announced that it expects to reduce NDIS expenditure by $37.8 billion over the next four years as part of its reform agenda.
For people with disability, the Budget focused heavily on NDIS reform and the new Thriving Kids program over the upcoming four-year period.
Developed by Queenslanders with Disability Network (QDN) in collaboration with people with lived experience of disability, industry representatives, the Department of Housing and Public Works (DHPW), and other key industry peak bodies, the campaign promotes consistent and accurate guidance across the sector.
NDIS Spending Announcements
The Budget included a total of $1.7 billion over five years from 2025–26 financial year (and $110.9 million per year ongoing) to support people with disability and to improve the quality of supports delivered through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) which includes:
- $358.5 million over five years from 2025–26 to develop and implement a new enrolment and digital payment system to improve payment integrity and reduce fraud and non‑compliant payments
- $280.1 million over five years from 2025–26 ($53.0 million per year ongoing) to continue the Fraud Fusion Taskforce with regards to identifying fraud and responding and managing payments that are non-compliant
- $270.1 million in 2026–27 to prepare for the roll‑out and implementation of new framework planning from 1 April 2027
- $182.6 million over four years from 2026–27 ($46.1 million per year ongoing) to introduce mandatory registration of high‑risk NDIS providers.
- $49.4 million over four years from 2026–27 to commission plan management and support coordination services for NDIS participants to reduce fraud and improve service quality for participants
- $48.4 million over three years from 2025–26 to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing and the NDIA to support consultation on and implementation of NDIS reforms
- Fund Disability Representative Organisations to consult on NDIS reforms – $15.9 million over 4 years (then 6 million ongoing). But this funding is ‘to be partially met from within the existing resources.’
- $3.3 million in 2026–27 to establish a Technical Advisory Group to provide expertise on the design of functional capacity assessment tools and instruments.
- $200.0 million over three years from 2026–27 to establish an Inclusive Communities Fund to support community organisations to deliver group based social and community participation activities and individual capacity building support for NDIS participants.
Foundational Supports Update
Funding focused on Foundational Supports outside the NDIS was also part of the budget:
– $3 billion over five years to establish Foundational Supports outside the NDIS, to be matched by states and territories as agreed by National Cabinet.
– $1.4 billion over five years from 2026–27 to states and territories to deliver Thriving Kids services.
– The Government also announced an expected $37.8billion in NDIS savings in line with the announcement from Minister Butler on 22 April at the National Press Club.
Based on current projections the estimated spend on the NDIS is expected to be $56.5 billion for 2026-27 which is higher than the expected $55.4 billion that had been expected from the previous budget. However, this will be the first budget to incorporate the proposed NDIS spending freezes.
Next Steps
QDN will continue to work with Queensland State Government and Department of Families, Seniors, Disability Services and Child Safety to understand how these budget measures will be implemented across Queensland.
Special NDIS Changes Event
QDN is hosting an online member forum this Friday 15 May from 9:00am to 10:00am to discuss the Budget and the proposed NDIS changes.
Join our special member only online forum to discuss the NDIS changes, come together and share your reflections and what this means for you and our broader community.
QDN will provide an overview of the Budget announcements and any relevant updates arising from the Opposition’s response.
To register for the online member forum follow the link below:
https://events.humanitix.com/ndis-check-in/tickets/
QDN will also provide further analysis and updates on the 2026/27 Federal Budget and proposed NDIS reforms in a dedicated budget edition of the policy e-news next week that will be emailed out to all members.