NDIS Plan Reassessment: What It Is, When You Can Request One and What Evidence You Need

Updated September 2026: new rules now in effect

The NDIS Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 20 August 2026.

New procedures for requesting an unscheduled plan reassessment commenced on 27 August 2026.

A new Plan Reassessment Request Form is now required. The old Change of Situation form is no longer accepted.

This new process also applies to requests made before 27 August 2026 that had not yet been decided by that date.

Source: NDIA Our Guideline, Plan reassessments, 25 August 2026.

A plan reassessment is when the NDIA replaces your current NDIS plan with a new one. It is used when your ongoing need for NDIS supports has significantly changed and your current plan no longer meets those needs. This article explains what a plan reassessment is; when you can request one under the new rules that commenced on 27 August 2026; what evidence the NDIA requires; how a reassessment compares to a plan variation; and why the evidence you provide, including whether it comes from an independent source, directly affects the outcome.

Download the NDIS forms

Both current forms, published directly by the NDIA, are linked below so they are easy to find and download.

OFFICIAL NDIA FORM

Download: Plan Reassessment Request Form

Use this when a participant’s support needs have changed significantly and on an ongoing basis and a new plan is needed.

OFFICIAL NDIA FORM

Download: Plan Variation Request Form

Use this for a minor, urgent or short term change to a participant’s current plan, without a full reassessment.

Plan reassessment versus plan variation: what is the difference?

The most important question when your circumstances change is whether you need a plan reassessment or a plan variation. A reassessment replaces your plan entirely. A variation adjusts specific parts of your existing plan. The table below sets out the key differences.

Feature	Plan Reassessment	Plan Variation
What it does	Replaces the existing plan entirely with a new one	Adjusts specific parts of the existing plan while the plan continues
When to use it	Significant and ongoing change to functional capacity or personal circumstances	Minor or technical change, temporary need, urgent short term funding or emergency
Who can request it	Participant, nominee, child representative or legal guardian only. Cannot be delegated to anyone else	Participant, nominee or child representative. The participant can give consent for someone else to request on their behalf
Form to use from 27 August 2026	Plan Reassessment Request Form. The old Change of Situation form is no longer accepted	Plan Variation Request Form. The old Change of Situation form is no longer accepted
NDIA decision timeframe	90 days from receiving a valid request. If no decision is made within 90 days the request is automatically declined and an internal review is triggered	21 days, extended to 28 days (general) or 50 days (complex needs) if more time is needed. If no decision is made within 21 days the request is automatically declined and an internal review is triggered
Evidence recency requirement	Must be dated within 4 months of the request and after the current plan was approved	No fixed recency rule. Evidence must be current enough to support the specific change requested
Prognosis required	Yes. Evidence must address how functional capacity is expected to improve, decline or stabilise over time	Not required
Can add new support types	Yes. A reassessment can introduce new funding components and support categories for the first time	No. A variation cannot add funding periods or components that are not already in the plan. That requires a reassessment
Effect on existing plan	The plan is replaced entirely. All supports are reconsidered against current evidence	The plan continues. Only the specific parts addressed in the variation change
New plan received	Within 7 days of the new plan being approved	Within 7 days of the variation being approved
Disagreeing with the decision	Request an internal review within 3 months of the decision	Request an internal review within 3 months of the decision
CEO-initiated	Yes. The NDIA can initiate a reassessment without the participant requesting it	Yes. The NDIA can initiate a variation without the participant requesting it

What is a plan reassessment?

A plan reassessment is when the NDIA replaces your current plan with a new one. All of your goals, circumstances and disability support needs are reconsidered and every support in your new plan must meet the NDIS funding criteria. Some existing supports may reduce or be removed if they are no longer needed while others may increase or change based on current evidence. This is different from a plan variation which makes targeted changes to your current plan without replacing it.

When can you request a plan reassessment?

Every plan has a scheduled reassessment date. The NDIA will review your plan with you by that date. You can also ask for an unscheduled reassessment before the scheduled date if there has been a significant and ongoing change to either of the following.

Functional capacity: meaning the daily activities you can and cannot do because of your disability. This is defined as your ability to perform an activity without help from others, assistive technology or modifications or only with assistance from commonly used assistive technology. Glasses, walking sticks and hearing aids are examples of commonly used assistive technology.
Personal situation or environment: meaning a significant and ongoing change to your living arrangements, education or work arrangements or informal supports.

Both conditions must be satisfied. The change must be significant, meaning you now need more NDIS supports. It must also be ongoing, meaning the change is likely to continue over time. A short term change such as needing extra support while you recover from surgery generally points toward a plan variation or mainstream services rather than a full reassessment.

The NDIA may also initiate a reassessment without you requesting it. This is called a CEO-initiated plan reassessment. The NDIA will work with you if this occurs. It might happen if the NDIA believes there is a risk to your safety, if evidence suggests your current plan no longer meets your needs or if it has been five years since your last plan reassessment.

Who can request a plan reassessment?

Important: who can and cannot request a reassessment

A plan reassessment can only be requested by you, your plan nominee, your child representative or your legal guardian.

You cannot give consent to someone else, such as a support coordinator or provider to request a reassessment on your behalf. This is different from a plan variation where you can give consent for someone else to request it.

If someone else tells the NDIA you are at risk because of a change in your support needs the NDIA will contact you directly. They will not reassess your plan without involving you.

How to request a plan reassessment

To request a plan reassessment you must complete the Plan Reassessment Request Form and attach the evidence the NDIA needs to make a decision. The old Change of Situation form is no longer accepted from 27 August 2026. If your request does not include all required information and evidence it will not be treated as a valid request and the NDIA cannot make a decision. You can contact the NDIA for help completing the form.

The current version of the form can be downloaded directly from the NDIA: Plan Reassessment Request Form.

If your situation calls for a variation instead the correct form is the Plan Variation Request Form.

The NDIA’s own guidance on this topic is available at What is a plan reassessment on ndis.gov.au.

What evidence does the NDIA require for a plan reassessment?

Evidence requirements differ depending on the reason for the reassessment request. For a reassessment based on a change in functional capacity the following applies.

Evidence requirements for a change in functional capacity

The evidence must be recent: dated within 4 months of the date you submit your request and after the date your current plan was approved.

It must show a significant change to your functional capacity, meaning your ability to do the things you do every day has significantly changed because of your disability.

It must show that your ongoing NDIS support needs have changed because of this change in functional capacity.

It must show that the change is directly related to your disability and eligible impairments.

It must show how the change has affected your daily activities across all six functional domains: communication, social interaction, learning, mobility, self-care and self-management.

It must address how your functional capacity is expected to change over time: whether it is likely to improve, decline or stabilise. This should consider the nature of your disability, planned treatment or rehabilitation and whether suitable assistive technology or home modifications could support your long term functional capacity.

Evidence must come from an appropriately qualified professional relevant to your disability, such as a general practitioner or medical specialist, an allied health professional, a psychologist or mental health practitioner or a behaviour support practitioner.

For a reassessment based on a change in living arrangements the evidence must show the change is significant and ongoing, how it impacts your ongoing disability support needs and that it is directly related to your disability and eligible impairments.

For a reassessment based on a change in informal supports the evidence must show the change is significant and ongoing or that there is a risk your informal supports will break down, how this impacts your disability support needs and the direct link to your eligible impairments.

What does this look like in practice?

The NDIA’s own guidance illustrates the reassessment threshold with worked examples. Two adapted scenarios show how the test applies in practice.

Scenario: a progressive condition changes what a participant can safely do

A participant living with multiple sclerosis has a plan that has been working well for some time. Over a period of months, their balance and coordination decline to the point where they can no longer safely prepare meals or get dressed without physical assistance. Their allied health professional completes a new Functional Capacity Assessment confirming the decline in motor function the physical assistance and equipment now required and a prognosis that the decline is expected to continue rather than resolve. Because the change is significant, ongoing and directly tied to the participant’s existing eligible impairment, it supports a reassessment request.

Scenario: a change in who provides informal support

A young adult with an intellectual disability has always had a parent provide his personal care. As he gets older, he tells the NDIA he is no longer comfortable with this arrangement and needs a paid support worker instead. A report from his Occupational Therapist, addressing his age, his support needs and his own stated preferences, together with information from his family, demonstrates a significant and ongoing change to his informal supports. Because the change is expected to continue rather than resolve, it is treated as grounds for a reassessment rather than a short term variation.

Why the prognosis section is the most commonly missing element

The requirement to address how functional capacity is expected to change over time is one of the clearest differences between a comprehensive Functional Capacity Assessment and a standard medical letter or therapy note. Many professionals who prepare evidence for NDIS purposes focus on the current functional picture and do not address the forward looking prognosis question. When this element is missing the NDIA cannot make a fully informed decision and may request additional information, causing delays.

A Functional Capacity Assessment completed by an experienced Occupational Therapist addresses the prognosis requirement directly. It documents current functioning the clinical trajectory of the condition and how disability related support needs are expected to change over time.

Why independent evidence matters: the NDIA’s conflict of interest check

When the NDIA reviews the evidence submitted with a plan reassessment request, it specifically considers whether the person who provided the evidence may have a real or apparent conflict of interest. This is stated in the NDIA’s official guidelines on plan reassessments.

A conflict of interest may arise where the professional providing the evidence also has a financial relationship with the participant’s NDIS funding. For example, an OT employed by a service provider that delivers ongoing supports to the same participant may have an interest, even if unintentional, in the plan continuing to fund those services. This is not an accusation of wrongdoing. It is simply a recognised risk in any situation where the evidence provider benefits financially from the plan outcome.

An independent Occupational Therapist has no financial relationship with the participant’s NDIS funded services. Sina OT does not deliver ongoing support services. The sole purpose of the assessment is to provide an accurate, impartial clinical picture of the participant’s functional capacity and support needs. This means the evidence is free from any bias toward a particular funding outcome and the NDIA’s conflict of interest concern does not arise.

Independent evidence is not only more credible to the NDIA. It is more useful for participants because an assessor without a stake in the outcome has every reason to document the picture accurately, including supports that might be reduced and supports that are genuinely needed.

What the NDIA’s own guidelines say

The NDIA guidelines on plan reassessments state: “When reviewing your evidence, we’ll check whether there are any concerns with the evidence or information provided. This may include whether the person providing it may have a real or apparent conflict of interest.”

Source: NDIA Our Guideline, Plan reassessments, 25 August 2026, page 14.

How the NDIA decides on a reassessment request

Once a valid reassessment request is received the NDIA has 90 days to make a decision. It can decide to reassess the plan, vary the plan instead or decline to make any change. If the NDIA does not make a decision within 90 days the request is automatically treated as declined and an internal review of that decision is triggered automatically.

Before deciding on a reassessment the NDIA also considers whether the change in support needs can be addressed in other ways: varying the current plan, using the current plan flexibly, accessing informal or community supports or using mainstream services. If the change is temporary or if support needs are expected to return to what is already funded the NDIA may decide to vary your plan rather than reassess it.

What if the situation is urgent?

If you are waiting on a decision and your situation is genuinely urgent or if you already have a review underway and something changes, four pathways exist beyond the standard reassessment process. Our companion article on the high support needs safeguard pathway covers these in full detail, but the table below gives a quick summary.

Pathway	When it fits	How to act
Urgent internal review	Already in a review and something urgent is happening (risk to health, homelessness, carer unavailable, worsening disability).	Call 1800 800 110 and flag urgency directly.
Crisis or emergency variation	Not in a review, but urgent once-off or short term funding is needed fast.	Submit the Plan Variation Request Form or call 1800 800 110 if it cannot wait.
Participant-requested change	Already in a review and the participant’s situation changes and they want to act on it.	Call 1800 800 110 and submit whichever form fits: variation or reassessment.
CEO-initiated change	Already in a review and the NDIA notices the change first.	No form needed, but tell the NDIA directly so it is actioned.

What happens during and after a reassessment?

During the reassessment the NDIA considers all of your goals, circumstances and disability support needs and checks every support against the NDIS funding criteria. Existing supports may reduce or be removed if they are no longer needed. Others may increase or change based on current evidence. The NDIA will only fund a support if it directly relates to your disability and there is a clear link between your disability support needs and the support being funded.

After the reassessment is complete, you will receive a copy of your new plan within 7 days of it being approved. Your local area coordinator, early childhood partner or support coordinator can help you understand your new plan and connect with providers.

What if you disagree with the decision?

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of a plan reassessment, you can request an internal review of the decision. An internal review must be requested within 3 months of the decision being made. If you are still not satisfied after an internal review, you can seek an external review through the Administrative Review Tribunal.

Who can refer to Sina OT for a Functional Capacity Assessment?

Referrals are accepted from participants and families, support coordinators and legal representatives involved in NDIS appeals or Administrative Review Tribunal matters. Sina OT provides independent Functional Capacity Assessments across Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney. All assessments are completed in person in the participant’s home and community environment, are prepared to meet current NDIA evidence requirements and are suitable for plan reassessment requests, plan variation requests and Administrative Review Tribunal matters.

Disclaimer

This article is provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial or individualised clinical advice. It reflects the NDIS legislation and NDIA guidance published as at September 2026 and may not reflect subsequent amendments, rule changes or NDIA operational updates. Readers should always confirm current requirements directly with the NDIA or at ourguidelines.ndis.gov.au and seek independent legal advice for matters relating to a specific plan, decision or Administrative Review Tribunal matter. Nothing in this article should be relied upon as a substitute for an individualised Functional Capacity Assessment conducted by an appropriately qualified Occupational Therapist.

Refer to Sina OT

Sina OT is an independent Occupational Therapy practice providing Functional Capacity Assessments across Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.

Sina OT provides independent Functional Capacity Assessments with no conflict of interest. Assessments are prepared to meet current NDIA evidence requirements and are suitable for plan reassessment requests, plan variation requests and Administrative Review Tribunal matters.

Services are available in English and Farsi (Persian).