NDIS New Framework Planning 2026–2027

What actually changes — and what each person needs to do

Disclaimer: This article reflects publicly available information about the NDIS new planning framework as at June 2026, including the NDIA''s confirmed April 2027 commencement. This guide does not constitute professional disability support, legal, or financial advice.

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The NDIS new planning framework has been officially confirmed to begin its staged rollout from 1 April 2027 — delayed from the original mid-2026 target to allow more time for testing and preparation.

If you want the full timeline and background on why the date changed, read our dedicated guide: NDIS I-CAN v6 Rollout: Is It Delayed Again?

This article takes a different approach. Rather than covering the timeline again, it focuses on a question that is equally important: what does this change actually mean for you, specifically?

The answer is different depending on your role. A participant preparing for their first I-CAN v6 assessment has different things to focus on than a carer preparing a statement, a support coordinator updating their practice, or an occupational therapist writing supporting reports.

Here is what changes — and what you need to do — for each role.

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For Participants: What the New Process Actually Looks Like

If you are an NDIS participant, the most important thing to understand is that the new framework changes how your needs are assessed, not what you are fundamentally entitled to.

What is different

A structured needs assessment replaces the previous approach. Under the previous system, planning relied heavily on reports from treating specialists, allied health professionals, and planner judgement — with significant variation in outcomes depending on who your planner was and what evidence you happened to have available.

Under the new framework, an accredited, independent assessor conducts a structured I-CAN v6 assessment — a guided conversation measuring your daily functioning across 12 life domains. The assessor applies a consistent methodology regardless of where you live. Your supporting reports remain important as context; they are no longer the primary decision-making mechanism.

The assessment is funded by the NDIA. There is no cost to you.

You receive the report. After the assessment, you receive a copy of the assessor''s report and have the right to an implementation meeting with the NDIA to discuss how the plan has been structured in response to your results.

You have clearer review rights. If you disagree with the assessment outcome or the plan it produces, the new framework codifies your rights to request an internal review and, if needed, apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal. For a full guide to these rights, read: Your rights during the NDIS I-CAN v6 assessment process.

What to do now

Learn the 12 I-CAN domains. Your assessment will be structured around: Self-Care, Daily Life Activities, Communication, Mobility, Interpersonal Interactions, Learning and Education, Employment, Health and Wellbeing, Social and Community Participation, Home and Living, Positive Behaviour Support, and Support Coordination. Understanding these in advance means you can prepare targeted descriptions rather than improvising on the day. Read The 12 I-CAN domains explained.

Document your daily life. The I-CAN v6 assesses your typical functioning — not your best days or your worst. Keeping a simple diary of how your disability affects daily activities across these domains gives you and your assessor accurate, specific material to work with. For guidance on what to write and how, see How to prepare for your I-CAN v6 assessment.

Update your supporting documentation. Specialist letters, occupational therapy reports, and allied health assessments remain valuable supporting evidence. If your most recent reports are more than two years old, consider contacting your treating professionals to request current updates.

Use ICANReady to structure your preparation. ICANReady guides you through all 12 I-CAN domains in plain language and helps you build a preparation document that clearly describes your daily support needs — so your assessor has an accurate, comprehensive picture from the start.

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For Carers: Your Role Is More Formal Than You May Realise

If you are an unpaid carer — a parent, spouse, sibling, or close family member providing regular support to an NDIS participant — the new framework has a specific, formal place for your contribution.

What is different

Informal support is explicitly factored in. The I-CAN v6 assessment considers the full picture of support in a participant''s life — including the unpaid support provided by carers and family members. The assessor will want to understand what you currently do, how often, and whether that level of caring is sustainable.

Carer sustainability matters. If your caring role is at risk — because of its impact on your own health, employment, or relationships — that is directly relevant to what the NDIA should fund. Funded supports should not exist only as a complement to an unsustainable informal caring arrangement. This is a meaningful change from how some previous plans were constructed.

You can contribute formally. Carers can attend the assessment as a support person, provide a written carer statement to the assessor in advance, and have their observations considered as part of the assessment process.

What to do now

Prepare a carer statement. A good carer statement covers:

• The specific activities you assist with and how often
• The typical duration of your caring involvement each day or week
• The impact on your own health, employment, or other responsibilities
• Whether the current level of care is sustainable over the medium term
• Any concerns about gaps in support

Be specific. "I help my daughter get dressed every morning, which takes about 45 minutes because she cannot reliably manage buttons, zippers, or shoes independently" is more useful than "I assist with personal care."

Write it down for a week. Carers often understate their contribution — from habit or because they have not thought carefully about how much they actually do. Recording what you do, day by day for one week, often reveals a care load that is significantly larger than it feels in the moment.

Know your rights. Under the Carer Recognition Act 2010 (Cwlth), you have rights to be recognised and supported in your caring role. Contact Carers Australia or a local disability advocacy service for independent guidance. Read our full guide: NDIS I-CAN v6 for carers and families.

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For Support Coordinators: An Earlier, More Defined Role

Under the new framework, support coordinators have a more formally defined and earlier role in the planning process. The expectation has shifted from primarily post-plan implementation support to active pre-assessment preparation.

What is different

Pre-planning is now a defined phase. The new framework explicitly recognises a pre-planning stage in which participants should be supported to prepare for the I-CAN v6 assessment. Support coordinators are the natural lead for this work.

The 12 I-CAN domains create a structured agenda. Rather than open-ended preparation, you now have 12 defined domains to work through with your client. This gives support coordination sessions in the lead-up to assessment a clear, productive purpose.

The implementation meeting is a critical window. After the assessment report is issued, participants have the right to an implementation meeting with the NDIA to discuss how the plan has been constructed. Supporting your client to understand and, where necessary, challenge the plan at this stage is among the highest-value activities you can perform.

Documentation quality directly affects outcomes. As the assessment methodology becomes more standardised, the quality of supporting documentation — and how well it maps to I-CAN domain language — matters more. Support coordinators who understand the domain structure can brief clients and allied health teams far more effectively.

What to do now

Build I-CAN preparation into your practice. For any client whose review is approaching in the next 12–18 months, begin I-CAN preparation work now. Review each domain, identify which areas carry the most weight in your client''s daily life, and work through what supporting evidence exists and what gaps need to be addressed.

Brief your allied health network. The occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech pathologists, psychologists, and social workers supporting your clients need to understand the I-CAN domain structure so their reports are directly relevant to the assessment.

Know the review pathways. If a client receives a plan they believe is inaccurate, internal review requests must be lodged within 3 months of the plan decision. Understand the process before you need it. Read Your rights during the NDIS I-CAN v6 assessment process.

For a dedicated guide to the support coordinator role in I-CAN preparation, see: How support coordinators prepare clients for the I-CAN v6.

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For Allied Health Professionals: Aligning Reports to I-CAN Language

Occupational therapists, physiotherapists, psychologists, speech pathologists, and social workers play a critical supporting role in the I-CAN v6 process — not as the primary assessors, but as contributors of evidence that informs and contextualises the accredited assessor''s findings.

What is different

I-CAN domain structure is now the organising framework. Your reports will be read by assessors evaluating each of the 12 I-CAN domains. Reports written in I-CAN domain language — describing functional capacity within the specific domains the assessor is measuring — are more directly useful than reports structured around diagnosis or treatment history.

Functional language has always mattered; now it is non-negotiable. A report that says "the participant has ASD Level 2" gives the assessor diagnosis. A report that says "the participant requires verbal prompting to initiate self-care tasks on 6 of 7 days and does not independently sequence the steps required for showering or dressing without support" gives the assessor functional evidence for Domain 1 (Self-Care) and Domain 2 (Daily Life Activities). The latter is what the I-CAN assessment needs.

Currency matters. Reports that are more than two years old carry less evidential weight. If your clients have upcoming reviews, proactively scheduling updates will make a meaningful difference to their outcomes.

What to do now

Map your report templates to I-CAN domains. Review the 12 domains and consider how your current report sections align. The content is often already there — it may simply need to be reorganised or framed in domain terms to be maximally useful.

Write functionally, not diagnostically. For every statement about what a participant has, include a corresponding statement about what they can and cannot do in the relevant domain of daily life — under what conditions, and with what frequency.

Update reports for clients with approaching reviews. A two-year-old assessment may not accurately reflect current functioning for clients with progressive, fluctuating, or episodic conditions. Proactively reaching out before 2027 will support better outcomes for your clients.

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What Stays the Same

Your existing plan does not change. The NDIA will not alter your current plan as a result of the new framework. Your plan remains fully in effect until you are personally contacted about your transition.

The fundamental purpose of the NDIS is unchanged. The scheme exists to fund reasonable and necessary supports for Australians with permanent and significant disability. The new framework is designed to pursue that purpose more consistently — not to abandon it.

Preparation remains the most effective action you can take. Whether you are a participant, carer, support coordinator, or allied health professional, the most useful thing you can do before 1 April 2027 is prepare thoroughly.

The time between now and April 2027 is a genuine opportunity. Use it.

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Further Reading

• What is the NDIS I-CAN v6 assessment? — Full plain-language overview
• The 12 I-CAN domains explained — Domain-by-domain breakdown
• How to prepare for your I-CAN v6 assessment — Step-by-step preparation guide
• NDIS I-CAN v6 for carers and families — Dedicated carer guide
• How support coordinators prepare clients for the I-CAN v6 — Support coordinator guide
• Your rights during the NDIS I-CAN v6 assessment process — Review rights and safeguards
• NDIS I-CAN v6 rollout timeline — Full timeline with April 2027 update

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Sources: NDIS Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No. 1) Act 2024, NDIA — Securing the NDIS for future generations (April 2026), Carer Recognition Act 2010, Disability Advocacy Network Australia (DANA), Carers Australia