If your NDIS plan was created on or after 19 May 2025, you might notice something new: your funding is now broken into funding periods.
At first glance, this might seem like an unnecessary complication — but understanding how funding periods work is key to making the most of your plan and avoiding funding shortfalls. Here’s what you need to know.
What Are Funding Periods?
Put simply, funding periods are time-based segments within your plan. Instead of receiving access to your whole plan budget upfront, the NDIS now release your funding in smaller portions throughout the life of your plan.
Each funding period has:
- A start and end date
- A set amount of money you can spend during that time
- Limits on what supports you can use the funding for (based on how it’s categorised)
You’ll still have a total funding amount, but the NDIS will control access to that total by the funding periods built into your plan.
How Are Funding Periods Structured?
For most people, funding periods are set to quarterly (3-month) blocks, but some supports are released differently.
For example:
- Monthly funding periods may apply to:
- Supported Independent Living (SIL)
- Plan Management
- Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA)
- Daily living supports over $200,000 per year
- Annual or one-off releases may be used for:
- Assistive Technology
- Therapy assessments or reports
- Bulk purchasing (e.g. continence products)
The NDIA determines this structure during planning or reassessment — but you can (and should) request changes if the distribution doesn’t suit your support needs.
Can I Move Money Between Periods?
This is where things can get tricky.
- Unused funds can roll forward into the next funding period of the same plan.
- You can’t access money from future periods early.
- You can’t shift money backward into a past period.
In other words, if you overspend early, you might run out of available funding before your next release date — even if your total budget is technically large enough.
That’s why it’s crucial to understand the structure of your plan and monitor spending closely.
What Problems Can This Cause?
The Agency introduced funding periods to support better budget management and reduce the risk of running out of funds too soon. But in practice, they can create some real-world challenges.
For example:
- If you need front-loaded funding (e.g. for a new behaviour support plan), but your plan spreads funding evenly, you may not have access to enough money at the start.
- Providers may be reluctant to deliver services if they can’t confirm that there is sufficient available funding in the current period.
- Some providers may delay or pause services until the next funding period opens — even if the support is essential.
How Can I Check My Funding Periods?
You can see your funding periods by logging into:
- The NDIS Participant Portal
- The My NDIS app
- Your plan manager’s portal or app (if you have one)
- Your NDIS plan
Support Coordinators and Plan Managers can also view your funding periods through the NDIS provider portal — but only if you’ve consented and endorsed them to do so.
Other providers (like therapists or support workers) can’t see this information, so you may need to discuss your budget or provide updates if it affects service delivery.
Can I Change My Funding Periods?
Yes — in some situations.
You can ask the NDIA to:
- Rebalance your funding periods through a plan variation if the issue is how the funding is distributed (not how much you have overall)
- Request an internal review within 3 months of your plan start if you believe the total funding amount or structure isn’t meeting your needs.
- Seek a plan reassessment if your needs have changed significantly.
In exceptional circumstances, you can also request early access to future funding — but this doesn’t increase your overall plan budget. It’s just a reshuffle of when money is released.
How We Help You Navigate Funding Periods
At CoAbility, we understand that funding periods can make your plan feel more challenging to manage — especially when you’re juggling multiple supports or starting something new. That’s why we take the time to walk you through how your funding is released, help you track what’s available each period, and work out a plan so your supports are timed right. If something’s not working — like your funding is spread too thin or you need access to funds earlier — we’ll help you request a variation or reassessment and make sure you’ve got the right documentation to support your case. Our job is to make your plan easier to use, not more complicated — and we’re here every step of the way.
Need Support Understanding Your Plan?
This is a significant change in how the NDIS does things, and it’s completely normal to have questions. If you’re unsure how your funding is structured — or if it’s not meeting your needs — we’re here to help.
Get in touch with your CoAbility Support Coordinator, or contact us here to book a session with one of our experienced team members.
Together, we’ll make sure your plan works for you — not the other way around.
