From 1 October 2026, changes to the NDIS will allow the Minister to make “Support Determinations” that cut funding for particular types of support in participants’ plans.

The Australian Government has said it intends to cut funding for social, civic and community participation (SCCP) by 50% when plans are renewed or reassessed, and cut therapy budgets by 10%.  The SCCP budget is used by participants to get out into their community, attend appointments and activities, build relationships, take part in ordinary life, and avoid being isolated at home. 

While the cuts to this support are already a problem, for too many people the 50% cut will make the remaining funding unusable.  This is because there is no minimum guaranteed amount of funding for SCCP when the Support Determinations are applied.

We have seen this before

In July 2022, the SCHADS Award changed.  The Award introduced a minimum two-hour shift for part-time and casual employees doing disability services work.  Where a support worker comes to provide support, they generally must be paid for at least two hours, even if the support itself takes less time.

This was an important workplace protection – support workers deserve fair and predictable pay.  They should not have to travel to a participant’s home for a 30-minute or one-hour shift that does not properly recognise their time, travel and employment costs.

But the change created a real problem for NDIS participants.

At the time, some participants had only one, two or three hours of support worker funding per week in their plans.  Once providers had to pay workers for a minimum two-hour shift, a one-hour weekly allocation was no longer workable.  Even a two-hour allocation could be difficult where support was needed at different times or for more than one activity.

It took approximately two years for NDIA planners to recognise that where a person needed regular support-worker assistance, a minimum allocation of two hours per week was necessary for the funding to be usable in practice.  That was not a bonus – it was the practical minimum funding needed for participants to comply with other laws.

The same problem returns

The planned 50% cuts to SCCP take us backwards in more ways than the obvious loss of critical funding.

A participant who currently has funding for two or three hours of support each week might just have enough for a support worker to assist them to go shopping, attend a local group, get to an appointment, visit family, take part in a hobby, or simply leave the house safely.

After the 50% cut, that participant would be left with funding for one hour to 90 minutes per week – which is below the minimum shift requirements in the SCHADS Award.

The result is predictable:  the participant may technically still have SCCP funding in their plan, but they are extremely unlikely to be able to find a provider or worker willing and able to deliver it.

That is not choice and control – it is unusable funding.

“Use it less often” is not a real solution

Government and NDIA representatives may say participants can use their support once a fortnight or once a month instead.

Support workers are workers – they need consistent hours and reliable income.  It is understandable that most will not be available for a single two-hour shift once a fortnight or once a month, particularly when travel time, transport costs, roster gaps and competing regular shifts are considered.  And this problem is even worse in regional and remote communities.

Providers also need to roster staff sustainably.  An occasional two-hour shift is much harder to fill than a regular weekly shift.  Very often participants with funding below six hours per week are denied service provision by providers – it is deemed to not be financially viable to provide the service.

For participants, irregular support is not an equivalent replacement for regular support.  Community participation depends on routine, relationships and reliability.

A person may need weekly help to:

• Buy groceries and other essentials.
• Attend a regular community activity.
• Maintain friendships and family connections.
• Go to health or allied health appointments.
• Build confidence using public spaces and transport.
• Prevent isolation, anxiety and declining wellbeing.

One visit a month cannot simply replace four visits across a month – even if the participant could find a support worker willing to consistently work just one two-hour shift per month.  

Increased Isolation

The practical effect of reducing small budgets without a minimum safeguard is that there will be people permanently left at home, completely disconnected from their community.

This is especially concerning for people who live alone, have limited informal supports, cannot use public transport independently, experience communication barriers, or rely on a support worker to safely access ordinary activities outside the home.

Social and community participation is not an optional extra.  It is how many people with disability exercise the same ordinary freedoms other Australians take for granted: seeing friends and family, going places, being part of their community, and having a life beyond their front door.  A funding amount that cannot be turned into an actual support-worker shift is not participation funding. 

The Government must set a minimum

Every Australian Counts is calling for a clear, guaranteed minimum Social and Community Participation funding of at least  two hours per week when the Ministerial Support Determinations are applied.

This should not depend on whether an individual planner happens to understand the SCHADS Award, local workforce availability or the practical cost of arranging support – and factors the 50% cut into their decision-making.

We fought for the NDIS to be established to support people with disability to live ordinary lives in their communities.  It must not leave people with a (tiny) budget on paper and no realistic way to get out of their homes.