NDIS spending is climbing sharply again, with the latest quarterly report revealing expenses are up 11.3% in just one year. Average plan costs have blown out to $67,000 annually, after tens of thousands of participants received higher budgets following their assessments. Government officials frame the figures as fresh evidence that scheme growth is running far ahead of expectations. They are using the data to argue that tough new NDIS legislation must pass by June 30.
The Albanese government links the quarterly numbers directly to its push for $38 billion in NDIS savings over the next four years. Its legislation is positioned as the key lever to slow cost growth while keeping support in place for hundreds of thousands of people with disability. Federal budget documents already assume those savings will materialise, so any delay in reform risks blowing a sizeable hole in the fiscal plan. The timing of the March quarter update makes it politically sensitive.
Participant numbers keep rising too, with the scheme now covering 775,556 people nationwide. New entrants are skewing younger, changing the cost profile of the entire system. About 67% of people who have joined so far in the 2026 financial year are children under 15, many with autism diagnoses. Growth in this cohort is drawing particular scrutiny because early support can run for years and compound long term NDIS costs.
