NDIS Support East Gippsland & Empower Support blog post

NDIS Changes from July 1st 025

8/4/20253 min read

What’s Changed: NDIS Plans in Victoria from July 2025

🎯 1. New Funding Release Schedule – Rolling Out from 19 May 2025

From 19 May 2025, all new and reassessed NDIS plans in Victoria moved to staged funding releases rather than receiving the full plan allocation at once:

Budgets are now divided into funding periods (e.g. quarterly, monthly), depending on your support categories
While your total plan funding remains the same, access to funds is paced across the plan duration, which helps manage spending more evenly.
Unused funds roll over within each plan, but don’t transfer to a new plan.

🛠️ 2. New Pricing Arrangements from 1 July 2025

The 2025–26 Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits (PAPL) came into effect on 1 July 2025, as guided by the 2024–25 Annual Pricing Review (NDIS).

✔️ Key Updates:

Therapy prices reduced: physiotherapy now capped at $183.99/hour (down $10), dietitian and podiatry capped at $188.99/hour (down $5) (The Australian).
Psychology rates standardized across all states and territories to $223.99/hour (NDS).
Price increases of 3.95% applied to disability support worker rates, reflecting wage indexation

🔧 Other Changes:

Therapy setup or establishment fees have been removed—providers can no longer charge these separately
Intersection loading for remote and very remote areas has been removed for psychology/physio in certain states, including Victoria, making pricing more uniform (Leap in!).
Early childhood supports eligibility extended: children up to 9 years old (previously age 7) are now eligible under the early childhood approach (NDIS).

🚗 3. Travel Claim Limits for Therapy Providers

Therapy providers may now claim only:

50% of the standard hourly rate for travel time,
with travel time capped per trip (e.g. typically up to 30 minutes), and return travel generally not payable (speaklistenlearn.com.au, Curate Care).
This aims to reduce inflated travel claims and encourage better scheduling—though it may impact service availability in regional or rural areas (People with Disability Australia -, Curate Care).

🧠 4. Broader Sector Reforms & Planning Framework

New planning framework: Rolling out from mid to late 2025, new assessments will shift full focus to support needs rather than functional capacity, with new “impairment notices” used to guide plan decisions (Leap in!).
Replacement supports option introduced, allowing approved household or smart device items in place of traditional NDIS supports under specific conditions (Leap in!).
Federal‑state foundational supports being phased in from July 2025 to relieve demand on NDIS and slow growth to target 8% annually (The Australian).

What This Means for People in Victoria

Change Participant Impact Action Steps Funding periods Budget access split over time; large purchases may need planning Talk with your plan manager or provider ahead of large purchases Therapy pricing cuts Sessions now cost less—your plan may stretch further, but providers may reduce availability in remote areas Discuss service options and viability with your provider Travel claim limits Providers may change how/where they deliver services to manage travel costs Clarify session delivery methods and plan accordingly New planning process New participants/future reviews will use support-needs-based planning Prepare documentation and ask about impairment notices at review Early childhood threshold raised More families qualify for early intervention funding Reach out for plan support if your child is now eligible

How Empower Supports Can Help

As an NDIS-aligned organization working in Victoria, we suggest contacting your NDIS plan Manager or support coordinator for more information get help on the below.

Explaining your new plan structure, including funding periods and what they mean for your supports.
Helping with budgeting strategies, especially for therapy, equipment, and travel costs.
Advising on new eligibility rules, including early childhood funding or replacement supports.
Supporting plan reviews, to ensure the new planning framework works in your favor.

Final Thoughts

These reforms—especially the shift to rolling funding release and new price limits—are part of a federal effort to make the NDIS more sustainable and equitable. While your total plan budget remains unchanged, how and when you access that support has fundamentally changed. Rest assured, Empower Supports is here to guide you through these new rules and help you make the most of your plan in Victoria.