National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No. 1) Act 2024 (81 of 2024)

Schedule 1   Main amendments

Part 1   Amendment of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013

National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013

74   At the end of section 45

Add:

(4) The Agency must not pay an amount under the National Disability Insurance Scheme to any person in respect of a participant's plan if:

(a) the plan is a new framework plan that provides that flexible funding will be provided under the plan and the payment would result in any of the following events occurring:

(i) the total amount of flexible funding provided under the plan exceeding the total funding amount specified in the plan under paragraph 32E(2)(a);

(ii) the total amount of flexible funding provided under the plan during a funding period exceeding the amount of funding that is to be provided under the plan during the funding period; or

(b) the plan is a new framework plan that provides that funding will be provided under the plan for a stated support, or class of stated supports, and the payment would result in any of the following events occurring:

(i) the total amount of funding provided under the plan for the stated support or class of stated supports exceeding any total funding amount specified in the plan under paragraph 32G(2)(a);

(ii) the total amount of funding provided under the plan for the stated support or class of stated supports during a funding period for the support or class of supports exceeding the amount of funding that is to be provided under the plan during the funding period for the support or class of supports; or

(c) the plan is an old framework plan and the payment would result in any of the following events occurring:

(i) the total amount of funding provided under the plan for reasonable and necessary supports exceeding the total funding amount specified in the plan;

(ii) the total amount of funding provided under the plan for reasonable and necessary supports in a group of supports to which a funding component amount relates exceeding that funding component amount;

(iii) if the plan specifies funding periods for all reasonable and necessary supports funded under the plan, taken as a whole - the total amount of funding provided under the plan for such supports during a funding period exceeding the amount of funding for such supports that is to be provided under the plan during the funding period;

(iv) if the plan specifies funding periods for one or more groups of reasonable and necessary supports - the total amount of funding provided under the plan for supports in such a group during a funding period for that group exceeding the amount of funding for supports in that group that is to be provided under the plan during the funding period.

(5) Subsection (4) does not apply in relation to the payment of an amount if the CEO is satisfied that:

(a) the relevant event would occur because the participant has experienced fraud or financial exploitation; or

(b) making the payment is necessary to prevent or lessen an imminent threat to an individual's life, health or safety; or

(c) the participant has been unable to request a variation or reassessment of the participant's plan because of one or more of the participant's impairments or a lack of decision-making support; or

(d) the participant has requested a variation of the participant's plan covered by subparagraph 47A(1)(d)(i) or (1AB)(j)(i) (crisis or emergency funding as a result of a significant change to the participant's support needs), and neither of the following apply:

(i) the CEO has made a decision on the request to vary the plan and the variation has taken effect;

(ii) the CEO has made a decision on the request not to vary the plan (including because of the operation of subsection 47A(5)); or

(e) a circumstance prescribed by the National Disability Insurance Scheme rules for the purposes of this paragraph exists.