NDIS Plan Management Changes in 2025: What Participants Need to Know
The Big Squeeze on NDIS Plan Managers – What It Means for Participant Choice and Control in 2025
From July 2025, major changes to NDIS plan management pricing could significantly reduce participant choice, access to personalised support, and the diversity of providers.
According to the NDIA’s latest Quarterly Report (Q3 2024–25), there are currently 1,443 NDIS plan managers supporting over 462,000 participants across Australia. But this number is rapidly shrinking.
In the previous quarter alone, the NDIA placed more than 700 plan managers under compliance lock. And now, Disability Intermediaries Australia (DIA) estimates that by June 2025, only around 700 active plan managers will remain.
Why Fewer NDIS Plan Managers Means Less Choice for Participants
This shift directly impacts NDIS participants. Smaller and independent plan managers, who often offer more personalised NDIS support and stronger local relationships, are at risk of disappearing.
Currently, the top 10 plan managers service 41% of plan-managed participants in non-remote areas. That leaves around 277,000 participants depending on 690 smaller NDIS providers — and those are the ones most vulnerable to the upcoming changes.
While it’s widely recognised that market dominance by a few large players is unhealthy for any sector — as we’ve seen with the Big 4 banks, the supermarket duopoly, and the single major airline — the same trend is now playing out in the plan management space. Alarmingly, recent NDIA policy recommendations appear to be based on data drawn predominantly from these top 10 providers.
With fewer providers, participants may face:
Reduced access to local or community-based plan managers
Longer wait times and reduced support quality
Fewer personalised or flexible service options
More pressure to deal with NDIS complexity alone
Loss of true choice and control under the NDIS
What’s Driving This Change? NDIS Plan Management Fee Freeze in 2025
Two key pricing recommendations from the NDIA’s Annual Pricing Review are driving this squeeze on small plan managers:
Recommendation 15: Keep the monthly plan management fee frozen at $104.45 for the sixth year in a row
Recommendation 16: Remove the setup fee of $232.35 entirely
This results in a 15.6% reduction in income per participant for Plan Managers, with just two weeks’ notice.
What Does This Mean for You as an NDIS Participant?
These changes don’t just affect businesses — they affect your support. With smaller NDIS plan managers being squeezed out, your options may soon be limited to a few large corporations.
Participants may see:
Less tailored NDIS plan management
Fewer plan managers to choose from
Lower responsiveness and slower invoice processing
New participant/provider-paid fees to cover support outside of core tasks
This undermines one of the most important promises of the NDIS: genuine participant choice and control.
Is This the Future of the NDIS?
Over the next 12 months, the sector will face tough choices:
Some plan managers will exit the market
Others will sell to larger providers
Many will cut back the level of support they can offer
Some may introduce participant/provider-paid support fees
For over 462,000 Australians relying on plan management, this is more than just a structural change — it’s a threat to the freedom, flexibility, and accessibility the NDIS was designed to deliver.
We’re Asking the Government: What is Your Vision for the NDIS?
If the current direction continues, choice and control in the NDIS will become just a slogan — not a lived reality.
We call on the government to re-examine these decisions and protect the diversity of the plan management sector. Because NDIS participants deserve access to genuine support options, not just what’s left after the dust settles.