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The Disability Sector Brief, January 2026

  • ARC Disability Services inc.
  • 2 days ago
  • 2 min read

Budgets and the New Planning Framework


In our last article we mentioned the New Planning Framework and the I-CAN assessment tool.


We now understand that along with the I CAN support needs assessment will be the Personal and Environmental Circumstances Questionnaire (PECQ). The questionnaire was developed by the NDIA and there isn’t a lot of information publicly available yet.  What we do know is that it will cover things like where people live and what level of informal supports someone might have.


What is yet to be fully explained by the NDIA is how a participant budget is determined after the assessment process. It’s a very important step as participants will begin the transitioning process to the new planning model from July this year. Although we are being told that it could be up to a 5-year transition before all participants have been assessed with the I-CAN tool.


Recently the NDIA told Senate Estimates that once the legislative rules are fully drafted for the New Planning Framework then the details of how the budget will be determined will become clearer.


At the same time the NDIA did confirm at Senate Estimates that it is designing its own IT system to translate the results of needs assessments into a dollar amount. The new IT system will be called POSIT.  Other than the name, nothing else is known about it.

Senate Estimates is important because it is a public process that allows government ministers and senior public servants to be questioned about proposed expenditure. It is where they must answer questions on their plans and where they can be held to account. You can find more information about Senate estimates here: Senate estimates – Parliament of Australia


We will keep you updated as soon as more details are known. In the meantime, more information can be found here:


You can also review a summary of the consultations that were held last year:

 


Thriving Kids


There isn’t a lot of new information about Thriving Kids except to say that it is expected to begin in July 2026 with the first services becoming available in mid-2027.

 


Carers


Here are some links to carer support resources you might find valuable:






Image credit: <a href="https://storyset.com/education">Education illustrations by Storyset</a> 

 
 
 

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