Saving the NDIS: How to rebalance disability services to get better results
Our summary
The Grattan Institute’s June 2025 report, Saving the NDIS: How to rebalance disability services to get better results, examines the rapid growth and structural challenges of the NDIS in Australia, and proposes a reform blueprint aimed at making the scheme sustainable and fairer.
Key findings in the report highlight how the Scheme has expanded beyond its original parameters: the cost for 2023-24 reached around $42 billion and is projected to exceed $58 billion by 2028.
It also points out that while the NDIS serves hundreds of thousands of Australians with significant, permanent disability, many disabled people who don’t qualify receive minimal mainstream support.
The report puts forward four major reform directions:
1. Define firmer boundaries for who the NDIS is for and what types of needs it should cover.
2. Change how planning and budgeting in the NDIS work—making them fairer, more consistent and giving participants greater flexibility.
3. Establish a robust tier of foundational supports outside the NDIS individualised-funding model, to cover people with moderate needs and relieve pressure on the core Scheme.
4. Negotiate a new National Disability Agreement to clarify roles across Commonwealth, state and territory governments and improve accountability and coordination.
For professionals working in disability support, policy, or program design, this report offers a detailed evidence-base to guide future planning and advocacy. It encourages organisations to think beyond individualised models, consider systems-wide service tiers, and engage with reform agendas in disability services.