The NDIS 90-day claims rule from 1 December 2026
From 1 December 2026, NDIS claims must be made within 90 days of a support, down from 2 years. What's confirmed, the late-claim exception, and your invoices.
From 1 December 2026, the time to claim for an NDIS support falls from 2 years to 90 days. This is law, not a proposal: it's part of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Act 2026, and that part starts on 1 December 2026.
the time to make a claim for supports under a participant's plan will be reduced from 2 years to 90 days
Source: Information for NDIS providers, Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, July 2026
Require that claims for NDIS amounts are made within 90 days of a support being provided.
Source: Revised Explanatory Memorandum, August 2026
What's confirmed
- The start date: 1 December 2026.
- The limit: claims within 90 days of the support being provided.
- Why it starts later than the rest of the Act: the Explanatory Memorandum says the delay allows "sufficient time for claims older than 90 days to be made" before the new timeframe takes effect.
Late claims: exceptional circumstances only
The NDIA's existing power to accept a late claim stays as it is.
Subsection 45A(6) will continue to operate without change, allowing claims outside of the 90 day timeframe to be accepted if the CEO is satisfied that exceptional circumstances apply and the claim was made within a reasonable period having regard to those circumstances.
Source: Revised Explanatory Memorandum, notes on item 89, August 2026
The Act sets two tests, and both must be met:
(a) there are exceptional circumstances applying to the claim that justify the claim being made after the end of the applicable period; and (b) the claim was made within a reasonable period having regard to those circumstances.
Source: National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013, subsection 45A(6), compilation of 1 October 2026
The Act doesn't list what counts as exceptional circumstances, so don't plan around it. The Explanatory Memorandum describes it as flexibility "for those with genuine barriers to timely claiming".
Older claims already get extra checks
Since 15 October 2026, the NDIA has been checking claims made more than 90 days after a support.
Claims submitted more than 90 days after a support is delivered may be held for up to 28 days. This gives us time to complete extra checks.
Source: Increasing integrity checks on older claims, NDIA, 5 October 2026
What isn't confirmed yet
As of 25 October 2026, we couldn't find official wording on how supports delivered before 1 December 2026 are treated. The change to the Act has no transitional provision of its own, and the Act allows the Minister to make transitional rules later.
Our reading, not official guidance: claim anything older than 90 days before 1 December 2026, because that's what the later start date is meant to allow. Until then the 2-year limit still applies, which is what the NDIA's Guide to getting paid says today.
Check the Department's Securing the NDIS page for updates before relying on this.
What it means for your invoices
Who lodges the claim depends on how the participant's plan is managed. Registered providers claim directly for agency-managed participants. Plan managers and self-managing participants claim using your invoice.
Our reading, not official guidance: when someone else claims using your invoice, every day the invoice waits uses up part of their 90 days. Sending invoices soon after each support gives them time to claim, and gives you a better chance of being paid.
A related change: keeping records for 7 years
The same changes ask providers to keep payment records for longer.
Providers will need to keep records relating to payment and receipt of NDIS funds for 7 years.
Source: Information for NDIS providers, July 2026