NDIS participants protected by new surcharge ban from October

October 1 Brings Key Changes: NDIS Funding, Payments, and More Explained for Participants and Providers

October 1 marks a significant date for many Australians, with new rules and policy adjustments coming into effect from both federal and state authorities. These changes will impact everything from how you pay for services to how NDIS plans are managed.

For NDIS participants, families, carers, and disability service providers, understanding these shifts is crucial. Here’s a clear breakdown of what’s changing and what it might mean for you.

Important Shifts for NDIS Funding

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is adjusting how budgets are allocated within participant plans for specific support categories. These changes will be introduced gradually over 12 months, starting from October 1.

What NDIS Categories are Affected?

Two key areas of NDIS funding are seeing adjustments:

• Social, Economic, and Community Participation Supports: This funding helps participants engage in community activities, join social groups, and connect with others. This budget will see a reduction of approximately 50 per cent.
• Improved Daily Living Skill Supports (Capacity Building Daily Activities): These funds support participants in developing skills for everyday life, often through therapies, training, or other programs aimed at building independence. This area will be reduced by around 10 per cent.

These adjustments reflect ongoing efforts to ensure the long-term sustainability and effectiveness of the NDIS, often focusing on ensuring funds are directed to core, essential supports. While the changes are gradual, understanding their implications is important.

What This Means for Participants and Providers

For NDIS participants, these changes mean you may need to review your current plan and discuss with your Local Area Coordinator (LAC) or the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) how these adjustments might affect your access to specific supports.

Disability service providers delivering services in these categories will also need to be aware of the funding adjustments. This may require reviewing service delivery models and pricing structures to ensure they align with the updated budget allocations.

Changes to Card Surcharges and Payment Processing

From October 1, consumers will generally no longer face surcharges when making card payments with EFTPOS, Mastercard, and Visa. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) previously noted these surcharges cost consumers an estimated $1.2 billion annually.

This means businesses, including many NDIS providers, will no longer be able to pass on the cost of card processing fees directly to customers at the point of purchase.

Impact on Businesses and Consumers

To manage these absorbed costs, some businesses might consider offering discounts for cash payments or even move towards accepting only cash or PayID for certain transactions. Alternatively, some may slightly adjust the prices of their goods and services.

Beyond the surcharge ban, the cap on ‘interchange fees’ — charges paid by businesses to banks for processing card transactions — will be reduced. This cap will drop from 0.8 per cent to 0.3 per cent of the transaction value from October 1.

Credit Card Rewards Programs Are Changing

With banks facing reduced revenue from the lower interchange fees, many are adjusting their credit card offerings. This often means cuts or complete elimination of credit card perks and rewards.

Sally Tindall, a data insights director from Canstar, highlighted that these changes could prompt some people to switch cards or reconsider owning a credit card altogether. Common changes include reductions in complimentary travel insurance and reward points partnerships.

If you rely on credit card rewards, it’s a good time to check with your bank about how your specific card’s benefits might be affected.

Aged Care Funding Reclassification

Significant changes are also coming to aged care funding, particularly within the ‘Support at Home’ budgets. Services like personal care (showering, dressing, personal hygiene, medication support) are being reclassified.

These services will now be categorised as ‘clinical support’ rather than ‘independence support’. This reclassification is good news for aged care recipients, as clinical supports typically do not attract a co-payment.

This means individuals receiving approved personal care services in aged care will no longer be required to pay a contribution for them, bringing these services in line with the principle that clinical supports within schemes like the NDIS generally don’t require co-payments.

Victoria’s New Auction Rules

While most of the above changes apply nationwide, Victoria is introducing new, state-specific rules for property auctions and sales.

Under laws passed earlier this month, real estate agents must now reveal the ‘reserve price’ – the minimum price a seller will accept – at least seven days before an auction or fixed sale date. This aims to increase transparency for buyers.

Sellers can no longer use broad pricing estimates like “from X” or “between X and Y.” Instead, a specific reserve price must be disclosed.

Additionally, from October 1, realtors in Victoria will issue a ‘Property Price Statement (PPS)’ replacing the older ‘Statement of Information.’ The PPS must detail key features of the home and provide information on three comparable properties.

To further enhance market clarity, agents must update the PPS with the sold price within seven days of the unconditional sale of a property.

What You Can Do Next

These October 1 changes touch on several aspects of daily life and support services. Here are some practical steps you can take:

• NDIS Participants: Reach out to your LAC or NDIA planner to understand how funding adjustments might impact your plan and discuss any necessary modifications.
• Disability Service Providers: Review your financial and payment processing systems in light of the card surcharge ban. Also, assess your service offerings and pricing for NDIS categories seeing budget adjustments, communicating transparently with your clients.
• For Everyone: Be aware of potential changes in credit card rewards and how businesses might adjust their payment options. If you’re in Victoria and looking at property, understand the new auction transparency rules.