You asked for a plan change early because your plan is underfunded, but nothing is moving and your balance keeps dropping. That is common. In late 2023, many plan-change requests blew out to around five months. In mid-2025, most participant-initiated changes still run past the official service windows. Many people wait months, not weeks, especially for full reassessments and internal reviews.
First principles
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Know the service windows, and use them. The NDIA is meant to decide whether to reassess within 21 days of your request. If accepted, the aim is to complete within 28 days. In practice, queues often push these timeframes over. Treat the dates as markers for escalation, not as guarantees.
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Make sure your request exists as a case. Seven days after you lodge, call to confirm your request has been turned into a plan change case in the NDIS system and note the case number. If there is no case, the clocks are not running.
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Extensions prevent gaps, not underfunding. If your plan end date arrives and the reassessment is unfinished, the plan is usually extended so supports continue. That does not fix an underfunded budget.
Why escalation is warranted
It is not only about a plan end date. If your Core is tracking to run out, or an essential support will stop without extra funds, that is a valid reason to seek priority. Ask for escalation because of specific risks, not just because you are waiting.
How risk drives priority
The NDIA triages work using risk. The matrix is internal, but the common risk types are clear:
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Risk of harm to the participant or others. Imminent safety risks, family breakdown, or carer incapacity.
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Funding exhaustion for essential supports. Personal care, behaviour support, or other supports that cannot safely pause.
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Health and hospital. Discharge dates, risk of admission, or deterioration without supports.
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Housing and justice. Homelessness risk, child safety, court or custody factors, corrections involvement.
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Operational and reputational risk. Serious service failures, legal obligations, likely media or political interest.
How to frame risk: name the date, the support at risk, and the consequence. Example: “Core daily activities will be exhausted by 12 September. Morning personal care will stop. I cannot transfer safely without it.”
Who handles escalations now
Local Area Coordinators (LACs) are commonly handling escalations. NDIA enquiries team leaders can still process them, but in practice LACs often approve or gatekeep priority flags. If your LAC is unresponsive or the response is slow, escalate back to the Agency through the National Contact Centre and ask for a manager review. Complaints are handled by the NDIA complaints team, not by your LAC.
A practical escalation pathway
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Day 0: Lodge the plan change request. Keep your receipt or reference.
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Day 7: Confirm the case exists. Call, quote your details, and ask for the plan change case number and the team holding it. If there is no case, ask the agent to create one while you are on the line.
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Provide targeted risk information. Submit a short update that states:
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What has changed or why current funds are insufficient.
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Which supports will be affected and when.
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Any safety, health, housing, hospital or carer risks.
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Any time-critical equipment issues and the requested variation if that is the faster path.
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Ask for prioritisation. Request that your case be marked priority and that the reason is recorded on file.
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Follow the service windows.
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If there is no decision about reassessing after 21 days, request escalation on timeliness grounds and ask for a supervisor.
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If the reassessment was accepted but not completed within 28 days, ask for a status update, a manager review, and whether an interim variation can address immediate risk.
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Escalation queues are lengthy in mid-2025. If you escalated and still receive no contact, it is reasonable to escalate again after 7 days.
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Document contacts. Keep a simple log of dates, names and advice given. It helps if you need to complain.
Complaints, fairly and effectively
You can complain online, by phone, by email, or in person. In person means speaking with your LAC, who records it and sends it through the system to the NDIA complaints team. The complaints team does not take walk-ups directly from participants.
Levels and when to use them
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Level 1 (frontline resolution). Use for delays beyond service windows where there is emerging risk, unclear handovers between LAC and Agency, or no acknowledgement of your escalation. Expect contact and an attempt to resolve quickly.
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Level 2 (specialist complaints team). Use when the issue is persistent, multi-team, or higher risk, for example imminent exhaustion of essential Core, a fixed hospital discharge date, or repeated failure to create or action a case. Expect a complaints officer to coordinate across teams and provide timeframes.
Be proportionate. If you still have three months of Core and lodged your change one month ago, Level 2 is usually not appropriate. If personal care will stop within weeks and you have already tried an escalation and a Level 1 complaint, Level 2 is reasonable.
Variation vs reassessment
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Variation can be faster for time-limited problems or urgent items such as assistive technology replacement, short-term Core increases after a carer injury, or bridging supports linked to discharge dates. Ask whether a variation can be used while the full reassessment continues.
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Reassessment is for broader or lasting changes to your supports or budgets.
What to submit
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Accurate and concise evidence. Give the reader exactly what they need to act: dates, dollars, and consequences.
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Targeted letters. One or two short letters from clinicians or providers that explain functional impact, frequency of support, and the risk if no action is taken by a date.
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Clear request. State whether you are seeking a priority reassessment or a variation, and the specific amount or items required to keep you safe.
If standard escalation fails and risks are extreme
There are further avenues when the situation is serious and unresolved:
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Contact your local MP with your case summary and risk timeline.
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Write to the NDIS Executive team or relevant Ministers.
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Engage the Greens Senate liaison team, who actively monitor systemic issues in the Scheme.
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Approach the media with a factual summary. If you send a media enquiry, copy the NDIA’s CEO so the Agency understands the public interest dimension.
Use these options when risks are immediate and material, not as a first step.
Bottom line
Get your request turned into a plan change case, state concrete risks and dates, ask for priority, then escalate proportionately if windows pass. If escalation stalls, complain at the right level, and keep moving up only as the risk increases.
If you're at significant risk and struggling to navigate the world of reassessments, escalations and complaints - feel free to reach out on our contact page and one of our Coordination managers will contact you to have a chat about it.