What can I do if my plan is going to expire?

You can get a new NDIS Plan if your old plan expires while your case is still going at the AAT. You should not feel pressured to withdraw or end your AAT case because you are worried about your old plan expiring.

How you should deal with your plan expiring will depend on when your case was lodged at the AAT. 

If your AAT case was lodged after 1 July 2022

If your NDIS Plan is expiring and your AAT case was lodged after 1 July 2022, contact your NDIA planner at 1800 800 110 or email enquiries@ndis.gov.au and tell them that you need a new plan. They will usually be able to give you a new plan.

The NDIA will usually agree to ‘roll over’ a plan and provide the same supports while an AAT appeal is underway. 

If you want to update your plan to add extra supports, the NDIA might agree to:

• Include any extra supports that have already been agreed to in your AAT case (even if there are other supports that have not been agreed to), and/or
• Include extra supports that are not part of your appeal at the AAT (you might need to give evidence or explain why you want these new supports)

If the NDIA gives you a new NDIS Plan you should tell the AAT by sending an email to the AAT registry.

The AAT will then consider your new NDIS Plan (instead of your old plan) when it decides your case. The AAT will look at what supports are in your new plan, and whether any other supports should have been included in it.

If your AAT case was lodged before 1 July 2022

If you lodged your case before 1 July 2022 and it is still going at the AAT, it is called a ‘legacy case’. 

The rules around NDIS Plans in a legacy case are complicated. 

If your NDIS Plan is close to expiring while your legacy case is underway,  contact the lawyers representing the NDIA in your case at least a few weeks before the expiry date. Let them know your plan is expiring and ask them to agree to ask the AAT to temporarily send the case back from the AAT to the NDIA planning team, so the NDIA can give you a new plan. This process is called a “42D remittal”. 

At the same time, you can talk with the NDIA’s lawyers about what supports they will agree to include in the new plan. This is useful if you want to:

• Include any extra supports that have already been agreed to in your AAT case (even if there are other supports that have not been agreed to), and/or
• Include extra supports that are not part of your appeal at the AAT (you might need to give evidence or explain why you want these new supports)

The NDIA’s lawyers should be able to help you write to the AAT to ask that the AAT make orders for that the 42D remittal to happen. 

When the NDIA gives you your new plan, your case goes back to the AAT. The AAT will then look at the supports in your new NDIS Plan, and whether any other supports should have been included.

The details of this process can be complex. If you have a legacy case and need to arrange a 42D remittal, you should think about getting legal advice from an organisation like those listed below at ‘Where can I get advice if I need help understanding my options?’.

What if my plan funding is running out during my AAT case?

If your plan funding is running out while your case is still at the AAT, you can request a new plan to top-up your funding. The process for this is the same as for requesting a new plan, and will depend on when you lodged your AAT case. For details, see the above sections: 

If your AAT case was lodged after 1 July 2022

and 

If your AAT case was lodged before 1 July 2022

If you will need to top up your funding, you should speak to the NDIA (or their lawyers) about this as soon as you can. The NDIA might have a lot of questions about why you need the extra funding, and will not always want to give you the extra funding, so you might need time to negotiate with them.

Where can I get advice if I need help understanding my options?

You may be able to get advice about your options for requesting a review and help with other questions about the NDIS from a legal service. It will depend on the type of problem you have, and where you are located.

If you need help from a lawyer, National Legal Aid has the contact details for your local Legal Aid office.

If you need help from an advocate, the AskIzzy Disability Advocacy Finder is an online tool to help you find to search for advocacy providers using your suburb or postcode.

Who made this factsheet?

Housing Hub and the Justice and Equity Centre (JEC) made this together in October 2023. It was updated by the Housing Hub in 08/10/2023. Since 2021, JEC and Housing Hub have worked together to provide advice and assistance to participants seeking SDA funding. This factsheet is part of a series about challenging NDIS decisions.