What the Community Participation Funding Reset Means for Day Programs

Most coverage of the October community participation budget reset focuses on what it means for participants. If your business runs day programs, social groups or community access services, the reset is just as much a business planning problem as it is a participant story — and it's worth getting ahead of it now.

The scale of the change

From October 2026, budgets for social, civic and community participation supports will be progressively reset as participants' plans are reassessed or renewed. The government has said the changes are intended to bring spending back toward 2023 levels. For providers whose revenue depends heavily on this category, that's a material shift in how much participants can spend with you — not a marginal adjustment.

You can read the NDIS' latest information on the reforms for the current timeline and details.

What to look at in your own business

• How much of your current revenue sits specifically in social and community participation supports, versus other categories.
• Whether your pricing or program structure has flexibility to offer shorter or lower-cost sessions that fit reduced budgets.
• Whether any of your existing programs could be repositioned to align with the new $200 million Inclusive Communities Fund, which is intended to build the capacity of community organisations to host activities that people with disability can participate in.

Talking to your clients before the reset lands

Participants affected by this change will be reviewing their plans and budgets in the lead-up to the changes. Providers who proactively explain what the reset means for the specific services a client uses — rather than waiting for the client to raise it — are likely to retain more of that relationship through the transition.

The NDIS has confirmed that social and community participation funding changes will begin phasing in from October 2026, so now is a good time to start those conversations.

Where to go from here

If community participation makes up a meaningful share of your service offering, this is worth treating as a genuine planning priority over the coming weeks, not a wait-and-see situation.

Keeping your MySolas provider profile current with the specific services you offer helps participants and Support Coordinators looking for community participation services understand what you provide — particularly if you're able to flex your programs or pricing to fit changing budgets.

Update your MySolas provider profile and make sure your services are easy to find as the market changes.