The Autism Advisory Group (AAG) met online on Tuesday, 26 May 2026.
Focus of the meeting
The focus of the May meeting was:
- NDIA update.
- Discussing themes of participant feedback collected to date on the new support needs assessment.
- Feedback on draft support needs assessment resources for participants.
NDIA update
- The Government has announced a plan to Secure the NDIS for future generations.
- The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing website has more information on these changes:
- The NDIA has created the NDIS Design Hub. It is an online space where people can explore and test the new way of planning and give feedback. You can find more information on feedback opportunities by visiting NDIS Engage .
- The NDIS Quarterly Report for 1 January to 31 March 2026 is now available. The report shares data about the NDIS and stories from participants.
Feedback on support needs assessment testing
The NDIA shared results from early testing of the new NDIS support needs assessment process.
Around 290 participants have taken part in a practice support needs assessment so far. There were 76 participants with autism in this first round of testing.
What is working well:
- Participants said they felt safe, supported and respected during the assessment.
- Participants felt the assessors understood their needs
- Participants were able to go through the assessment at their own pace.
Ways the NDIA can make the assessment experience better:
- Make the sessions shorter or have multiple sessions. The assessments are long and may make people fatigued or tired.
- Give participants the assessment questions in advance and make the questions easier to understand.
- Train assessors to understand autism better.
Member feedback included:
- Make sure the lessons learned during testing improve the real support needs assessments.
- Help participants if they are tired or fatigued during the assessment.
- Create a clear future testing plan so everyone knows what testing is coming next.
- Focus on fixing problems that already exist with NDIS processes.
Draft support needs assessment resources for participants
The NDIA shared 5 draft resources that will help participants understand what to expect before, during and after a support needs assessment.
The NDIA asked members for feedback to help make sure the resources:
- Meet the needs of all participants.
- Are clear and easy to understand.
- Are practical and easy to use.
The NDIA will use this feedback and feedback from the support needs assessment testing to improve the draft resources.
Member feedback included:
- People need clearer information. Use plain English and simple examples.
- Give people a step-by-step guide so they know what will happen next.
- Make sure all information is available in Easy Read.
- Share important information before the assessment. This could include:
- The assessment questions.
- If the assessment will be online, at their home, or at an office.
- Who will be in the assessment and what each person will do.
- How long the assessment will take.
- What supports are available.
- Explain what will happen after the support needs assessment. Make sure people understand:
- Their rights and how they can review or appeal a decision.
- What to do if the information in their plan is wrong.
- What to do if they do not get the supports they need in their NDIS plan.
Next meeting
The next AAG meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, 25 August 2026.