Document 17

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The contents of this document are OFFICIAL.

Prepare to submit a plan change request

Guidance in this document is not approved for use unless you view it in PACE.

This article provides guidance for all NDIA staff and partners to:

check authority to request a plan change
check supporting information for a plan change request
understand if the participant is at risk
check if the participant’s current plan is in PACE or SAP CRM
check for related open cases
understand the plan change request type.

Recent updates

15 December 2025

Guidance updated to

advise staff to cancel the plan change case that’s created as part of a plan continuation
align with National Disability Insurance Scheme (Variation and Reassessment of Participants’ Plans) Rules 2025
make sure relevant information and evidence is considered before making a plan change decision
check the participant has consented to the plan change request
consider any conflict of interest with the plan change request
link to article ‘Create and action a request for a replacement support’ renamed to ‘Understand, create and action a request for a replacement support’

10 November 2025

Guidance updated to explain:

you need to submit requests as a Participant plan change request unless it specifies a plan variation (s47A) or a plan reassessment (s48) or you have delegation to make a decision

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you need to submit the plan change request if the participant confirms there’s no supporting evidence for their request
how to action a plan change request if the plan is still in SAP CRM.

Before you start

You have:

received a plan change request
read and understood Our Guideline – Changing your plan (external)
read and understood Our Guideline – Your privacy and information (external)
read and understood article Consider a request for personal information
read and understood the NDIS operations instrument of delegation.

Check authority to request a plan change

When you receive a request for a plan change, you’ll need to check if the person is authorised to make the request. You can only accept a plan change request from the participant or their authorised representative. Authorised representatives must have the right permission.

If you think there’s a risk to the participant, go to section Understand if the participant is at risk in this article.

You must check the identity of the person asking for the plan change.

Tell the person you need to confirm their details before proceeding.
Complete a security check by asking for 3 pieces of personal or unique information about themselves. For example, date of birth, home address, mobile phone number or email address. Use section How to complete a security check in article Consider a request for personal information.
Check the person has the right authority. Use article Check consent, nominee, child representative or self-representation authorities and make sure they have Submit request for a Plan Change permission.

If the person tells you they have consent, but it’s not recorded in PACE, you must not proceed. To get the participant’s consent to make a plan change you can:

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make an outbound call to the participant or their authorised representative
have the participant provide written consent through an email, letter or consent form. To find the consent form, go to Consent forms (external).

If consent is given, you must record this in PACE. Go to article Record consent to share information or for a third party to act.

Note: if the person is recorded in SAP CRM but this information hasn’t transitioned to PACE, you must verify their identity and consent. Use articles Understand consent requirements and Understand the articles to use for the Managed Authorised Representative case.

If you aren’t sure if the person asking for the plan change has the right authority or consent, talk to your team leader. If your team leader is also unsure, they may seek advice from privacy@ndis.gov.au.

Check supporting information for a plan change request

You may receive a plan change request verbally, by email or in a Change of details or change of situation form (external). The form doesn’t need to be completed to submit a plan change request.

The participant or authorised representative may provide information to support their plan change request which shows how their situation has changed. This can include new assessments or reports about disability-related support needs. Make sure they understand supporting evidence will help us make a decision about their plan change request. Explain that if we don’t have the necessary information or evidence we need, the participant’s request may be declined.

To learn more about the information we need, go to [[Fact sheet: Evidence you need to give us before we create or change your plan (external)](/foi-library/releases/e6d4210adafc-foi-24-25-0786-disclosure-log-documents/document-001__what-evidence-do-you-need-to-give-us-before-we-create-or-change-your-plan/)](Fact%20sheet:%20Evidence%20you%20need%20to%20give%20us%20before%20we%20create%20or%20change%20your%20plan%20(external)).

You must not delay submitting the request if the participant or authorised representative confirms they don’t have any supporting information. If participant tells you they want to submit evidence later, help them understand the Evidence you need to give us before we create or change your plan (external). Tell them they can send us their information by email to enquiries@ndis.gov.au or via the my NDIS participant portal (external).

You’ll need to upload and link any new information to the plan change case. Use articles Add documents to a case and [Add and link evidence to a case](Add%20and%20link%20evidence%20to%20a%20case).

Tell the participant or authorised representative they’ll receive a letter after the plan change request is submitted with information about what to expect next. Check their correspondence preferences in PACE are correct. Go to article [Check a person’s preferred contact method](Check%20a%20person’s%20preferred%20contact%20method).

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Confirm the participant’s personal details in PACE are correct. If not, create the relevant cases in PACE to record or update this information. These may include:

an Update Person Account case to record any changes to the participant’s details. Go to article [Update a person account](Update%20a%20person%20account). If the participant wants to report a new condition, use article Update the participant’s disabilities using the update person account case
a Check-In case to talk to the participant and find out more about the change in their situation. Go to article Create a check-in case.

Don’t create a new check-in case if this plan change case was generated from a reassessment check-in. You can review information recorded at the reassessment check-in, which will be linked as the parent case.

From the Person Account, select the Cases tab.
Select the relevant Plan Change case from the Open Cases list.
Select the Case Activity tab then select Related Cases.

You’ll need to gather as much relevant information as possible for the delegate to think about when they’re considering the plan change request.

To learn more about how to discuss information and evidence for plan change requests, go to article [Discuss a participant plan change request](Discuss%20a%20participant%20plan%20change%20request).

Understand if the participant is at risk

You may identify that the participant is at risk because their situation has changed.

Note: if you identify an immediate threat or risk of harm, you must call emergency services on 000.

When you create the plan change request, you must complete the risk matrix. This will help you escalate the request, if needed.

You may need to report a risk to the participant using the Participant Critical Incident Framework on the Participant Critical Incidents intranet page. Reportable Participant Critical Incidents must be submitted using the Participant Critical Incident case.

To learn more, go to articles Understand participant critical incidents and Create a participant critical incident case.

If you need more help, talk to your line manager.

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You should also think about if there are any conflicts of interest with the plan change request being made. To learn more, go to article Understand conflict of interest.

Check if the current plan is in PACE or SAP CRM

You’ll need to check the person account to see if the participant’s current plan is in PACE or SAP CRM. The plan will still be in SAP CRM if:

SAP CRM is displayed on the Details tab, at Overview, next to Current Plan
No is displayed on the Details tab, at Account Information, next to Planning Ceased in SAP CRM
The My Profile tab has no plans listed on its Plan tab.

If the participant is requesting a change to their plan but their current plan is in SAP CRM, you must submit the request as a Participant plan change request. Use article [Create a participant plan change request](Create%20a%20participant%20plan%20change%20request).

When you prepare to submit a plan change request, you must check if the participant has any relevant open cases for the same request or issue. To check for any open plan change or internal review cases:

From the Person Account, select the Cases tab.
At Open Cases, select Case Record Type. This will sort the list of open cases by type. You need to avoid the drop-down arrow in the column header.

IMPORTANT: if there’s an open plan change case that was created as part of a plan continuation, you need to cancel it. If you don’t, the plan continuation won’t work due to limitations of the Participant Budget Update case that will be created if you progress the case.

Note: this is only for plans approved after 9 October 2024.

To check if the case is part of a plan continuation:

Go to the Details tab and confirm the Case Reason is Plan continuation.
Go to the Decision tab and confirm the Plan Continuation Confidence option shows. This only shows for cases created as part of a plan continuation.

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Go to the Request tab and select Next at Initiate Request. Confirm Change the reassessment date is automatically selected at Plan Change Requests.

After you’ve confirmed the case is part of a plan continuation, cancel it using article Cancel or close a plan change case. The plan will now progress and will automatically continue at the current plan expiry date. No further action is needed for this to occur.

For Partner staff

If there’s already an open plan change case, you’ll need to:

add further information to the existing case. Use article Add documents to a case
log an activity and record the details to help the delegate make their decision. Use article [[[Log an activity or internal note](/foi-library/releases/23fb25e35a95-foi-24-25-0519-decison-document/document-001__log-an-activity-or-internal-note/)](/foi-library/releases/23fb25e35a95-foi-24-25-0519-decison-document/document-001__log-an-activity-or-internal-note/)](Log%20an%20activity%20or%20internal%20note).

If there’s already an open internal review case and you’ve confirmed it relates to the same issue, you’ll need to:

add further information to the existing internal review case. Use article Add documents to a case
log an activity and record the details to help the delegate make their decision. Use article Log an activity or internal note.

If there’s no relevant open cases, all Partner staff need to go to article [Discuss a participant plan change request](Discuss%20a%20participant%20plan%20change%20request). You’ll continue your conversation with the participant or their authorised representative before creating the plan change request in PACE.

For NDIA staff with delegation

If there’s already one or more open plan change cases, you’ll need to determine if this is a new request or if it’s further information about an existing request.

If it’s further information for an existing plan change request:

add this to the existing case. Use article Add documents to a case
log an activity and record the information you’ve been provided. Use article Log an activity or internal note.

If it’s a new plan change request:

go to the Decision tab in the Plan Change case
go to Legislative Type Details to check the Legislative Type.

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You must complete this check as it may show a different legislative type to the Plan Change Requests table on the Decision tab. You may need to use this information in your discussion with the participant before you create the plan change request.

If the existing legislative type is:

S47A, you’ll need to create another s47A request. Use section Create a participant requested plan variation (s47A) request in article [[Create a participant plan change](/foi-library/releases/441f065ae1c8-foi-24-25-1912-disclosure-log-documents/document-009__create-a-participant-plan-change/) request](Create%20a%20participant%20plan%20change%20request)
S48, you’ll need to create another s48 request. Use section Create a participant requested plan reassessment (s48) request in article Create a participant plan change request.

If there’s an open internal review case:

add further information to the existing internal review case. Use article Add documents to a case
log an activity and record the details to help the review delegate make their decision. Use article [Log an activity or internal note](Log%20an%20activity%20or%20internal%20note).

Cancel or close a plan change case

Don’t close an open plan change case and create a new case if it’s been generated from a reassessment check-in case.

If it’s still in progress or pending outcome and you have delegation to make a decision:

you can change the legislative type
you need to talk to the participant if you’re changing the legislative type from a plan variation (s47A) to plan reassessment (s48)
complete the steps in section If the plan change case is generated from a reassessment check-in in article [Assign and review a plan change case](Assign%20and%20review%20a%20plan%20change%20case).

Only close the open plan change case if:

there’s no plan change request recorded, or
there’s a closure reason, but the case is still open. For example, if the case was created as part of a plan continuation and needs to be cancelled so the plan can automatically extend.

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To do this, go to article Cancel or close a plan change case.

Withdraw a plan change request

A plan change request can be withdrawn if the participant or their authorised representative has:

asked us to withdraw their plan change request
endorsed the withdrawal of the plan change request after you’ve explained to them the plan change requests will be included in another case in PACE
told us their situation has changed.

To withdraw a plan change request, you’ll need expressed and informed consent from the participant or authorised representative. You need to make sure the authorised representative has the correct permission. Use articles Check consent, nominee, child representative or self-representation authorities and Withdraw a plan change request.

If the request has been withdrawn, you can create a new plan change request that captures the participant’s current circumstances.

Understand the Plan change request type

Make sure you’ve discussed the plan change request with the participant or authorised representative before creating the request in PACE.

If you don’t have delegation to make a decision, you need to select Participant plan change request for all requests, unless the participant or authorised representative specifically states they are requesting a plan variation (s47A) or plan reassessment (s48). You’ll learn more in article, [Create a participant plan change request](Create%20a%20participant%20plan%20change%20request).

If you have delegation to make a decision to vary or reassess a plan and have identified a need for a CEO-initiated plan change, go to article Create a CEO-initiated plan change request.

You can check your Delegations and authorisations on the intranet.

When a participant makes a request for a plan change and isn’t specific, the delegate will consider the most suitable option to meet the participant’s needs.

Plan variation (s47A)

This request type is to make minor changes to a plan. For example, to:

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add crisis or emergency funding due to a significant change in the participant’s NDIS support needs. This can be for a once-off support or for a specific period of time
include a new support as a once-off or for a specific period of time
change the fund management type
change the reassessment date after a reassessment check-in to continue the participant’s current NDIS supports for up to 12 months.

Due to limitations for plans with funding periods, some changes can’t be completed in a plan variation (s47A).

You can’t:

change the plan reassessment date. This is because those funding periods don’t calculate correctly when a new reassessment date is selected. This will be updated in a future PACE release
change the budget type or instalment type of a support category in the participant’s plan. For example, from flexible to stated, or from once-off to regular
change the length or reduce funding for past or current funding periods
remove a funded support from the participant’s plan. In certain circumstances, you can reallocate funds to another funded support, but this still has to meet the NDIS funding criteria. This doesn’t apply to updating a participant’s plan through an s100 decision, though you’re still unable to remove a funded support
change the fund management type for an individual flexible core support category when it’s been grouped with other flexible core supports in the same funding component
change the fund management type for individual flexible core supports at the support category level. You can still do this at the funding component level.

Note: if the plan was approved between 9 October 2024 and 18 May 2025 and has a duration other than 12 months, it won’t have funding periods. The above limitations don’t apply.

Plan reassessment (s48)

This is a request to initiate the plan reassessment process outside of the scheduled plan reassessment. A plan can only be reassessed if the participant has had a significant change in their need for NDIS support due to a change in their situation.

The situations we think about are:

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if the participant’s functional capacity has changed
if the participant’s informal supports have changed
if the participant’s living situation has changed
if there has been a significant life transition, like starting or leaving school
if the participant’s right to compensation for personal injury from another Commonwealth, state or territory agency or under another insurance scheme has changed.

To learn more about these requests, go to article [Understand and choose the right plan change request](Understand%20and%20choose%20the%20right%20plan%20change%20request).

To learn more go to section What is a plan reassessment? in Our Guideline – Changing your plan (external).

Note: if the participant or authorised representative requests a replacement support, go to article Understand, create and action a request for a replacement support.

Next Steps

Discuss the plan change request with the participant or authorised representative before creating it in PACE. To learn more, go to article [Discuss a participant plan change request](Discuss%20a%20participant%20plan%20change%20request).

To create a participant plan change request, go to article [Create a participant plan change request](Create%20a%20participant%20plan%20change%20request).

Article labels

PACE user role names

No change.

Topics

No change.

Case names

No change.

Ownership

No change.

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Version control

Version	Amended by	Brief Description of Change	Status	Date
12.0	CS0074	Class 3 approval Changes made to sections Determine the plan change request type and Next steps to explain the different types of plan change requests and using Participant plan change request as the preferred option Guidance updated to remove reference to scripting in article Discuss a participant plan change request	APPROVED	2025-05-15
13.0	AHB706	Class 1 Approval Guidance updated to explain: * all plan change requests must be submitted as a Participant plan change request, unless one of 2 exceptions apply * the plan change request must be submitted if the participant confirms there’s no supporting evidence for their request how to action a plan change request if the plan is still in SAP CRM.	APPROVED	2025-10-30
14.0	AJG505	Class 2 Approval Guidance updated to advise staff to cancel the plan change case that’s created as part of a plan auto-continuation. Updates to incorporate guidance for Sustainability Initiative 3.2:	APPROVED	2025-12-08

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| | | * to align with National Disability Insurance Scheme (Variation and Reassessment of Participants’ Plans) Rules 2025
* to strengthen requirement to have evidence consent from the participant for the plan change request
* to consider any COI with the plan change request being made. | | |

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Prepare to submit a plan change request

Prepare to submit a plan change request

Recent updates

Before you start

Check authority to request a plan change

Check identity and consent

Check supporting information for a plan change request

Understand if the participant is at risk

Check if the current plan is in PACE or SAP CRM

Check for related open cases

For Partner staff

For NDIA staff with delegation

Cancel or close a plan change case

Withdraw a plan change request

Understand the Plan change request type

Plan variation (s47A)

Plan reassessment (s48)

Next Steps

Article labels

PACE user role names

Topics

Case names

Ownership

Version control