Your NDIS Plan Explained: Core, Capacity Building and Capital Budgets (2026)

Your NDIS plan organises your funding into support budgets, and each budget contains support categories. There are four budget types in total, but you will only have funding in the budgets the NDIA decides are reasonable and necessary for you. Many participants have Core and Capacity Building; fewer have Capital or Recurring.

The single most important thing to understand is flexibility. Some funding can be moved around (it is "flexible"); other funding is locked to a purpose (it is "stated" or "fixed"). Core supports are mostly flexible. Capacity Building and Capital are stated. Recurring (transport) is also stated.

Here is the quick version of what each budget does:

• Core supports: your everyday, most flexible funding for help with daily life, social and community participation, consumables and (often) transport.
• Capacity Building supports: funding to build your skills and independence, in up to 9 categories. Funding cannot move between categories.
• Capital supports: one-off or higher-cost items, in 2 categories, Assistive Technology and Home Modifications. Funding is locked to its purpose.
• Recurring supports: regular, predictable payments. Transport is the only recurring category.

Your plan, viewable in the myplace participant portal or the my NDIS app, shows exactly which budgets and amounts you have. Because amounts are individual and indexed over time, always treat your own plan as the source of truth.

Core supports help you with everyday activities and working towards your goals. For most participants this is the largest and most flexible part of the plan. Because the funding is flexible, you can generally use the total amount across and within the Core categories rather than being held to a fixed split.

Core supports are usually grouped into these categories:

• Assistance with Daily Life (Daily Activities): help or supervision with personal tasks so you can live as independently as possible, including personal care.
• Assistance with Social, Economic and Community Participation: support to take part in community, social, recreational or economic activities.
• Consumables: everyday items you need because of your disability, such as continence products, low-cost assistive technology, and Home Enteral Nutrition (HEN) products.
• Transport: funding for everyday transport needs where your disability means you cannot use public transport (note: transport may sit here, or be funded as a Recurring support, depending on your plan).

Flexibility has limits. You can move funding within Core, but you cannot move it out of Core into Capacity Building or Capital, and you cannot spend more than your total Core amount. Some specific Core items can still be "stated", meaning they are quarantined for one purpose, so check how each line in your plan is described.

Even within Core, you can only buy things that meet the reasonable and necessary criteria and appear on the official NDIS supports list. Flexible does not mean unrestricted.

Capacity Building supports fund the work of becoming more independent: assessments, therapies, training and coaching that build your skills and help you pursue your goals. Unlike Core, this budget is not flexible. Funding is allocated to specific categories and can only be spent within the category it was given for.

Your Capacity Building budget can hold funding across up to 9 support categories, including:

• Support Coordination (Coordination of Supports): help to understand and use your plan.
• Improved Living Arrangements: help to find and keep suitable housing.
• Increased Social and Community Participation: skill-building for community and recreational activities.
• Finding and Keeping a Job: employment supports, training and assessments.
• Improved Relationships: support to develop positive behaviours and social skills.
• Improved Health and Wellbeing: for example, an exercise physiologist or dietitian (not general gym memberships).
• Improved Learning: support to move from school to further education or training.
• Improved Life Choices: plan management to build your financial skills.
• Improved Daily Living Skills: therapies and training to increase independence.

Because the budget is stated, you cannot, for example, shift unused "Finding and Keeping a Job" funding into "Improved Daily Living". Each category is its own pool. Money left unspent in a category at the end of your plan does not transfer to a different category.

Capital supports cover higher-cost, usually one-off investments. This budget has just two categories: Assistive Technology (equipment such as wheelchairs, communication devices or vehicle modifications) and Home Modifications (changes to your home, and in some cases Specialist Disability Accommodation).

Capital funding is stated and is the least flexible budget of all. You cannot move funding between the two categories, and you cannot use Capital funding for anything other than the specific item it was approved for. If you have funding for a particular piece of equipment, that money is for that purpose only.

Many Capital items are "quotable", which means a quote is required before you buy. Your provider negotiates the price in a service agreement and gives you a written quote, and the NDIA may need to approve it. Your plan will state when a quote is needed.

Because these items can be expensive, the NDIA applies the value-for-money test closely. It may consider whether it is cheaper to buy or rent, who is the most appropriate person or supplier, and whether a lower-cost option achieves the same outcome.

Recurring supports are regular, predictable payments made directly to you, and transport is currently the only recurring category. Recurring transport helps pay for travel to and from work, study, day programs, and social, recreational or community activities when your disability prevents you using public transport.

Transport is typically funded at one of three indicative annual levels:

• Level 1: around $1,784 per year, for participants not currently working, studying or attending day programs but seeking to increase their community access.
• Level 2: around $2,676 per year, for participants working or studying part-time (up to about 15 hours a week) or attending day programs.
• Level 3: around $3,456 per year, for participants working, looking for work, or studying at least 15 hours a week who cannot use public transport.

These figures are indicative and indexed over time, so confirm the current amounts on the NDIS transport funding page before relying on them. Transport funding is stated, meaning it is set aside for travel and cannot be redirected to other supports. Note that some plans fund transport inside the Core budget instead of as a recurring support, so check how your own plan describes it.

The flexible-versus-stated distinction is the practical key to your whole plan. When a support is flexible, the plan describes it in general terms, giving you choice over what you buy within that category. When a support is stated (or "fixed"), the funding is allocated for a specific support or item and cannot be used for anything else.

As a general rule: Core is flexible (within Core), while Capacity Building, Capital and Recurring are stated. But individual lines can vary, so the safest approach is to read how each item is described in your own plan rather than assuming.

Two hard limits always apply. First, you can never spend more than your total budget amount. Second, since 3 October 2024 you can only spend NDIS funding on things that are on the official "NDIS supports" list (or an approved replacement). There are 15 categories of goods and services that are explicitly not NDIS supports, including day-to-day living costs, standard food and groceries, alcohol, and supports better delivered by mainstream services like health, education and child protection.

The 12-month transition grace period for the supports lists ended on 2 October 2025. From 3 October 2025, if you spend NDIS money on something that is not an NDIS support, the NDIA can raise a debt, even for purchases under $1,500. When in doubt, check the supports lists or ask your plan manager or support coordinator before you buy.

Since 3 October 2024, new and reassessed plans show three things clearly: a total budget amount, the funding component amounts, and funding periods. Funding periods control how quickly you can draw down your money so it lasts the full length of your plan, rather than being available all at once.

Funding periods can be 1, 3, 6 or 12 months, and are commonly set at 3 months. Your total funding is generally spread evenly across the periods. Importantly, if you do not spend everything in one funding period, the unspent amount rolls over into your next funding period within the same plan, so you do not lose it mid-plan.

Plans themselves generally run for up to 12 months between reassessments, though length varies with your circumstances (for example, shorter plans are common for young children whose needs change quickly). If a plan with a 12-month funding period is continued without reassessment, the funding period usually stays the same until the plan is reassessed.

Practically, this means a category being "empty" partway through your plan may simply be a funding period not yet started, not a permanent shortfall. Use the myplace portal or my NDIS app to see your current period balances.

From mid-2026, the NDIS is phasing in "new framework" planning, aimed at making budgets fairer, more consistent and easier to use. The rollout is gradual, so many participants will not experience any change for some time and will keep their current plan structure until they move across.

Under new framework plans, funding is provided in two parts: a flexible budget you can use across NDIS supports, and stated items that must be used for a specific purpose. This is a simpler structure than the current category-by-category approach, while keeping the principle that stated funding stays locked to its purpose.

New framework plans are also expected to cover longer periods with fewer scheduled reviews, giving more certainty so you can get on with using your supports. The familiar ideas, flexible versus stated funding and the NDIS supports lists, carry over.

Because this is being introduced in stages, do not assume your plan has changed. Check the official "new way of planning" page and your own plan to see which framework applies to you, and confirm any figures before acting on them.