C2026A00066NDIS Checker

Schedule 3, Part 3

The CEO's window to decide an access request

From 27 August 2026 the CEO has 90 days rather than 21 to decide an access request, which lengthens the period before a new participant's plan exists.

What does the provision require?

Item 14 replaces 21 days with 90 days in paragraph 20(2)(a), the provision that sets the period for the CEO to decide whether a person meets the access requirements. The application provision applies the new period to a request for access lodged from 27 August 2026.

Two other minor amendments sit in the Part. Paragraphs 44(1)(aa) and 44(2A)(aa) now operate only where the CEO is aware of the matter, so the duty to act on a nominee or guardian arrangement depends on knowledge rather than on constructive notice. Item 18 removes beyond reasonable doubt from paragraph 73ZKA(2)(b), which lowers the standard a court applies when it is satisfied of a matter for a civil penalty order.

Why does it matter to an insurer or a provider?

A longer access decision period delays the point at which a plan and a provider relationship exist. For an insurer the relevance is timing: a claim or a reserve that assumes a participant will be in the scheme within a month now has a three month window to allow for. The knowledge qualifier in section 44 also changes what the Agency can be expected to act on without being told.

What did the amendment change?

The access decision period moves from 21 days to 90 days. The section 44 duties become knowledge based. The civil penalty standard in section 73ZKA no longer requires proof beyond reasonable doubt.

Suggested evidence

These are the publisher's control suggestions, not statutory requirements. The provision's own requirement is above; an auditor or regulator decides what is sufficient.

  • The access request date and the decision date
  • The plan start date, where a claim or reserve depends on it
  • The record of what the CEO was told about a nominee or guardian arrangement
  • For a civil penalty proceeding, the standard the court applied

What should be done before the date?

  1. Adjust any reserve that assumes a 21 day access decision
  2. Check the file for a nominee arrangement the Agency was told about
  3. Record the decision date in the underwriting file for a new provider relationship

What the text does not say

The text does not say whether the CEO may extend the 90 days. It does not define aware for the purposes of section 44.

Where this sits

section 20(2)(a), amended by item 14 in Schedule 3, Part 3, Minor amendments (items 14 to 19). Read the official text at https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2026A00066/latest/text. The record was read on 21 October 2026.

Not legal advice; does not certify. This page is a reading of the provision in our own words, not a reproduction of it, and not advice on your own facts.

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