PACE and period funding can sound more complicated than they really are. For many participants, the most important thing is knowing what has changed and how Plan Management can help you keep things simple.
PACE is the name of the NDIA’s new computer system. The NDIA says it will eventually replace the older business system, portal and payment systems. Plans built in the new system can also look different, and participants may see new features such as “my providers” instead of service bookings.
What funding periods are
Funding periods are smaller chunks of funding released across your plan. The NDIS says that if your plan was approved or reassessed after 19 May 2025, it will generally have 3-month funding periods. The total funding is usually spread evenly across each period.
This change was introduced gradually for new and reassessed plans to help people budget more steadily across the life of their plan.
What happens to unspent funds
The NDIS says you can use the funding available in your current period, including any unspent funds rolled over from previous funding periods within the same plan. If you do not spend all the money in one period, it rolls into the next funding period in that same plan. It does not roll into a brand new plan.
How to stay on track
This is where good budget tracking matters. Smaller funding periods mean it is more important to watch spending regularly, not just once every few months.
If you have several providers or changing needs, Support Coordination can also help keep supports lined up with your goals and current funding.
The one thing worth understanding about funding periods
The NDIS puts it plainly: funding periods “don’t change the total amount of funding in a participant’s plan, only when the funding becomes available”.
That is the whole idea. You have not lost anything. The money arrives in instalments rather than all at once, which changes how you pace spending but not how much you get.
How the change rolled out
Funding periods were introduced into the NDIS Act in October 2024, initially set at 12 months. From 19 May 2025 the NDIA began moving to shorter periods, with three months now the standard.
Nobody was switched over mid-plan. The change applies when you receive a new or reassessed plan, after a conversation about your circumstances. So if your current plan still works the old way, that is expected.
The NDIA decides the length of your funding periods based on your situation, including your preferences and any risk of funds running out early.
What to do if funding runs short before the period ends
This is the practical worry with shorter periods, and it is worth acting early rather than at the point where a support has to stop.
- Talk to your providers about spreading supports differently across the period.
- If you are plan-managed, ask your plan manager for a spend rate — they can see it before you can.
- If the shortfall is structural rather than a one-off, contact the NDIA. A funding period length can be revisited.
Running out repeatedly usually means the plan or the period length is wrong, not that you have overspent. That is worth raising properly at your next plan reassessment.
Where Plan Management helps
Shorter periods make the tracking matter more. A plan manager sees every claim as it comes through and can tell you how you are tracking against the current period rather than the whole plan. See Plan Management vs self-managed vs NDIA-managed for how the options compare.
For simple help understanding PACE, funding periods and your invoices, contact Taylor Made Outcomes.
Official NDIS source: Understanding your plan
