Bill Shorten responds to concerns around NDIS changes and ...

National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Minister Bill Shorten has rebuffed criticism that participants were given less than 48 hours' notice about crucial changes to items that can be funded by the scheme.

Various changes to the NDIS kick in from Thursday, including a contentious and much-anticipated list stipulating what participants can now spend their money on.

When the government revealed the list on Tuesday afternoon, parts of the disability community lamented it was not enough time to get across the detail before Thursday morning.

Mr Shorten rejected that critique and said he had been talking about "straightening up the scheme" for the past two-and-a-half years.

"Many items on the in and out list of what you can use your NDIS resources for are existing status quo," he told ABC NEWS.

"Let's not pretend that somehow this is a list which has been created from nothing."

Mr Shorten said extensive consultation was done before the government released the list and almost 7,000 submissions with varying points of view were received from across the sector.

"We found that whilst the scheme is working really well for a lot of people, the lack of clarity has led to some scams, rorts, non-evidence-based therapies and the exploitation of participants," he said.

"I can't keep driving by something which ultimately undermines the sustainability [and] the trust in the scheme."

If participants need an assistive technology or household item that is not on the list to manage their disability, they can apply to have it covered by the scheme if it provides value for money.

Some participants are concerned home batteries and generators used to keep people on ventilators during power outages are not on the list.

Mr Shorten said those items needed to be funded by the states and territories.

"In the meantime, if you know of someone who's got an imminent threat to their safety, let the scheme know," he said.

"I'm not interested in seeing anyone miss out or get hurt."

Mr Shorten said the 12-month transitional period, where participants will not accrue a debt if they accidentally misuse up to $1,500 worth of funds, means they have time to get familiar with the list.

However, there has been concern about what would happen if someone incorrectly spent more than that amount, particularly if they are in regional or remote Australia where services are thin on the ground and often more expensive.

When asked about that, Mr Shorten said the agency that runs the scheme had been given new powers to waive debts, and the approach to recovery would not be like the Robodebt scandal.

"We do not assume in any forward budgets a single dollar of debt to be recovered, so there is no algorithm or financial pressure to recover a single cent," he said.

The government's reforms came off the back of a review into the scheme handed down late last year. (ABC News: Emma Machan)

Services providers and plan managers have a 30-day transition period instead of the full year.

"[They] should be switched on … they have resources that an individual participant doesn't," Mr Shorten said.

A full list of changes taking effect on Thursday can be found here.

The changes are the first part of a wider overhaul of the NDIS that will include the introduction of a needs-based assessment process for access to the scheme, the introduction of "foundational supports" to be run by states and territories, and registration requirements for service providers.

Many disability advocates have been critical of the speed and transparency of the reform process.

The government has been under pressure to bring down the cost of the NDIS and has set an 8 per cent annual growth target.

Mr Shorten said the now-$42-billion scheme had previously been growing at more than 20 per cent per year.

While the government expects this first set of reforms to save $14 billion over four years, it has stressed the scheme will continue to support people with disability.

"I want to see this scheme here forever … we're assuming that there'll be more people on the scheme next year than this year and the year after," Mr Shorten said.

"We just want to make sure that they're getting quality supports and … not being treated as human ATMs by a minority of service providers."

The NDIS now has more than 660,000 participants, representing a fraction of the estimated 5.5 million people with disability in Australia.