The Albanese government was warned that it would soon be on the hook to pay for more than 70 per cent of the cost of the rapidly expanding NDIS, with bureaucrats urging Labor to review deals that force the government to cover budget overruns.

While the cost of the National Disability Insurance Scheme was originally split 50:50 between the federal government and the states, the Commonwealth’s contribution has since reached 62 per cent because state funding is fixed to grow at 4 per cent annually under a series of bilateral deals that expire this year.