Disability Minister Linda Reynolds has issued a fresh warning about the sustainability of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Fronting a parliamentary inquiry on Thursday, she suggested a cap on the scheme rather than cuts.
"We do have some serious structural issues emerging in the national disability scheme after eight years of operation," Senator Reynolds said.
Citing data showing a rising trend in cost per person along with a decline in function of participants, she said the scheme was either not working as intended or had serious flaws.
Senator Reynolds insisted the Morrison government was not considering cuts.
"We will not be implementing cuts to the NDIS budget, this is about making it sustainable."
Despite the minister abandoning plans for new independent assessments, critics fear new laws will be introduced before the next election that put "robo-planning" back on the table.
Senator Reynolds, who will meet with state and territory counterparts next week, said she was working through bigger issues before striking new funding deals with each jurisdiction.
The minister confirmed the federal government is working on new laws for service guarantees and measures to deal with fraud.
But she said the legislation would not include any form of independent assessments.
States and territories agree there is a serious obligation to taxpayers to undertake some form of assessment.
"What form that takes, it is too early to tell."
Labor has previously accused the Morrison government of seeking ways to cut support and remove people from the scheme.
