What is the NDIS

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is the new way of providing support for Australians with disability, their families and carers. … The NDIS supports people with disability to build skills and capability so they can participate in the community and employment.

Eligibility for NDIS

There are 3 main areas that determine eligibility for NDIS funding:

  1. Your Age: You need to be under 65 years of age at the time of your application to meet the requirements.

  2. Your residency status: To receive residency eligibility you must be an Australian citizen, or a New Zealand Citizen residing in Australia on a Protected Special Category Visa.

  3. Disability Requirements: You need to have a permanent disability that significantly impacts your ability to take part in life without assistance. It is expected the disability will be lifelong. The NDIS understands that some conditions cause “good and bad” days for people influencing the need for support on some days ad not others.  This type of disability doesn’t exclude people from being eligible for NDIS funding.

For further information on NDIS eligibility please refer to the NDIS website at the following link https://www.ndis.gov.au/people-disability/access-requirements

Additionally, one of the principles of NDIS is “early intervention”.   Children and adults may also be eligible for individual support where there is evidence that  getting support now improves function in the long term or slows down a decline in functioning.

5 Simple Steps to Access the NDIS

  1. Complete an NDIS Access request form. The NDIA will get back to you within 21 days.Once you are approved to be part of the NDIS you are considered a NDIS participant.

  2. The next step is to prepare for your NDIS planning meeting. This means thinking about what your goals are and what supports you need to achieve your goals.  You may already have a number of supports in place to help you achieve daily activities.  These supports should also be included as part of your planning.  But the NDIS is all about supporting you to live the kind of life you want to live.  So the NDIS is an opportunity for you to learn new skills and achieve goals with the right amount of support.

  3. Once you and your family have had a good think about your goals and what is important to you a planner from the NDIA (National Disability Insurance Agency) will contact you to set up your planning meeting. You can bring whoever you like to your planning meeting and once your plan is finalised it will provide you with funding to access the supports you need. This funding is dedicated to you as an individual and you choose and control how you use it.  If you know you will need some help organising supports then it is important to let the NDIA planner know this as they could include “support coordination” as one of your supports in your plan.

  4. Putting your plan into action is about your choice and control. You can choose who you want to provide your supports and how you want the supports to happen.  There are many organisations that you can choose to access supports from and that can be quite overwhelming.  If your plan includes “support coordination” then you can access a support coordinator to help you organise the supports you want and need.

  5. Your plan will be reviewed every 12 months. So, during the year you can analyse what worked and what changes, if any, you need in your plan to make it work better for you.