NDIS FAQs

The National Disability Insurance Scheme, also called the NDIS, is designed to empower people with disability to:

• work towards their goals,
• identify the disability related support they need to meet their goals, and
• choose where they would like to buy their supports.

Find out more  about the NDIS and what it means for you at NDIS.gov.au

The NDIS supports:

• people with a permanent disability and children with developmental delay; their family and carers, by funding reasonable and necessary support for each person’s unique needs
• all Australians, by providing a safety net for anyone who acquires a disability in the future.

The NDIS will provide funding for ‘reasonable and necessary’ support, services and equipment to assist a person to achieve their goals.

The NDIS funds the reasonable and necessary disability related support that participants require to meet their needs and achieve their goals.

The NDIS will fund ‘reasonable and necessary’ supports needed to meet your needs and achieve your goals. Reasonable and necessary supports must:

• be identified in your NDIS plan as helping you to achieve your goals
• be related to your disability
• help you take part in the community or to find paid work or volunteering work
• not include day-to-day living costs not related to your disability
• represent value for money
• be beneficial to you and be proven to work (tried and tested), and
• take into account informal family, carer and community support that is available to you.

The NDIS doesn’t cover support that isn’t related to your disability or is an everyday living expense. It also doesn’t replace funding that is more appropriate from other sources such as education, health or transport. These supports will continue to be funded as they are now.

Under the NDIS, the Centrelink Mobility Allowance is replaced by funding for transport needs related to a person’s disability in their individual NDIS plans.

Make sure that you think about your transport support needs when you prepare for your NDIS planning meeting. Transport support might include funding for taxis or buses, or travel training to build your skills and reduce the need for support in the future.

The NDIS does not fund everyday expenses such as public transport (e.g. Myki).

To be eligible for the NDIS, you must:

• be aged between 7 and 65 years at the time of your application
• be an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or a New Zealand citizen who holds a Protected Special Category Visa
• have a permanent disability that significantly affects how you can communicate, move, care for yourself, or manage your life.

If you care for someone under the age of 7 with developmental delay or idsaiblity, you might be eligible for early intervention. Learn more about the early childhood approach.

Find out more about the eligibility requirements on the NDIS website.

People aged over 65 currently accessing funded disability support will continue to receive support under legislated continuity of support agreements, unless they choose to move across to aged care or health services or support.

People who acquire a disability after the age of 65 are not eligible for the NDIS and will be supported by aged or health care services, consistent with current arrangements.

A NDIS plan outlines a person’s goals and the disability related services and support that will help them to achieve those goals. It describes the funded supports they will receive from the NDIS.

Yooralla’s free guide to prepare for the NDIS can help you to prepare for your planning meeting, so you can make the most of your NDIS plan.

Yooralla Connect can help you understand your NDIS plan and the planning process with our free NDIS discussion.

You can also download Yooralla’s free guide to prepare for the NDIS or contact Yooralla Connect for any further NDIS questions:

Phone: 03 9666 4500

Email: yoorallaconnect@yooralla.com.au

Yes, only if your needs or circumstances change significantly, you can ask to review your plan earlier than the usual 12-month review period. The NDIS or a LAC can help you through the process to request a change to your plan. This is called a plan variation.

A significant change where you could contact the NDIS and ask for a plan variation might be if your parent cares for you and they need to go to hospital for a while, and won’t be at home to support you, so alternative funded support is required.

A NDIS plan generally runs for 12-months, so with about six weeks to go participants undertake a plan reassessment process to work on their next NDIS plan.

A representative from the NDIS, possibly the person who helped develop your first NDIS plan (maybe a Local Area Coordinator) will contact you to start the plan reassessment process, and development of your second NDIS plan.

The plan review discussion may not be as long and detailed as your initial NDIS planning discussion. However, it’s still worth giving some thought before your review discussion as to how your first NDIS plan has gone for you.

Yooralla’s free guide to making the most of your next NDIS plan can help you understand the process for your next NDIS plan and how you can prepare for your plan review meeting.

Yooralla can support you at every stage of your NDIS journey, whether you are preparing for your planning meeting, implementing your NDIS plan or want to make the most of your next plan.

Contact Yooralla Connect for a free NDIS discussion either face-to-face over the phone or online.

When you receive your NDIS plan, Yooralla can support your NDIS goals with our wide range of tailored, flexible and quality services. We are a disability specialist and we know the NDIS – we have been supporting participants from the beginning of the NDIS. 

When you go through the planning process with the NDIS, let them know if you need some support to implement your plan. There are three levels of Support Coordination that you may be funded for in your NDIS plan.

Yooralla can also support you when you get your NDIS plan. We are holding free NDIS discussions to help you to understand what’s in your NDIS plan and we have produced a free guide to implementing your NDIS plan.

Managing the funds in your NDIS plan means the way service providers and supports be paid - you’ll be asked how you want your funds managed at your planning meeting. You can choose from:

• self-managing
• a financial intermediary
• the NDIS (also known as Agency managed) or
• a combination of the above options.

Yes, you can choose who delivers your support and services under the NDIS – you have choice and control. However, you can only choose a non-NDIS registered provider if you are self-managing the funds in your NDIS plan.

Many providers are NDIS registered. This means they have had to meet criteria set out by the NDIS, including business registration and insurance, and a commitment to meeting quality and safeguards standards.

Yooralla is a registered NDIS service provider. You can find other NDIS registered providers on the NDIS website.

The NDIS has a list of registered providers available on their website.

You can change service providers during your plan. You will need to check your Service Agreement to find out what notice period you need to provide.

If you choose to change providers, then you will be responsible for engaging an alternative provider. If you are funded for Support Coordination in your plan, a Support Coordinator can help you do this.

If you are not happy with your approved NDIS plan, you can discuss your concerns with your NDIS representative.

You can also go through a review process with the NDIS. This process is outlined in your plan cover letter. You can also find out more about the NDIS internal reviews process here.

If you are still not happy following the NDIS internal reviews process, you can appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

If you are not happy with the service or support provided by the NDIA, or with your plan or planner, you should firstly follow the NDIA’s complaints process.

The NDIA complaints procedure states that you will be called about your complaint within two business days and that it aims to resolve all complaints within 21 days. If you are still unhappy with the outcome of the complaints process, you can contact the Commonwealth Ombudsman.

You can also contact the Disability Services Commissioner if you have a complaint about your plan or planner.

If you are unhappy with the service you have received for supports funded in your NDIS plan, the first step is to follow your provider’s feedback and complaints processes.

If your service provider is Yooralla, find out how to provide feedback or lodge a complaint to Yooralla.

If you are unhappy with the outcome of the discussion with your service provider, you can take your complaint to a number of different external agencies, such as the Disability Services Commissioner.

You can also choose to go directly to the Disability Services Commissioner, or another relevant external agency first.