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NDIS

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)

Now that you’re here, allow us to give you some information about the NDIS. The NDIS is Australia’s first national Scheme for people with disability. It provides funding directly to individuals. The aim of the NDIS is to provide much needed funding to people with disability to assist them in accessing  disability related supports. The NDIS is separate to the mainstream system and aims to bridge the gaps between current services. The NDIS aims to give participants choice and control over the supports that they receive, how they receive them, and who is providing these supports to them. Participants are encouraged to exercise their choice and control to ensure that the supports they receive are personalised to them and based on their support needs, goals, and desires.

The NDIS became fully available in the Northern Territory in 2018. As of the 31st of December 2021, 4,587 people are accessing the NDIS in the NT! It is anticipated that this number will only grow.

If you’d like to find out more about the NDIS and how it can help you, you can visit www.ndis.gov.au.

 

Frequently Asked Questions About the NDIS

Click to expand the questions below:

Generally, people between the ages of 7 and 65, have permanent residency in Australia, require support from others and/or require the assistance of special equipment may be eligible. With this in mind, we recommend checking your eligibility on the NDIS website.

You will need to fill out an ‘Access Request’ form. Information about how to apply can be found on the NDIS website. There is a lot of information which you may need to provide to the NDIS to help them confirm your identity, assess your eligibility, and to assess what supports might benefit you if you are granted access to the NDIS. It is important to note that NDIS access may take some time and there is not always a set timeline between submitting your ‘Access Request’ form and receiving a decision.

Supports funded by the NDIS largely depend on your disability and how your disability affects you, your relationships, and your everyday life. NDIS supports fall into 15 categories:

  1. Assistance with Daily Life
  2. Transport
  3. Consumables
  4. Assistance with Social & Community Participation
  5. Assistive Technology
  6. Home Modifications
  7. Coordination of Support
  8. Improved Living Arrangements
  9. Increased Social and Community Participation
  10. Finding and Keeping a Job
  11. Improved Relationships
  12. Improved Health and Wellbeing
  13. Improved Learning
  14. Improved Life Choices
  15. Improved Daily Living

It is up to the NDIS to consider your NDIS Access Request form, and the supporting evidence, and to then determine which supports you will be funded for. Nevertheless, you will receive an answer whether you have been granted access or not. If you have, TKCCS offers a range of NDIS support services.

The NDIS recognises various disabilities. These range from physical disability, to sensory disability, to intellectual disability, and psychosocial disability. The first thing to remember is that each person experiences disability in different ways. As a result, the NDIS funds plans based on the support needs of the individual.

Generally, examples of physical disability include but are not limited to:

  • Cerebral Palsy
  • Spinal cord injury
  • Paraplegia
  • Quadriplegia

Examples of sensory disability include but are not limited to:

  • Hearing impairment
  • Visual impairment
  • Deafblind (dual sensory)

Examples of intellectual disability include but are not limited to:

  • Down syndrome
  • Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)

Examples of psychosocial disability include but are not limited to:

  • Schizophrenia
  • Personality disorders such as Borderline Personality Disorder
  • Depression, Bipolar I, and Bipolar II
  • Anxiety disorders
  • Panic disorders

You can contact the NDIS via the phone, email, live chat, or post. Although, we’d recommend ringing them, or chatting live with them on their website. This is because it can take a long time to get a response from them via email.

Phone: 1800 800 110
Email: enquiries@ndis.gov.au
Live chat: nccchat.ndis.gov.au/i3root/

The NDIS is big on only funding supports that are ‘Reasonable and Necessary’. This means that they will only fund supports which are directly related to your disability. The NDIS does this because the NDIS is there to help fill the gaps in support services for people living with a disability.

So, the NDIS will not fund:

  • Support/s that will likely cause harm to you or others
  • Any support/s that are not directly related to your disability support needs
  • Support/s that provide the same benefit as another support already funded by the NDIS in your plan
  • Things that relate directly to day-to-day living costs like rent, power and water, and groceries

The NDIS will sometimes fund a Support Coordinator or a Psychosocial Recovery Coach to help assist you with connecting with disability related supports. You might be funded for a Psychosocial Recovery Coach if you have a psychosocial disability. You might be funded for a Support Coordinator if you have another disability. Although, not all participants will be granted for Support Coordination or Psychosocial Recovery Coaching.

For example, they can both assist you with:

    • Understanding and using your NDIS plan to pursue your goals
    • Connecting you with NDIS providers, community, mainstream, and other government services
    • Also, building your confidence and skills to use and coordinate your supports