What is the National Disability Insurance Scheme?

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1 What is the National Disability Insurance Scheme? Information about the NDIS, what it does and how to access it.

2 This is a general overview of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). We have more detailed information on our website (). What is the National Disability Insurance Scheme? The NDIS is an insurance scheme that assists people with disability access mainstream and community supports, helps support informal care and funds reasonable and necessary supports, including early intervention supports, for its participants. Participants are people in the Scheme with permanent disability which has a substantial impact on a person s daily life. This includes people with mental health conditions. The Scheme will enable NDIS participants to exercise choice and control in the pursuit of their goals and the planning and delivery of their supports. The Scheme will help participants to increase their independence and social and economic participation. The NDIS is also reassurance for the broader Australian community that there is a support system in place for people who acquire a permanent disability. Can I access the NDIS? People with disability To participate in the NDIS, you need to meet the disability or early intervention requirements, as well as the age and residence requirements. You need to: have a permanent disability which results in substantially reduced ability to undertake regular daily activities live in a trial site area (during the trial) be aged less than 65 years when you make an access request be an Australian citizen, a permanent resident or a New Zealand citizen who holds a Protected Special Category Visa. There is more information about the Scheme s access requirements on our website including how they apply in the different trail sites and to young children with developmental delay (). You can also use My Access Checker (/my-access-checker) to see if you may be able to access support from the Scheme. Providers Providers are individuals or organisations that provide a disability support a service or a product to NDIS participants. Service providers can choose whether or not they want to register with the NDIA. NDIS providers must have an ACN, ABN or be a special purpose company.

intervention supports, for its participants. Participants are people in the Scheme with permanent disability which has a substantial impact on a person s daily life.

3 What does it do? For people who access the Scheme (participants) the NDIS will help people with disability access mainstream and community supports and provide the reasonable and necessary supports they need to achieve their goals. Through a lifelong approach, the Scheme gives participants choice and control over how they access and use the supports in their plan to achieve greater independence and maximise involvement in community and everyday life. For people who need some assistance the NDIS will link people with disability who need some support to mainstream services and community supports. This linkage will often be provided through a Local Area Coordinator. People do not need to become a participant to access this support. The NDIS will help participants to increase their independence and social and economic participation. For providers of disability supports the NDIS offers the opportunity to provide their high quality products and services to NDIS participants, as well as explore the potential to deliver other disability services and products. This is possible due to an expansion of the sector that s benefiting from an increase in overall disability funding. For the Australian public the NDIS offers the opportunity to be proud of their contribution to the positive transformation of a sector that has struggled to meet the needs of people with disability. The Scheme also offers peace of mind for anyone who might acquire a permanent disability, knowing that there is a support system in place. For the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) as the agency responsible for delivering the Scheme, it s an opportunity to learn and explore different ways to deliver a Scheme that works well for participants and providers. We are committed to learning from the experience of the trial sites to get the Scheme right for its national rollout. For families and carers the NDIS is reassurance that family members with disability will receive a whole-of-life approach to their disability supports. We know the big role carers and families have in giving informal support and we will work with families and carers to make sure they are supported. The Scheme also provides an opportunity for families and carers to increase their own community participation and employment.

4 Where is the NDIS? The NDIS is being trialled in a few locations around Australia in preparation for national rollout beginning in We bring people into the Scheme in a gradual way to ensure our staff, operations and services are ready to be delivered effectively and sustainably. If you are an existing client of a disability service, the NDIA or your current provider will contact you about transitioning into the Scheme. Through a lifelong approach, the NDIS gives participants choice and control over how they access and use the supports in their plan. NDIS locations from July Barwon area of Victoria 2 Hunter area of New South Wales 3 South Australia (for children aged 0 14) 4 Tasmania (for young people ages 15 24) NDIS locations from July Australian Capital Territory 6 Barkly area of the Northern Territory 7 Perth Hills in Western Australia (for a two year trial)

If you are an existing client of a disability service, the NDIA or your current provider will contact you about transitioning into the Scheme.

5 For more information am to 8pm, Monday to Friday For people with hearing or speech loss TTY Speak and listen For people who need help with English TIS Follow us on Like us on Facebook *1800 calls from fixed lines are free. Calls from mobiles may be charged. Copyright This publication, with the exception of logos, trade marks, third party material and other content as specified, is licensed under Creative Commons CC NC licence, version 3.0. Full details of these licence conditions are available at Note that you may not use or reproduce in any way any logos, trade marks, material provided by parties other than the NDIA without prior written approval from the NDIA or the third party owner of other material. Disclaimer This document provides general guidance about the operation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) as at the date of publication and is for general purposes only. The NDIA is not providing professional advice and users should obtain their own advice if proposing to make decisions based on this document. NDIS does not accept any liability caused directly or indirectly by any error or omission in this document or arising from any action taken by any person in reliance upon it.

Copyright This publication, with the exception of logos, trade marks, third party material and other content as specified, is licensed under Creative Commons CC NC licence, version 3.0.

What is the National Disability Insurance Scheme?

What is the National Disability Insurance Scheme? Information about the NDIS, what it does and how to access it. This is a general overview of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, also called the