Contact Us

What is the NDIS?

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) helps people with disability get the support they need.

The NDIS is run by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).

The NDIS is for Australians who:

• Were born with a disability, or
• Developed a disability later in life, and
• Have a permanent and significant disability.

Permanent disability means the disability is likely to last for life.

Significant disability means the disability makes everyday activities harder, such as:

• Moving around
• Communicating
• Learning
• Looking after yourself

What does the NDIS pay for?

The NDIS provides funding for reasonable and necessary supports that are related to your disability.

• Reasonable means the support is best provided through the NDIS
• Necessary means the support is something you need because of your disability

These supports help you work towards your personal goals and live your life your way.

Who can help me understand the NDIS?

The NDIS works with partners in the community across Australia.

These organisations can help you understand the NDIS and find supports in your local area.

There are two types of community partners:

Local Area Coordinators (LACs)

If you are aged 7 to 64, a Local Area Coordinator can help you.

They can:

• Explain how the NDIS works
• Help you find supports in your community
• Help you apply for the NDIS if you may be eligible

You can find your local LAC on the NDIS website.

Early Childhood Partners

If you are a parent or carer of a child under 7 years, an Early Childhood partner can help.

They can:

• Support children with developmental delay or disability
• Help you understand what supports are available
• Help your child get support early

Your child does not need to be an NDIS participant to get help from an Early Childhood partner.

What does it mean to be an NDIS participant?

If you are eligible and become an NDIS participant, you will receive an NDIS plan.

Your plan includes funding to help you work towards your personal goals.

Everyone’s goals are different. Your goals may include:

• Improving communication or speech
• Getting help with daily activities
• Getting equipment to help at home or in the community
• Learning new skills
• Finding or keeping a job
• Becoming more independent
• Making friends and social connections

Who provides my supports?

Once you have your NDIS plan, you choose service providers to support you.

Service providers may include:

• Physiotherapists
• Occupational therapists
• Speech therapists

You can also use your plan to:

• Work with a support worker
• Access a carer
• Buy assistive technology
• Make changes to your home to make everyday life easier

What if I am not eligible for the NDIS?

If you are not eligible for the NDIS, you can still get help.

The NDIS and community partners can:

• Help you find community services
• Help you access other government supports
• Give you information about services in your local area

You can still get support even if you are not an NDIS participant.

How can I get more information?

For more information:

• Visit ndis.gov.au
• Call 1800 800 110

If you need information in another language:

• Call TIS National on 131 450

Ask them to connect you to the NDIS on 1800 800 110

The Disability Support Pension along with other income supports and payments such as the Carer Payment, Carer Supplement, Carer Allowance and Child Disability Assistance Payment are entirely separate to the NDIS.

These payments will not be affected if a patient qualifies for NDIS funding. The exception to this is the Mobility Allowance from Centrelink, which will cease once a patient receives a funded NDIS plan. However, the individual can keep their Health Care Card.

It’s important to note that someone who is receiving the Disability Support Pension is not automatically eligible for NDIS funding and supports.

Not all types of support required by a person living with a disability fall under the responsibility of the NDIS .

Some supports are funded by other areas of government (e.g. state health systems) or existing public/community services.

In general, the NDIS will fund reasonable and necessary supports that help a person living with a disability enjoy an ordinary life.

These supports and services fall into three categories.

Core

A support that assists with activities of daily living.

Capital

A support for an investment, such as assistive technologies; equipment and home or vehicle modifications; or funding for capital costs (e.g. to pay for Specialist Disability Accommodation).

Capacity building

A support that helps build independence and skills.

Common examples of supports provided or funded by the NDIS include:

• Help with personal care activities and/or household tasks
• Home and vehicle modifications
• Assistive technology, aids and mobility equipment, including set up and training by skilled personnel
• Transport to enable participation in community, social, economic and daily life activities, e.g. workplace, gym or places of learning
• Support to find and keep a job
• Therapeutic supports like occupational therapy, speech therapy and behaviour support
• Health-related supports (as long as they are a regular part of your patient’s life and the need for them arises from a disability), e.g. continence, diabetic management, dysphagia, epilepsy, nutrition, podiatry, respiratory and wound and pressure care supports (see the Disability-related health supports page for full details).

If you are uncertain if the supports your patient requires are funded by the NDIS, refer the patient to a Local Area Coordinator for further advice before proceeding with an Access Request, as other public or community services may be more appropriate.

Sensitive information is personal information that includes information or an opinion about a person’s:

• racial or ethnic origin
• political opinions or associations
• religious or philosophical beliefs
• trade union membership or associations
• sexual orientation or practices
• criminal record
• health or genetic information
• some aspects of biometric information.

Generally, sensitive information has a higher level of privacy protection than other personal information.

You can get access to the personal information we have about you. More information is available on the Access to Information page. 

We keep personal information about different people. For example,

• people who use the NDIS
• our staff
• disability service providers.

The personal information we keep includes:

• name
• address
• date and place of birth
• contact details
• gender
• bank account details
• financial information or suspicious transactions, international transactions, and large transactions
• Centrelink Customer Reference Number (CRN)
• Court documents, such as parenting orders, compensation determinations, statements and medical reports
• information about your disability, health and support requirements
• any other information you or your provider or representative provides to us, including contact details for those other people
• information about your use of our digital services.

You don’t have to give us all the information we ask you to provide, but if you do not provide us with some or all of the personal information required, you may not be able to access some of our services. 

While you do not have to provide us with all information requested, not providing this information to us may mean that we may not be able to make decisions about you.

The NDIA often gets requests for information from:

• NDIS participants
• child representatives
• nominees
• prospective participants or the person who helped them request information
• other people, such as lawyers or representatives, who have consent from a participant for the NDIA to share their information.

The NDIA takes privacy seriously. 

The NDIA must see proof that the person has your consent to see your information. You can give consent to someone by using one of our consent forms.

Consent is a record of the permission you have given. More information is available on understanding consent on the booklets and factsheets page.

You can give consent by using one of our consent forms on the NDIS website. Or you can give your consent on the phone, in person, in writing, or the way you want to communicate. 

You can contact us to change or take away your consent at any time.

We won’t share your information unless we have your consent, except where required by law.

If you want to provide consent, you can do so using a consent form.

For more details about the consent form, and how it is used, see the Consent form page. To find out more about how the NDIA shares information with state and territory agencies, see the Sharing participant information page.

You can get access to the personal information we have about you. More information is available on the Access to Information page. 

You can also access your own information by making a request on the Participant Information Access Request page.

Participant information cannot be destroyed in line with our legislative obligations under the Archives Act 1983 (Cth) (Archives Act).

This is because the NDIA has obligations under the Archives Act to retain information it receives in a Commonwealth record and one of the provisions makes it an offence to delete or change a Commonwealth record unless an exception applies. A request to delete a record if you do not wish to become a participant is not a valid exception.

The NDIA take privacy seriously and is bound by strict legal obligations in relation to the collecting, recording, using and disclosing of personal information. 

Our policy is to respect and protect the privacy of all people connected with the NDIS and we take steps to ensure that no-one outside the NDIA can access information we hold about a participant without their consent, unless that access is authorised or required under law.

If we need to disclose personal information outside the NDIA, we will de-identify the information prior to disclosure, wherever possible. We will only disclose personal information where:

• it is done in accordance with the Privacy Policy;
• the person consents; or
• the disclosure is authorised or required under law.

The Privacy Policy tells you the kinds of organisations or people that your information might be shared with.

Registered providers need to follow the NDIS Code of Conduct and meet quality standards , which show they provide quality, safe supports to participants. The standards also help participants to know what they should expect from their registered providers.

If you have a concern about your current NDIS supports or services and you don’t feel able to complain to your provider or if you are unhappy with the provider’s response to your complaint, you can contact the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. 

More information is available on their website: Complaints Management and resolution guidance | NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (ndiscommission.gov.au)

A child representative is usually a person or persons who have parental responsibility for a child under the laws for the NDIS. 

They do things and make decisions about the NDIS on behalf of a child. In most cases, a child’s parents or guardian will automatically be their representative. 

More information is available on the Child representatives page .

If you think the NDIA may have breached our privacy obligations in relation to the handling of your personal information, you may make a complaint by contacting us using the contact details in the NDIA Privacy Policy.

Your complaint should be made in writing and include contact details for communicating with you, and all relevant details to enable us to understand, investigate and assess the matter.

We will respond to your complaint within a reasonable timeframe. We are committed to quick and fair resolution of any complaints and will ensure your complaint is taken seriously. You will not be victimised or suffer negative treatment if you make a complaint.

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the complaint or the way it was handled by us, you can lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). Further information about how to do this is available on the OAIC website . 

The OAIC is independent of the NDIA and has the power to investigate complaints about possible interferences with a person’s privacy. It is usually best to contact us first about any privacy concerns. This is because the OAIC will generally ask us to investigate the matter first and provide it with our findings concerning the matter.

We comply with the Privacy Act in handling privacy breaches and will notify affected individuals and the OAIC of serious data breaches where appropriate.