What is the NDIS?

The basics

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is Australia's national scheme for funding disability support. It started rolling out in 2013 and is now a nationwide system. The idea behind it is simple: people with disability should be able to choose the supports that fit their life, instead of taking what's handed to them.

The scheme is run by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) — an independent government body. A separate body, the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, oversees the quality and safety of providers and workers.

Who the NDIS is for

The NDIS is generally for Australians under 65 with a permanent and significant disability that affects their ability to take part in everyday activities. Children under 9 may be supported through the Early Childhood Approach. There's a separate guide on NDIS eligibility if you want the detail.

What the NDIS funds

An NDIS plan is built around your goals and the supports that will help you reach them. Funding usually sits in three big buckets:

• Core supports — day-to-day help like personal care, household tasks, community participation and consumables. Most flexible.
• Capacity Building — supports that help you build skills and independence over time: therapy, employment supports, improved daily living.
• Capital — funding for assistive technology, home modifications and similar one-off items.

What's funded for a particular person depends on what the NDIA considers reasonable and necessary for them.

How a plan works

1. Access — you submit an Access Request to the NDIA.
2. Planning meeting — you talk through your goals, daily life and supports with an NDIA planner or Local Area Coordinator.
3. You get a plan — a document setting out the funding in each bucket, usually for 12 months.
4. You use your supports — book providers and workers, and use your funding.
5. Plan review — at the end of your plan period (or earlier if your circumstances change), the plan is reviewed and renewed. See Preparing for your plan review.

Who pays for what

How invoices get paid depends on how your plan is managed. There are three options — agency-managed, plan-managed and self-managed. There's a separate guide comparing self-managed vs plan-managed.

Key terms quick glossary

• NDIA — the agency that runs the scheme.
• LAC (Local Area Coordinator) — a community partner who helps connect you with services.
• Plan manager — a third party that pays your providers from your NDIS funding.
• Support coordinator — someone funded in your plan to help you connect with services.
• Registered provider — a provider that has met the NDIS Commission's registration standards. Inaro isn't currently a registered provider; we work with plan-managed and self-managed participants.

Where to go next

If you're new to the NDIS, the next two reads are usually about eligibility and plan management options. From there, our supports overview shows the kinds of support Inaro workers can help with.