How to apply for the NDIS?

---

1. Have a permanent impairment that significantly affects your ability to take part in everyday activities or have a developmental delay,
    
2. Meet the NDIS Disability Requirements
    
3. Be aged less than 65 years old
    
4. Be an Australian citizen or hold a Permanent visa or a Protected Special Category visa
    
5. Live in an area where the NDIS has rolled out

These requirements are referred to as the 'NDIS Access Criteria'. 

The access criteria are designed to determine whether people with disability have a current need for support under the NDIS, based on one or more permanent impairments that affect their daily living and social and economic participation - their functional capacity -  on an ongoing basis.

A person can access the NDIS through the early intervention requirements without having substantially reduced functional capacity. This is because the early intervention requirements consider how a person's disability will affect their functional capacity over time and how the potential benefits of early intervention can reduce the impact on their functional capacity.

The NDIA has developed Lists A - E to streamline the disability assessment process for people with certain conditions (such as autism, cerebral palsy, permanent blindness), or who are already receiving support from certain disability providers. 

Such applicants may automatically meet the disability requirements without further assessment.

List A is the conditions for which are likely to meet NDIS eligibility under section 24 of the NDIS.

List B specifies permanent conditions for which functional capacity is variable and further assessments of * functional capacity is generally required.

List C specifies participants who are already receiving funding via a disability scheme and would be considered to satisfy the disability requirements without further evidence being required.

List D and List E (years 0-7) cover early intervention pathways.

A prospective participant will meet the NDIS disability requirement if they meet each of the following requirements:

1. They have an intellectual, cognitive, neurological, sensory or physical disability or a disability caused by a psychiatric condition.
    
2. Their disability is likely to be permanent.
    
3. Their disability results in substantially reduced functional capacity in these areas:
   
   1. communication;
   2. social interaction;
   3. learning;
   4. mobility;
   5. self-care; or
   6. self-management 

• Their disability affects their capacity for social or economic participation
   
• They are likely to need support under the NDIS for their lifetime

This includes information on:

1. what your disability is,
2. how long it will last and
3. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY how it impacts your life, specifically refer to these areas:
   • communication,
   • social interaction, 
   • learning, 
   • mobility,
   • independence

You may be asked to provide additional information/evidence if your initial information is insufficient.

The NDIA requires information that is:

• recent (no more than 2 years old)
• completed by a treating health professional who is relevant to your *primary disability
• confirms your *primary disability
• confirms the impacts of your disability on the different areas of your life
• describes previous treatments and outcomes
• describes future treatment options and expected outcomes of those treatments.

*Primary disability refers to the impairment that impacts most on your daily functioning.

You can work with your treating health professionals to provide your evidence of disability.

Examples of common treating health professionals include:

• General Practitioner (GP)
• Paediatrician
• Orthopaedic surgeon
• Occupational Therapist
• Speech Pathologist (Therapist)
• Neurologist
• Psychologist
• Psychiatrist
• Physiotherapist

The treating health professional who provides the evidence of your disability should:

1. be the **most appropriate person to provide evidence of your primary disability; and
2. have treated you for a significant period of time (e.g. at least six months).

**Use the information provided in the NDIS Types of Disability Evidence Fact Sheet to help you in deciding who the most appropriate treating health professional for your primary disability is.

This is really important when you are gathering evidence for your NDIS application from your GP, Specialist or other allied health professionals.

The reports need to present your disability in a view the NDIS understands which is most often not the way a health professional describes it.

The terminology used by health professionals and the NIDS is also different. The NDIS is focussed on 'functional capacity' whereas a doctor focusses on the symptoms or diagnosis. 

We have some resources on how to write reports for the NDIS - make sure your health professional follows these guidelines.

• Writing for the NDIS: Help for Doctors, Practitioners, Participants, and Families
• Writing Reports for NDIS Access and Plan Reviews

Once you have all the necessary information, you can make your Access Request to the NDIS:

You can call 1800 800 110 to make an Access Request or you can ask for a form.

If you need help filling in the form or making the call, La Cura offers Free Advisory on NDIS Access Requests.

Alternatively, you can contact your Local Area Coordinator, Early Childhood Early Intervention partner or your contact your local NDIA office. Locate NDIS Partners here

As part of the Access Request process, you will be asked:

• to confirm your identity and/or a person's authority to act on your behalf
• questions to see if you meet the NDIS access requirements (age, residence and disability)
• questions about providing consent to enter the NDIS and about seeking information from third parties.

If you currently get disability supports, you can give your provider consent to give the NDIS your information.

You may be asked to provide some additional information after you make your Access Request. This may include information about your disability and how it impacts on your day-to-day life.

You can provide copies of existing information, including letters or reports, or you can ask your treating health professional to fill out and sign a form.

If you make your Access Request over the phone, you can email or post copies of your existing information, including letter or reports, to one of the following:

email: NAT@ndis.gov.au
Post to: GPO Box 700, Canberra ACT 2601, or 
drop it into your nearest NDIS office.

If you need help with English, call the NDIS TIS service on 

131 450.

If you have hearing or speech loss, call the NDIS TTY service on 1800 555 677. 

For Speak and Listen, call 1800 555 727, or for Internet relay services, visit the Relay Service webpage.