NDIS Overview

NDIS gives people with disability more choices and control over the supports they receive. Under the NDIS, 140,000 people in NSW will receive disability support, including 95,000 existing service recipients. To make this happen, $6.4 billion will be spent on disability support in NSW.

NDIS is a new way of funding disability services and supports in Australia. Highlights of NDIS include:

Moving away from eight separate State/Territory funding schemes to one uniform, national scheme
Changing from block funding for service providers through government, to individualised funding for people with disability based on individual needs assessments
Leaving behind the old welfare and charity model and replacing it with a legislatively guaranteed “insurance” model; whereby all Australians who meet the eligibility criteria are legally entitled to NDIS funding for all ‘necessary and reasonable’ supports.

Timeframe of NDIS roll-out in NSW

The NDIS is scheduled to roll out in NSW over two years between 1 July 2016 and 30 June 2018. Your access and start time with the NDIS depends on the area you live in.

You will be able to receive support from the NDIS from 1 July 2016 if you live in the following areas: Central Coast, Hunter and New England, Nepean Blue Mountains, Northern Sydney, South Western Sydney, Southern NSW, and Western Sydney.

You will be able to receive support from the NDIS from 1 July 2017 if you live in the following areas: Illawarra Shoalhaven, Mid North Coast, Murrumbidgee, Northern NSW, South Eastern Sydney, Sydney, Western NSW, and Far West.

FAQ

Who decides what is ‘reasonable and necessary’ ?

According to the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), ‘reasonable and necessary’ means the NDIS will provide individual participants with whatever is necessary to achieve their life goals and aspirations and participate in the community to the fullest extent possible, whilst at the same time ensuring the funded support must represent “value for money” – meaning the costs of the support are reasonable, relative to both the benefits achieved and the cost of alternative support.

Commonly available disability supports and services the NDIS covers include aids and equipment, home and community care, personal care, domestic assistance, respite, home and vehicle modifications and community access. However, supports which are already available from other mainstream services, including health, housing, education and aged care sectors, are most unlikely to be covered by the NDIS.