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What services and supports can be funded by the NDIA?

The National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDISBack on Track No. 1) Act 2024 (Cth) commenced on 3 October 2024. This page of the handbook has not yet been fully updated to reflect the relevant changes. For more information about the changes in the meantime, please visit the NDIS website. There is now a definition of NDIS support, and some services are excluded from the definition. For more information, please refer to the What does the NDIS fund? webpage.

The NDIA determines what services and supports a person will be funded for under their NDIS Plan [National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (Cth) ('NDIS Act') s 34]. This decision must be consistent with the provisions of the NDIS Act, National Disability Insurance Scheme Rules and National Disability Insurance Scheme Guidelines ('NDIS Guidelines').

The services and supports that the NDIS can fund include those relating to education, employment, social participation, independence, living arrangements, and health and wellbeing [National Disability Insurance Scheme (Supports for Participants) Rules 2013 (Cth)].

For a service or support to be funded, it must be considered to be reasonable and necessary to assist the particular person.

Section 34 of the NDIS Act defines what is meant by a reasonable and necessary support:

  • the support will assist the participant to pursue their goals and aspirations as contained in their Plan statement;
  • the support will assist the participant to undertake activities that facilitate their social and economic participation;
  • the support represents value for money;
  • the support is, or is likely to be, effective and beneficial for the participant taking into account best practices;
  • the provision of the support takes into consideration reasonable expectations of the care that families, carers, informal networks and the community will provide;
  • the support is most appropriately funded through the NDIS and not an alternate system or scheme.

For plans approved or varied after 3 October 2024, a reasonable and necessary support must also be a support that is necessary to address the needs of the participant arising from impairments that meet either the disability [s 24] or early intervention requirements [s 25] of the NDIS, or both.

Additional guidelines apply to the provision of particular types of supports, such as assistive technology, vehicle modifications, home modifications, and others. For more information see NDIS Guidelines: Including specific types of supports in plans.

In some instances, a participant may not be happy with the supports funded in their Plan or may disagree with a decision as to what is considered a reasonable and necessary support. They are able to seek a review of this decision [s 99], see: Review of NDIA decisions.

What services and supports can be funded by the NDIA?  :  Last Revised: Fri Nov 1st 2024
The content of the Law Handbook is made available as a public service for information purposes only and should not be relied upon as a substitute for legal advice. See Disclaimer for details. For free and confidential legal advice in South Australia call 1300 366 424.