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Meeting Eligibility Criteria

Introduction

To be able to access the NDIS you will need to:

  • Be living in an area that has access to the NDIS and

  • Be currently receiving disability related services or be able to demonstrate that NDIS funding is appropriate in your circumstances and

  • Be an Australian citizen, or

  • The holder of a permanent visa, or

  • Holding a Protective Special Category Visa and

  • Be aged under 65

NDIS Availability

The NDIS is being rolled out across Australia from July 2016 until 2019.

Regions that already have access to the NDIS include:

  • North Eastern Melbourne

  • Central Highlands

  • Loddon

  • Inner Gippsland

  • Western District

  • Ovens Murray

  • Inner Eastern Melbourne

  • Outer Eastern Melbourne

Future access to the NDIS:

  • Hume Moreland – March 1, 2018

  • Bayside Peninsula – April 1, 2018

  • Southern Melbourne – September 1, 2018

  • Brimbank Melton – October 1, 2018

  • Western Melbourne – October 1, 2018

  • Goulburn – January 1, 2019

  • Mallee – January 1, 2019

  • Outer Gippsland – January 1, 2019

NDIS Access

Getting the NDIS if you are receiving disability services

If you are already receiving funding for disability support and the NDIS becomes available in your area, you will be contacted by the NDIS or a Local Area Coordinator (LAC) from another organisation, who has been authorised by the NDIS to work with you on their behalf. They will advise you on how to show you are eligible and will work with you through the planning process.  You will still need to go through an eligibility process but this will be simpler than the process for people who are new to receiving disability support. Preparing to transition into the NDIS is an important process. You can prepare by collecting information you already have from past eligibility and planning process.

Getting the NDIS if you are not receiving disability services

The NDIS is defined as: “People with a permanent disability, their family and carers, by funding reasonable and necessary support for each person’s unique needs other community, health and social services by ensuring people connect to the right services, and all Australians, by providing a safety net for anyone who acquires a disability in the future.” 

The eligibility criteria (disability requirement) is met if:

  • You have a disability that is attributable to one or more intellectual, cognitive, neurological, sensory or physical impairments or to one or more impairments attributable to a psychiatric condition, and

  • The impairment or impairments are, or are likely to be, permanent, and

  • The impairment or impairments result in substantially reduced functional capacity to undertake, or psychosocial functioning in undertaking , one or more of the following activities:

    • Communication

    • Social interaction

    • Learning

    • Mobility

    • Self-care

    • Self-management and

  • The impairment or impairments, affect your capacity for social and economic participation, and

  • You are likely to require support under the NDIS for your lifetime

If you do not currently access disability services, then you will need to be assessed for eligibility to access the NDIS. You will have to complete a more detailed assessment process to provide the NDIS with information about you and the level of support you need if you have a permanent disability.

Please refer to the application process information for a comprehensive explanation of what is required.