What is the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)?
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) provides support and funding to eligible children with developmental delay or disability and adults with disability. The NDIS helps people work towards individual goals and gives them choice about the support they need to live the life they want.
The NDIS is run by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).
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What does the NDIS fund for children?
The NDIS funds reasonable and necessary supports to help eligible children with disability or developmental delay work towards their goals in a range of areas.
NDIS supports can include services, items and equipment.
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What doesn’t the NDIS fund for children?
Generally, the NDIS doesn’t fund supports that are:
- not related to your child’s disability or developmental delay
- funded by mainstream services like the education or health systems
- part of day-to-day living costs that aren’t related to your child’s support needs
- likely to cause harm to your child or pose a risk to others.
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Which children can access NDIS support?
Children aged under 9 years
Your child might be able to get support through the NDIS early childhood approach if they’re:
- under 9 years and have a disability
- under 6 years and have developmental delay
- under 6 years and don’t fully meet the NDIS definition of developmental delay but have developmental concerns.
Your child must also live in Australia and be an Australian citizen, a permanent resident or a holder of a Protected Special Category Visa.
Children aged 9 years and older
If your child is aged 9 years and older, they might be able to get support from the NDIS if:
- they have a disability that causes a significant impairment that affects their ability to take part in everyday activities
- their impairment is permanent or likely to be permanent.
Your child must also live in Australia and be an Australian citizen, a permanent resident or a holder of a Protected Special Category Visa.
For more information
- How to apply for NDIS funding support for your child
- NDIS plans: what to do when your child is turning 18
- NDIS – Applying to the NDIS (PDF: 581kb)
- NDIS – Guide to the early childhood approach
If your child is aged 8 years and under and has developmental delay or autism with low to moderate support needs, they’ll continue to be eligible for the NDIS until 1 January 2028. If they’re in this age group and need extra help with their development, they can also get support through Thriving Kids. Thriving Kids is separate from the NDIS.
What is an NDIS plan for children?
An NDIS plan outlines the:
- supports and services in your child’s life
- goals your child wants to work towards or you want your child to work towards
- funding that has been allocated in your child’s plan.
For more information
NDIS – Creating your plan (PDF: 461kb)
What are NDIS goals for children?
NDIS goals for your child are the things they want to work towards with support from the NDIS and other supports and services.
Your child’s NDIS goals help the NDIS work out what supports your child needs.
Your child’s NDIS goals will be included in their NDIS plan, along with the supports and services that help them meet these goals and the funding for these supports and services.
For more information
- NDIS goals for your child: what they are and how to set them
- Setting NDIS goals to meet children’s needs
- Goals for your child and the NDIS in Easy English
How will your child get supports and services from the NDIS?
Your child’s NDIS plan will include funding for NDIS supports to help your child achieve their goals.
You, your child and your child’s NDIS contact will work together to choose the right supports and services for your child.
You can also choose who provides these supports and services for your child. Depending on how your plan is managed, you might be able to choose any providers, or you might need to choose only registered NDIS providers.
For more information
- How to choose services for your child with disability, autism or ADHD
- NDIS – Guide to working with providers
- NDIS – What is a provider
- NDIS – Quality support for children
What will your child’s NDIS funding and support budgets look like?
The funding to pay for your child’s NDIS supports will be outlined in their NDIS plan.
NDIS funding is divided into NDIS support budgets. The support budgets in your child’s plan will depend on your child’s individual needs.
These are the NDIS support budgets you’re most likely to see in your child’s plan:
- Core supports – this is for supports that help children do everyday activities and manage current needs.
- Capacity building supports – this is for supports that help children build independence and skills.
- Capital supports – this is for supports like assistive technology, equipment, and home or vehicle modifications.
For more information
NDIS – Guide to NDIS support budgets
How do you manage your child’s NDIS funding?
There are 3 options for managing your child’s NDIS funding. You can choose one of these options or a mix of options:
- self-managed
- plan-managed
- NDIA-managed.
When choosing how to manage your child’s NDIS funding, it’s important to think about:
- how much flexibility you want in choosing service providers
- how involved you want to be in organising and paying providers
- how much time you have to manage your child’s plan.
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How can you change your child’s NDIS plan?
If your child’s situation or supports need change, you might need to change their NDIS plan. If you need urgent, short-term or minor changes to your child’s current plan, you can ask for a plan variation.
A plan variation is when the NDIS changes part of your child’s plan and you don’t get a new plan.
If the changes in your child’s life are more significant and their plan no longer works for them, you can ask for a plan reassessment.
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When will your child’s NDIS plan be reassessed?
Your child’s NDIS plan will usually be reassessed every 12 months. This is called a plan reassessment.
A plan reassessment is when the NDIS looks at your child’s plan to see if it still meets their needs.
About 4 months before your child’s scheduled plan reassessment date, your early childhood partner or local area coordinator or an NDIA planner will contact you to talk about how your child’s plan is working. This is called a check-in, and it’s the start of the reassessment process.
After a plan reassessment, your child might get a new plan with different NDIS supports.
For more information
NDIS – What is a plan reassessment
What if you disagree with the supports in your child’s NDIS plan?
If you disagree with the supports in your child’s NDIS plan, you can contact the NDIA to ask them to explain their decision.
If you disagree with the decision, you can ask for a decision review. This must be done within 3 months of when the decision was made, and you’ll need to provide new evidence to support your request.
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Why was your child’s NDIS application unsuccessful, and what can you do?
Your child’s NDIS application will be unsuccessful if they don’t meet NDIS eligibility requirements.
If you want to keep trying to get NDIS support for your child, you have 2 options:
- Ask for a decision review.
- Do another NDIS application.
Your NDIS contact can help you decide what to do.
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What support can you get if your child isn’t eligible for the NDIS?
If your child isn’t eligible for the NDIS, your child can still get community and other supports. The NDIS can connect you and your child with these supports.
Your child might also be able to get support through Thriving Kids.