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Access request: when you ask the NDIA if you are eligible for the NDIS
(the program). You need to provide information about yourself (for
example your age and disability) for the NDIA (the agency) to decide if
you are eligible.
Access decision: the decision the NDIA makes when you have provided
all necessary information. It will be a Yes or a No or they may ask for
more information. You are informed of the decision by letter.
Someone who speaks or writes to support you or something that you
say.
The hope or ambition of achieving something.
This is about helping people with disability to complete everyday
activities, such as personal care, or looking after their home (cleaning).
Assistance with Daily Living can be funded by the ‘Core support’
budget.
Assistive technology describes equipment that helps people with
everyday life activities. They promote greater independence and safety
by enabling people to perform tasks that they have difficulty doing on
their own. Examples include: large print screens, hearing aids,
wheelchairs or page turners.
Autonomy means the same as independence: the ability to make
decisions and do things on your own.say.
Care’ in the NDIS is used to describe several things:
Personal care is the way a person is able to look after themselves
for instance by showering and getting dressed.
Home care is a service where someone comes to your house to
help you with households tasks such as cleaning, help with meal
preparation, laundry, etc..
Respite care describes activities a participant may do that gives
their carer some rest, for instance going to live into supported
accommodation for a while, or going out with a support worker.
In the NDIS, choice and control means that a participant has the right
to make their own decisions about what is important to them and to
choose the agencies that support them (their ‘providers’). They can
also manage their budget if they choose to.
The many ways people with a disability participate in the community
like going to shops and cinemas, visiting the library and community
centres, talking to their neighbours, going to festivals and playing
sport.
Government-funded programs that existed before the NDIS to support
people with a disability. They include, for example, Disability Support
Register (DSR), Futures for Young Adults and Supported
Accommodation. A list can be found on the NDIS website under ‘Access
to the NDIS, List c’. People who are in defined programs are
automatically contacted by the NDIA without having to make an access
request.
Early intervention means doing things as early as possible to work on a
person’s needs. It is often applied to children. In the NDIS, children
under the age of 6 are provided with early intervention support
through the Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI) program.
See ‘Early intervention’ above
Being allowed to do or receive something because you satisfy certain
conditions. To be eligible for the NDIS, you need to be under 65 years
of age, an Australian citizen or permanent visa holder and meet the
disability criteria.
An episodic disability has times when you feel well and times when you
feel very unwell. How often it happens and how long it lasts is
unpredictable. An episodic disability can be permanent (for instance
Multiple Sclerosis) but its impact can vary from day to day.
What you would like to achieve in the future. The NDIS has a goalbased
approach to funding, which means your funding helps you reach
your goals.
Means the same as ‘autonomy’ - the ability to make decisions and do
things on your own.
The people and services that support people with a disability, including
friends and family, sports teams, activity groups or a school.
The NDIS follows an ‘insurance model’ because it provides funding
based on a person’s individual needs (not like a welfare system that
gives the same to everyone). Also, like other insurance schemes,
everyone contributes to it for those who need it now and those who
may in the future.
Generally describes a team of professionals from different disciplines
who work together and complement each other’s work.
My Aged Care is the main system to help people find appropriate aged
care services in Australia. It is funded by the Federal Government. If
someone with a disability is older than 65, they are not eligible for the
NDIA and are supported by My Aged Care.
The National Disability Insurance Agency is the agency that manages
the NDIS
The National Disability Insurance Scheme is the program that is
delivered nationally.
Someone who has been accepted into the NDIS.
The statement explains your goals and aspirations and how you would
like to live your life in the future. It is used to develop your plan and
will then become part of your NDIS plan. You can change it when your
circumstances or aspirations change.
A disability or condition that will affect a person for their whole life.
The NDIS website has a list of what qualifies as a ‘permanent disability’.
The NDIS Plan is a written agreement between you and the
government about what support you need to achieve your ‘goals’.
Everyone has a different plan as everyone is different. The Plan
includes a budget to fund the supports. The Plan needs to be approved
by the National Disability Insurance Agency before it can start. Plans
last for one year and are reviewed annually.
To prepare your plan, you will meet with someone called a ‘Local Area
Coordinator’ or Planner who will discuss your goals and your needs
with you. It may take several meetings. There is information on the
NDIS website in Participants’ Booklet 2 that can help you to explain
what you want.
The NDIS portal is like a personal account through the NDIS website. It
enables people to view their plan and funded supports, track their
budget and find useful information about registered NDIS providers.
The NDIS portal is called ‘myplace’
The NDIA sets a price limit for the cost of services to make sure
providers do not charge excessively. Providers can choose to charge
less than the price set in the Price Guide.
‘Psychosocial’ is used by the NDIS to describe a disability that is caused
by mental health issues and affect someone’s ability to manage in the
world. To be eligible for the NDIS, a participant will need to prove that
their psychosocial disability is permanent and has a strong impact on
their behaviour and their ability to manage their daily life and
activities.
To be accepted in your plan, the supports you ask for must be
seen by the NDIS as ‘reasonable and necessary’. Reasonable means
something ‘fair’ and ‘necessary’ means ‘something you must have’. The
NDIS funds reasonable and necessary supports relating to a person’s
disability to help them live an ordinary life and achieve their goals.
You can choose to manage your NDIS funding and pay the providers
directly. You are able to choose both NDIA and non-NDIA-approved
service providers.
You can also choose to employ an agency to manage your funding,
while still choosing your service providers. This is called ‘Plan
Managed’.
Another option is to let the NDIA choose your providers and manage
the funding. This is called ‘NDIA-Managed’. In this option, you are only
be able to use service providers who have registered with the NDIA.
A service agreement is between you and each of your provider. It
outlines in writing what support and service the provider agrees to
deliver, how much each service will cost and other useful information.
A Service Booking is the way an NDIS participant ‘books’ a provider to
deliver a service. It outlines the type of service provided, for how long
and how much money is set aside to pay for it. A Service Agreement
may include several services (with the same provider) and each will
need a service booking. Service Bookings are made online on the
myplace portal.
A person or agency who provides a service. For instance, a Disability
Service Provider will help people who have a disability to get the
supports outlined in their NDIS plan. Under the NDIS you can choose
your providers and change them anytime you want.
Under the NDIS, this means two things: when a participant chooses to
live with other people with disabilities and they engage a worker or
workers for the group. It also describes when a participant goes into
disability-specific supported accommodation.
The NDIS considers a ‘significant disability’ to be a disability that makes
it difficult for you to take part in everyday life and activities without
assistance.
An agency worker who helps you to find providers, resolve problems
with service delivery and manage the services you are receiving under
your plan. They can also organize interpreters for you if you are using
providers registered with the NDIS
Activities that help you build your independence and skills. For
example: funding related to employment, education, developing
connections outside your family.
An investment, such as assistive technologies, equipment and home or
vehicle modifications
‘Core’ means ‘central ‘. Core supports make it possible for NDIS
participants to do activities in their daily life. Core supports can be (for
example) someone coming to your house to help you dress (personal
care), assistance with transport, or products such as continence pads.
When discussing possible supports, the NDIS will assess if what a
participant is asking for represents ‘value for money’: is the cost
reasonable? Is there a cheaper option that would provide the same
benefits? It is part of the assessment of what is ‘reasonable and
necessary’.
In the context of disability, ‘accessibility’ is often used to describe
something that can be entered or reached (for instance a building).
Any type of brain damage that occurs after birth. ABI can be caused
by many things, including trauma, infection, strokes or alcohol and
drug abuse.
Allied Health professions are health care jobs such as
physiotherapists, social workers, speech therapists, or occupational
therapists. They require university qualifications. This term does not
include nurses, doctors, dentists and pharmacists.
Autism is a ‘developmental condition’, which means that a child is not
developing in the same way as most children. The child often has
difficulties with social interaction and communication, can be
sensitive to noise or uses repetitive actions. Autism is often diagnosed
at an early age (2 or 3 years old). There are many degrees to which it
affects a person’s life – this is called the ‘autism spectrum’.
A carer is someone who is responsible for looking after another
person, for example, a person who has a disability, is ill or very young.
Refers to the physical, emotional and language changes that occur in
a child from birth to the start of adulthood (it includes adolescence).
During this time, a child progresses from dependency on their
parent/guardian to increasing independence. Child development
occurs during predictable time periods, called ‘developmental
milestones’. These periods vary from child to child.
This means that the information you give to a healthcare professional
is private. The healthcare professional must get your agreement
before sharing the information with anyone. They need your
permission (‘consent’) to share your information
To give permission for something to happen.
Is a measure by which you decide something.
This occurs when a child under the age of 6 has not reached expected
progress (called ‘developmental milestones’) for their age. For
example, if the normal range for learning to walk is between 9 and 15
months, and a 20- month-old child has still not started walking, this
would be considered a developmental delay.
The identification of an illness or other problem (see also
‘assessment’).
Provides financial support if you have a physical, intellectual or
psychiatric condition that stops you from working.
Provides financial support if you have a physical, intellectual or
psychiatric condition that stops you from working.
The tools and machines that someone with a disability may need such
as a wheelchair or hearing aid.
Describes a person’s damage or weakening of body or function, a
limitation in activities or a restriction in participation in their
environment. A disability can be attributed to one or more
impairments.
Deaf refers to someone who has very little hearing and uses sign
language to communicate. Hard-of-hearing refers to someone who
has a mild-to- moderate hearing loss and may communicate through
sign language, spoken language or both. The deaf community does
not recommend using the term ‘hearing impaired’.
Difficulty in learning, problem solving and remembering information
and ideas.
A mental illness is a health problem that significantly affects how a
person feels, thinks, behaves and interacts with other people. It is
different from a mental health problem, which is less severe. Mental
health problems are more common and can be experienced
temporarily as a reaction to the stresses of life.
These workers focus on your ability to perform your daily activities.
They aim to improve your independence. They have particular skills in
problem solving, and breaking down activities or tasks to make them
easier to manage and learn. They can also provide advice and
assistance on what equipment can help.
A person who understands your needs based on their own
experience. For instance, a Peer Worker providing support about a
mental health problem will themselves have experienced problems
with their mental health.
A physical condition that affects a person’s mobility, and ability to
perform physical tasks and routine daily activities.
Physiotherapy is the treatment of injury or illness through physical
methods — such as exercise, massage, manipulation and other
treatments — rather than medication and surgery. A physiotherapist
in an ‘Allied Health’ professional.
A letter from your doctor to a specialist asking for an appointment for
you. If the referral is to a specialist in a public hospital, the hospital will
contact you to make an appointment. If it is to a private specialist, you
will need to make the appointment yourself.
The action of helping you go back to health or normal life through
training and therapy, for instance after an illness or an operation.
A health professional who offers strategies that may improve
communication skills. They can also provide advice about a child's
feeding and eating skills.
Means ‘supported financially’. In Australia, many services working
with children are ‘subsidised’ by the government. This reduces the
cost of the service to you.
A disability or condition that will only last for a certain time.
A type of treatment that helps someone feel better, grow stronger,
function as fully as possible, etc.
Medical care given for an illness or injury
A person with vision impairment or low vision is not blind, but their
loss of vision is severe enough to affect their daily life and it cannot be
corrected by regular glasses.
A person who is totally blind has no measurable or useable vision at
all and cannot see the light. ‘Legally blind is a term used by
government to identify people who are eligible for special services.
The National Disability Insurance Agency acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of Country throughout Australia and acknowledges their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to the people, the cultures and the Elders past, present and emerging.
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