Supporting You Every Step of the Way
The NDIS supports Australians with a significant and permanent disability that affects their ability to participate in daily life. You may be eligible if you are:
• Aged between 7 and 65
• An Australian citizen, Permanent Visa holder, or Protected Special Category Visa holder
• Living with a permanent and significant disability or require early intervention
Applying for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) involves a simple three-step process:
Check your eligibility: Before applying, make sure you meet the core criteria. You must be aged between 7 and 65, live in Australia as a citizen or permanent resident, and have a permanent and significant disability that impacts your everyday life. You can check your status using the official NDIS Eligibility Checklist.
Gather supporting evidence: You will need to provide professional evidence of your disability. Ask your GP, specialist, or allied health professionals to help you provide recent reports detailing how your condition impacts your everyday functional capacity.
Complete the Access Request Form: Fill out an Access Request Form (ARF). You can download templates directly from the NDIS Access Request Page, complete it over the phone with the NDIA, or coordinate with a local office. Once finished, it can be submitted via email to applications@ndis.gov.au.
Assist Lifestyle is registered to provide supports under the following NDIS registration groups:
0101 Accommodation/Tenancy
0102 Assist Access/Maintain Employment
0106 Assist-Life Stage, Transition
0107 Assist-Personal Activities
0108 Assist-Travel/Transport
0115 Daily Tasks/Shared Living
0116 Innovative Community Participation
0117 Development-Life Skills
0120 Household Tasks
0125 Participate Community
0132 Support Coordination
0133 Specialised Supported Employment
0136 Group/Centre Activities
Once you’re deemed eligible, an NDIS planner or Local Area Coordinator will work with you to create a personalised NDIS plan. This plan includes funding for supports aligned with your goals — such as independence, work, social inclusion, or health.
Here’s a simple 3-step process to get started:
1. Check Eligibility – Ensure you meet the age, residency, and disability criteria.
2. Plan Creation – Work with an NDIS planner or support worker to outline your needs and goals.
3. Plan Approval – Submit your plan for NDIA approval. Once approved, you can begin receiving services.
You can manage your NDIS funds in one of three ways:
• NDIA-managed: NDIA pays providers directly.
• Plan-managed: A registered plan manager helps you manage payments and budgets.
• Self-managed: You control all aspects, including choosing and paying providers. Each option offers different levels of flexibility and control.
You can request a plan review at any time if your needs change. The NDIA also conducts scheduled annual reviews. This ensures your supports stay relevant and effective.
NDIS funding is grouped into three main support categories:
• Core Supports – Daily living, transport, social participation, and consumables.
• Capacity Building – Skill development, therapy, employment support, and support coordination.
• Capital Supports – Assistive technologies, vehicle modifications, and home improvements.
Community participation funding helps you engage in social, recreational, or educational activities. This could include support to attend appointments, join clubs, or explore hobbies and events.
Support workers provide transport, social guidance, and encouragement to participate in meaningful community activities, helping reduce isolation and improve mental well-being.
NDIS supports daily activities such as:
• Personal hygiene (showering, grooming)
• Dressing and undressing
• Meal preparation
• Basic home tasks. The goal is to help you live comfortably and independently in your own home.
While the NDIS does not directly fund carers, it provides services that indirectly support them, such as respite care and carer training, helping to reduce stress and improve family support dynamics.
Assistive technologies (AT) range from simple aids like modified utensils to complex systems like mobility devices or communication tools. They help participants manage daily life more independently.
Discuss your needs with your planner or support coordinator. They’ll help identify technologies considered "reasonable and necessary" and ensure they’re included in your plan.
Support coordination is a capacity-building support that helps participants:
• Understand their NDIS plan
• Connect with providers and services
• Organise and manage supports effectively. It ensures you get the most out of your plan and feel confident navigating the system.
Look for someone experienced, especially in your specific support needs (e.g. psychosocial, early intervention). A good coordinator listens, advocates for your goals, and helps you build independence.
If you have been diagnosed with another disability, or your disability and support needs have changed, you may need to provide the NDIA with updated information and supporting evidence. The NDIA needs enough information to understand your disability, the impairments associated with it, how these affect your everyday life, and whether your NDIS support needs have changed.
Assist Lifestyle's Support Coordination and Psychosocial Recovery Coaching team can support you to understand the NDIS process and coordinate relevant information from your support network.
Depending on your circumstances, we can assist with:
Need support navigating a change in your NDIS circumstances?
Contact Assist Lifestyle to speak with our Support Coordination or Psychosocial Recovery Coaching team.
Turning obstacles into opportunities.
Disclaimer: This information is general in nature and does not constitute legal, medical or NDIS eligibility advice. The NDIA considers each participant's circumstances individually. Providing additional evidence or receiving an additional diagnosis does not guarantee a change to a participant's NDIS plan or funding.
The information required will depend on your individual circumstances. Generally, the NDIA may need evidence covering:
Supporting evidence should be clear, detailed and relevant to your current circumstances.
You may need evidence from an appropriately qualified treating health professional or specialist that explains:
A diagnosis by itself may not provide enough information for the NDIA to understand your disability-related support needs.
Where the information is relevant to the NDIS disability requirements, the NDIA considers whether an impairment is likely to be permanent.
Your treating professional should clearly explain whether the impairment is expected to continue throughout your life and provide relevant clinical evidence to support this opinion.
he NDIA may need information about previous and current treatments relating to the impairment.
Your treating professional may need to explain:
This information helps the NDIA understand how the impairment has been treated and whether it is likely to be permanent.
Important: The existence of a future treatment option does not automatically mean the NDIS will refuse to consider the impairment. The NDIA considers whether available and appropriate treatments are likely to remedy the impairment and looks at the person's individual circumstances.
Functional impact describes how your impairment affects what you can do in everyday life.
Evidence should provide practical examples of:
The NDIA considers whether a permanent impairment substantially reduces a person's functional capacity in one or more areas of everyday life.
The NDIS considers six main functional areas:
This may include your ability to:
This may include your ability to:
This may include your ability to:
This may include your ability to:
This may include your ability to:
This may include your ability to:
These areas help the NDIA understand the practical impact of an impairment on everyday life.
Depending on the disability and evidence required, supporting information may be provided by relevant treating professionals such as:
Reports from healthcare professionals, therapists and support workers may also be relevant when informing the NDIA about a change in circumstances.
Not necessarily.
The NDIA states that a Functional Capacity Assessment is not automatically required, but it can provide useful evidence about how a permanent impairment affects your ability to complete everyday activities.
The appropriate assessment will depend on your disability, circumstances and the information the NDIA requires.
No.
Receiving another diagnosis does not automatically result in additional NDIS funding.
The NDIA will consider the supporting evidence, the functional impact of your impairments and whether your disability-related support needs have changed.
You can tell the NDIA about a change in your circumstances by:
The NDIA may ask you to provide additional reports, assessments or supporting evidence.
If your circumstances mean you need different NDIS supports, a plan variation or plan reassessment may be considered depending on the type and extent of the change required.
Not necessarily.
If your disability, circumstances or disability-related support needs have significantly changed, you can contact the NDIS before your scheduled plan reassessment.
The NDIS advises participants that they can ask about changing their plan when their circumstances change rather than necessarily waiting until their next scheduled reassessment.
