Access to the NDIS for children in care
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is the new way of providing support for people with disability, their families and carers. The NDIS is managed by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).
The NDIS takes a flexible, individualised approach that invests in children and young people with disability early to improve their outcomes later in life.
It provides certainty for children and young people who become participants in the scheme that they’ll have access to support to meet their changing needs and goals over a lifetime.
The NDIS model of self-direction empowers participants and their families and carers by enabling choice and control over how, when and where their disability supports and services are delivered.
Access to the NDIS
In general, accessing the NDIS involves:
- gathering eligibility evidence and making an Access Request
- working with an NDIA planner or NDIS Partner to develop their NDIS Plan.
Children and young people who are already receiving support from Disability Services will usually be able to transition to the NDIS without an Access Request.
The role of the child’s representative
The NDIS Act 2013 requires that participants under 18 be represented by a parent or guardian*.
When the Department of Child Safety, Seniors and Disability Services has guardianship through a short or long term child protection order, they will be the representative.
Where the department has custody of the child but not guardianship, they will work with the child's representative—their parent or guardian—to provide support through all stages of the process.
When an order grants long-term guardianship to a suitable person until the child turns 18, that person will be the child’s representative. When the child is subject to a permanent care order until the child turns 18 years, the permanent guardian will be the child’s representative.
Being the child’s representative involves:
- providing consent for the child or young person to become a participant in the NDIS
- coordinating collection of eligibility evidence to support the NDIS Access Request
- acting as the contact point for the child or young person for the NDIS
- making decisions about the planning process, including who takes part.
Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI) for children aged 0-6
The NDIA has engaged partner organisations to work with children aged 0 to 6 as part of their Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI) approach.
An Early Childhood Partner is the first point of contact with the NDIS for children aged 0 to 6 with emerging disability or developmental delay.
The Early Childhood Partner may:
- make connections for the child with relevant services in their area, like their community health centre or a local playgroup
- provide short-term early-intervention therapy support
- help to request NDIS access and develop the Participant Plan for the NDIS Plan for the child if longer-term support is needed.
Foster/kinship carer involvement
Whichever person or entity is the child’s representative with the NDIS, foster and kinship carers are key contributors when it comes to developing, implementing and monitoring their NDIS plan.
Foster and kinship carers are best placed to provide important information about the child’s strengths, interests, goals and required disability supports.
During development of the plan, the child’s representative can request funding for support coordination. The support coordinator will help with choosing and connecting with mainstream, community and NDIS-registered support services.
We are committed to a partnership approach with you in relation to the NDIS and in all aspects of a child’s care.
What supports will the NDIS fund?
The NDIS will fund reasonable and necessary supports that are specific to a child’s disability or developmental delay and additional to the needs of children of similar ages in similar out of home care arrangements.
Reasonable and necessary support may include:
- skills and capacity building
- supports to enable sustainable caring arrangements (e.g. vacation care)
- therapy and behaviour support
- aids and equipment, including mobility equipment and consumables
- home modifications and transport
- disability specific and carer parenting training programs
- support coordination.
Where we are the child’s guardian, disability services for the child must be delivered by NDIS-registered providers.
If a child is not eligible for the NDIS, we will continue to meet their disability support needs.
Carer payments and allowances
We are responsible for providing financial support to meet the needs of children in care and helping you cover the day- to-day costs of the children you care for.
There will be no change to the fortnightly carers allowance or high support needs carers allowance as a result of the NDIS.
The complex support needs allowance will be individually reviewed and adjusted accordingly if disability support costs previously covered by the allowance are included in the child’s NDIS plan.