National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is the new way of providing support for people who have a disability. The NDIS is managed by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) and is available across the whole of Queensland.
Even if you haven’t had disability support in the past, you may still be able to get support from the NDIS.
Accessing the NDIS
The first step involves gathering evidence of your eligibility for the NDIS and making an access request.
Your Child Safety Officer (CSO) will work with you and your family, carer, residential care worker or a support person you nominate to gather the eligibility evidence you need and lodge your access request.
Your NDIS representative
NDIS participants under 18 need to be represented by a parent or guardian.
When Child Safety is your guardian under a child protection order, we will be your representative.
When there is a child protection order granting custody to Child Safety, but we are not your guardian, we will still work with you and your guardian and support you through all stages of the NDIS process.
Being your representative involves:
- requesting access to the NDIS for you and providing relevant information to support your request
- acting as a contact person on your behalf for the NDIS
- involving you, and representing you, in decisions about the planning process, including who takes part.
Can I represent myself?
The NDIS allows for a young person under 18 to represent themselves in special circumstances.
The NDIA must decide that you are capable of making your own decisions and that certain requirements of the NDIS Act 2013 should not apply to you.
If you want to represent yourself with the NDIS, discuss this with your CSO. For example, you could become your own NDIS representative as part of your Transition from Care plan.
Developing your NDIS plan
The next step, once your access to the NDIS is confirmed, is to develop your NDIS plan. This usually happens at a face-to-face meeting with an NDIA planner or Local Area Coordinator, your representative and other support people.
Your involvement
You are the most important person when it comes to your NDIS plan.
You can be part of the NDIS planning process to whatever extent you want to be. You can be involved a little or a lot in:
- communicating your wants and needs and goals in preparation for NDIS planning
- attending the planning meeting with the NDIA, your representative and other support people
- choosing your support providers
- reviewing your plan to make sure it continues to work for you.
Implementing your NDIS plan
Once your plan is developed it’s time to put it into action.
Implementing your plan involves:
- understanding the plan and the support budgets within it
- choosing service providers and setting up service agreements with them
- sourcing quotes for any aids and equipment approved in the plan.
Practical support is available to help you and your representative and support people to implement your NDIS plan.
During development of your plan, your representative can request funding for Support Coordination. A Support Coordinator can help by researching suitable providers and managing the agreements with them.
If you are Aboriginal or a Torres Strait Islander, you can have an Independent Person involved in your NDIS access, planning, sourcing of NDIS providers that will best support you.
Once implemented, your NDIS plan is then discussed and monitored through case plan reviews and placement meetings.
What supports will the NDIS fund?
The NDIS will fund reasonable and necessary supports that are specific to your disability and additional to the needs of young people of similar ages in similar care arrangements.
Some examples of reasonable and necessary support may include:
- skill development—for example learning how to cook or to be safe on public transport
- support provided by someone other than your usual carers (e.g. vacation care)
- therapies, like physio or speech therapy
- aids and equipment
- training programs specific to your disability to help the people in your life understand you and care for you
- support coordination.
When Child Safety is your representative, disability services for you must be delivered by NDIS-registered providers.
What if I am not eligible for the NDIS?
If you are not eligible for the NDIS, Child Safety will continue to meet your disability support needs through your case plan.
More information
NDIS
Newsletters
Social media
- Twitter: @NDIS
- Facebook: Facebook.com/NDISAUS
CREATE Foundation
- Web: Create foundation website
- Email: qld@create.org.au
- Phone: 1800 655 105