Accessing NDIS support for children aged 9 and older

The NDIS is an Australian Government scheme that helps pay for therapy, equipment and
support for people with disability.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the NDIS your child must be aged nine years or over and they must have a permanent and significant disability that affects their ability to take part in everyday activities

The NDIS is only available to Australian citizens, permanent visa holders and protected special category visa holders who are living in Australia.

Since July 2023, some New Zealand citizens who have been living in Australia for four years, can apply directly for Australian citizenship without first being granted a permanent visa. There are also changes that relate to children. Once your child has Australian citizenship, they may be eligible for the NDIS.

If you are not eligible because of your visa status, you may be able to get support through Home and Community Care (HACC). To find out more about HACC contact your Local Council.

Applying

To apply to the NDIS contact your closest NDIS office or Local Area Coordinator. They will help you complete the NDIS Access Request Form. Find your closest contact.

It is helpful to read the NDIS Access Request Form before you talk to your NDIS contact so you know what information they will need. NDIS Access Request Form.

You must provide evidence of your child’s disability along with the Access Request Form.

Providing evidence of your child’s disability

To enable the NDIS to decide whether your child meets the disability access requirements, you need to provide good evidence of your child’s disability as part of your Access Request. This includes information about what your child’s disability is, how long it will last, and how it impacts your child’s life.

Good evidence should:

Be recent
Be completed by a treating health professional who is relevant to your child’s disability
Confirm your child’s disability
Confirm how your child’s disability affects different areas of their life
Describe previous treatments and outcomes
Describe future treatment options and expected outcomes of those treatments

The evidence should be provided by the most relevant healthcare professional who should have known your child for at least six months. This can be provided by:

General Practitioner (GP)
Paediatrician
Orthopaedic surgeon
Occupational therapist
Speech pathologist (therapist)
Neurologist
Psychologist
Psychiatrist
Physiotherapist

Access Request decisions

When the NDIS receives your completed Access Request, they will review it against the NDIS Act.
The NDIS Act is the law which guides the NDIS and it states who is eligible to get NDIS support.

Across Australia there are NDIS partners called Local Area Coordinators. They can also help you access the NDIS.

Access Request decisions

When the NDIS receives your completed Access Request, it will be reviewed against the NDIS Act. The NDIS Act is the law which guides the NDIS and it states who is eligible to get NDIS support.

You may have to provide additional evidence to help the NDIS make their decision. They will tell you in writing if your child’s NDIS Access Request has been successful or not. Under the Participant Service Guarantee you should get an answer within 21 days.

What happens next if your child gets access to the NDIS?

If your child’s application is successful, then the NDIS will start to develop an NDIS plan for your child based on the information you gave in the Access Request Form.

Your NDIS contact will arrange a planning meeting with you. This should happen within 21 days of your child getting access to the NDIS. At the planning meeting you will talk about your child’s support needs.

After the planning meeting you will get a copy of your child’s NDIS plan. This will include how much NDIS funding is in the plan and what you can spend it on. You should get this within 56 days of the planning meeting.

Appealing the decision or re-applying if your child does not get access to the NDIS

If your child does not get access to the NDIS and you disagree, you can request an internal review of the NDIS decision.

If that is unsuccessful you can apply to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review.

Re-applying to the NDIS

Access decisions are based on the current impact of your child’s disability. The impact of your
child’s disability can change over time because of a degenerative disability or a deterioration in their day-to-day function. You can make a new request if the impact of your child’s disability has changed and if your Access Request was more than three months ago. Make sure you include new evidence.