The participant journey

When people ask us about supports available under the NDIS, we will connect them with an NDIS partner.  

NDIS partners are community-based organisations the NDIA funds and works with to help deliver the Scheme in some parts of Australia.  

NDIS partners can help connect people with disability, carers and families that have concerns about the development of their children, to community and mainstream services.  

Early childhood partners can help children younger than 9 with early connections.  

Local area coordinators can help people with disability aged 9-64 to make connections with mainstream and community supports, if they want to.

NDIS partners can also help people who think they may be eligible for the NDIS to learn more about applying to the NDIS.  

If a person is in a remote or very remote area, has complex support needs, is a young person in residential aged care, or is in a hospital or justice setting, we will connect them with a person at the NDIA.  

We call the NDIS partner or NDIA staff member who helps a participant their my NDIS contact. 

Find out more about making connections. 

If a person thinks they might be eligible for the NDIS, their my NDIS contact can help them apply.  

Their my NDIS contact will help them to gather information and evidence for their NDIS application.  

Once the my NDIS contact has the person’s information and evidence, the my NDIS contact will complete their application.  

Once we have all of the information and evidence we need to decide if the person is eligible for the NDIS, we will make a decision and will tell them within 21 days.  

If they’re eligible to be an NDIS participant, we will use the information and evidence they gave us in their application to create their NDIS plan and invite them to a plan meeting. 

Find out more about applying to the NDIS. 

For new participants: 

• An NDIA planner will consider the information and evidence given to us in the person’s application to develop their first plan.  
• NDIA planners decide what funding will be included in a participant’s plan based on the information and evidence provided in their application. 

Learn more about how we develop your plan. 

For existing participants: 

• Existing participants who have a plan reassessment or ask for a change to their plan may have their new plans created in the new computer system.  
• We will contact participants before their reassessment so they can begin preparing information. Participants can also contact the NDIS if they need changes made to their existing plan. 
• We will use the participant’s existing plan and budget as a starting point for the conversation.  
• Planners will also consider any information and evidence that has been provided to support a participant’s next plan.   
• Participants can speak directly with the planner who approves their NDIS plan to make sure what is included is right for them.  
• Participants can also speak with the planner about how they want to continue managing their plan.  

Learn more about how we develop your next plan. 

For all participants:  

• Participants will meet with the NDIA planner who approves their plan. We call this a plan meeting. The planner will talk with the participant about their living situation, goals and day-to-day supports.  
• Planners will check if they have a good understanding of the participant’s situation to make sure the supports in the plan fit together and explain the decisions they’ve made.  
• If a plan needs changes, planners will work with participants on the best way to do this.  
• If the supports in your plan fit your situation and are right to help you pursue your goals, your NDIA planner will approve your plan in the meeting.  
• Your plan will be added to your my NDIS portal and app so that you can see and use it.  

Learn more about your plan meeting.   

A my NDIS contact will help participants to make the most of their plans to pursue their goals and achieve outcomes. After a participant’s plan is approved, the participant will be offered a plan implementation meeting with their my NDIS contact. The plan implementation meeting is an opportunity to learn how to make the most of an NDIS plan. At the meeting, or at any other time, participants can talk to us about:

• Adding the providers they would like to work with to their plan (called my providers).  
• Giving consent for providers to see their plan.  
• Managing their plan (self, plan or agency-managed).  
• Creating a request for service to find a support coordinator or recovery coach (if included in the plan).  
• Learning how to use the new participant portal to make claims and update their details.  
• Learning how to budget and implement their plan.  
• Making service agreements.  

Learn more about using your NDIS plan.     

We will schedule a check-in with participants every year to ask how they are going with their plan.  

A check-in can take place face-to-face, by phone or online. Participants can bring a carer, family member, supporter, or someone who helps them with their plan to their check-in, if they want to.  

At a check-in, we will ask the participant how they are going with working towards their goals and if their plan has the right supports for their everyday needs.  
Having a check-in doesn’t mean a participant’s plan needs to change. This is a good outcome. It means the participant has the right supports in place.  
If a participant’s situation changes and they need more, less or different supports, they can tell us at anytime. Participants don’t have to wait for their next check-in to ask for a change to their plan.  

Learn more about check-ins.  
 

There are two ways a participant’s plan can be changed – a plan variation or a plan reassessment. Plan reassessment is the new term replacing plan review.

• If a participant requires a simple change to their plan, we can make small adjustments without making a new plan, this is called a plan variation.  
• If a plan is due for reassessment, or if there has been a bigger change in a participant’s situation, the participant’s my NDIS contact will help them prepare for a plan reassessment.  

Participants can ask for a change to their plan at any time by talking to their my NDIS contact or by calling the National Contact Centre on 1800 800 110. 

Learn more about changing your plan.

A participant’s NDIS plan will be in place until it reaches its reassessment date, or they ask for a change to their plan. Each time, we will work with the participant to develop their next plan and they will return to Step 3: create an NDIS plan in the participant journey. 

A participant’s my NDIS contact will talk to the participant about what to expect from the plan reassessment process, supporting them to gather the information and evidence needed for a change to their plan. 

If a participant is leaving the NDIS, their my NDIS contact can help them leave the scheme. The my NDIS contact can connect the person leaving the Scheme with mainstream and community supports, if they want them. 

Learn more about leaving the NDIS.