Every person living with a disability has different needs. The total budget amount in your NDIS plan is there to provide you with the NDIS supports you need for your disability and help you work towards your goals.
Our decisions are based on NDIS laws about what we can and can’t fund. Things we can fund are called NDIS supports.
You’ll find information about the NDIS supports in the reasonable and necessary NDIS support guideline.
What we can fund in your plan
We often get asked about the kinds of NDIS supports we can include and fund in NDIS plans.
Sometimes it can be hard to understand why the NDIS has decided not to fund your requested support. Or you might think that decisions for you are different to someone else with the same or similar disability.
When we make a decision about the total budget amount for the NDIS supports in your plan, it is based on many different things. This includes your NDIS supports for your impairment, your living arrangements and support you get from your family, friends, and carers.
Here are some of the common supports or activities people ask us about. This isn’t a complete list of NDIS supports, that or supports can or cannot that cannot be funded by the NDIS. Instead, it focuses on the items you’ve told us you want to understand more, or items that often result in requests for a plan reassessment.
Read more about the type of NDIS supports we can fund, based on NDIS law.
Social and community participation
If you need extra help to participate in social and recreation external website activities because your disability impacts this, we may be able to fund this.
Work and study can be an important part of life for many people. There are NDIS supports available for you to work or study that can help you because of how your disability impacts this
Assistance animals including dog guides
Assistance animals, including dog guides, are animals specially trained to help you do things you can’t do because of your disability.
We look at whether the assistance animal is an NDIS support that will help you with your disability support needs and meets our funding requirements.
Assistive technology
Equipment, technology, and devices helps to make your life easier and help you do things you can’t do because of your disability.
It can help you do something more easily or safely and improve your daily life.
You may need changes made to a vehicle so you can drive it or travel in it because of your disability.
The vehicle would need to be yours or one you can use regularly.
Read more about vehicle modifications and driving supports.
Home and living supports
You might be living with disability and have very high support needs. This could mean you need to live in a specially designed house. We call this specialist disability accommodation (SDA)
If your new plan includes SDA but you have not yet found an enrolled dwelling to move into, a temporary $1 placeholder amount may be included in your plan.
The $1 is a temporary placeholder amount and it doesn’t mean you only have $1 in SDA funding.
This means you can use your plan as evidence to help you to find an enrolled SDA dwelling to move into.
You will need to tell us when you have located a confirmed SDA enrolled dwelling you would like to move into.
Then we can change your plan to include the right SDA funding amount.
You must not move into your new SDA home until the correct SDA funding has been included in your plan.
Supported independent living is one type of support to help you live as independently as possible in your home. It includes help or supervision with daily tasks, like personal care or cooking meals while building your skills.
Read about short term accommodation or respite in our guideline.
NDIS supports include funding for medium term accommodation so you have somewhere to live if you can't move into your long-term home because your NDIS supports aren't ready. To be eligible, you must have a home you’ll move into and you need somewhere else to live in the medium-term.
Individualised living options
An individualised living option helps you use your NDIS funds to live the way that suits you. It can include things like personal care, help to build your skills, or support with household tasks like shopping or cooking.
If you’re younger than 65 and living in residential aged care, you might meet the eligibility requirements for NDIS
We explain what we NDIS supports we can fund and how we can help you to move out of residential aged care if you want to.
Read more in our younger people in residential aged care guideline.
Home modifications are changes to your home that help you manage your disability and make daily tasks easier. They can be minor or more complex changes and help you safely access or move around your home.
Disability-related health supports
Disability-related health supports are health supports that relate directly to the functional impact of your disability. If you need help to manage a health condition because of your disability, we may fund NDIS supports to help you manage that condition.
The Australian health system may provide continence supports. We can only fund these NDIS supports if they are related to your disability.
Diabetes is a health condition which people usually manage with help from their doctor and the health system. We can only fund NDIS supports for diabetes supports if they’re related to your disability.
The Australian health system provides treatment for dysphagia for everyone. We can only fund NDIS supports for dysphagia supports if they’re related to your disability.
The Australian health system provides treatment for epilepsy for everyone. We can only fund NDIS supports for epilepsy supports if they’re related to your disability.
Your disability may mean you have trouble preparing food for yourself, eating enough, or understanding the nutrition you need. We may fund NDIS supports for nutrition supports to help with this.
The Australian health system may provide podiatry and foot care supports. We can only fund NDIS supports for podiatry and foot care supports if they’re related to your disability.
The Australian health system provides treatment of wounds, including wound management to everyone. We can only fund NDIS supports for wound and pressure care supports if they are related to your disability.