The NDIS or the National Disability Insurance Scheme is Australia’s first national Scheme for people with disability. It provides funding directly to individuals with permanent and significant disability, their families and carers. The funding is to be utilized for all reasonable and necessary supports they need to live an ordinary life.

The NDIA stands for National Disability Insurance Agency. It is a Commonwealth government agency that is responsible for implementing the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The NDIA is made up of the people who will support you to understand the NDIS and whether you are eligible to access the NDIS.

NDIS was introduced in July 2013, before that disability services in Australia had been a lottery system. The funding you received depended on how, when and where you acquired your disability, as well as where you lived. 

So, after they held an inquiry, the Federal Government agreed that people with a disability deserved a fairer system.

The NDIS provides support to eligible people with intellectual, physical, sensory, cognitive and psychosocial disability. In many cases early intervention supports are available for eligible people with disability or children with developmental delay.

To apply to become an NDIS participant you must:

• Be an Australian citizen or hold a permanent visa or a Protected Special Category visa
• Experiencing a permanent disability that significantly affects your ability to take part in everyday activities
• Must be aged under 65 years or under 50 years for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders at the time you register for an assessment with the NDIA.

Eligibility for the NDIS depends on a few different things such as:

• Location: You need to have been living in an area where the scheme is already rolled out
• Age: You need to be under 65 years at the time of your application
• Residency: You need to be an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or a New Zealand citizen who holds a Protected Special Category Visa
• Disability: You must have a permanent disability that significantly affects how you can communicate, move, care for yourself, or manage your life.
• Early Intervention: You might be eligible if early intervention would substantially improve your functioning, or delay or decrease a decline in functioning, for you or your child.

The NDIS participant portal is called myplace. It is a secure website for participants or their nominee to view their NDIS plan, request payments and manage services with providers.

If you are self-managing your NDIS plan then, you can

• Create and view payment requests.
• Set up and manage service bookings
• Upload documents