NDIS

If you meet the eligibility criteria you can ask to become a participant by completing an Access Request Form. Please visit the Ndis website for more details.https://www.ndis.gov.au/applying-access-ndis/how-apply

https://www.ndis.gov.au/media/2323/download?attachment

NDIS supports should complement, not replace, other supports available to you. That’s why they consider:

• the things you’re able to do for yourself
• support you have from others in your network, including family members, relatives, friends, local community services and mainstream government services.

One of their aims is to help maximise your independence by working with the local mainstream government and community services that help you live an ordinary life. We all do best when we’re connected to our communities.

And as an active consumer, it’s important you can shop for and access providers who meet your needs. We can help you find providers who meet your needs.

NDIS do not fund a support if:

• it is likely to cause harm to you or others
• it is not related to your disability
• it duplicates other supports delivered by the NDIS
• it is considered a day-to-day living cost (for example, rent, groceries or utility costs like your water bill) that are not attributable or caused by your disability support needs
• providing the support would be against the law
• it consists of income replacement
• it is the responsibility of other service systems to provide (for example, your state government, the education system, or the health system). These different systems have different responsibilities and are designed to complement each other to form a government safety net. Like all Australians, NDIS participants continue to have access to these systems. We can’t fund a support if it’s the responsibility of another service.

You have the right to:

• choose who delivers your supports and how they do this. You do not have to use just one provider for all your supports
• not use a provider if you feel they may put their business interests ahead of your needs
• know about any perceived or actual conflict of interest a provider might have
• not feel pressured to buy services or supports you don’t want or need
• pay for supports at a fair and reasonable rate. You should not be charged more than the amount listed in the NDIS price guide
• decide what personal information you give to a provider so that they can deliver supports and services.

You are responsible for making sure the supports are:

• directly related to your disability and in-line with your plan
• not covered or delivered by another service system or organisation (e.g. Medicare or private health insurer).

The following disability types are eligible for NDIS plan:

• ABI
• Autism
• Cerebral palsy
• Developmental Delay
• Global developmental delay
• Down’s Syndrome
• Intellectual disability
• Multiple sclerosis
• Psychosocial disability
• Spinal cord disability
• Stroke
• Sensory disability like visual, speech and hearing
• Neurological and physical disabilities.
• What is an NDIS plan?

A NDIS plan is a document that includes information about:

• you and your goals
• what supports you need
• the funding the NDIS will give you.
• the support you need to reach those goals.

You might get support from a:

• Early Childhood Early intervention (ECEI) Coordinator: For families and carers of children aged 0-6yrs.

• Local Area Coordinator (LAC): For NDIS participants aged 7 or more.

LACs can help you to:

• Understand and access the NDIS – This can include workshops or individual conversations about the NDIS.
• Create a plan – If you are eligible for an NDIS support plan, your LAC will have a conversation with you to learn about your current situation, supports, and goals to help develop your plan. It is important to know that LACs cannot approve an NDIS plan, this is done by someone from the NDIA.
• Implement your plan – Your LAC will help you to find and start receiving the services in your NDIS plan. Your LAC can also aid throughout your plan if you have any questions.
• Review your plan – Your LAC will work with you to make changes to your plan through a plan review. This generally occurs 12 months after your plan is implemented.
• Support Coordinator: If you need more help coordinating your supports, the NDIA may fund a support coordinator who can implement your plan and build your ability to connect with supports and services. Once you have built your capacity, this funding is expected to be reduced or fully taken off your plan. Your NDIA planner may also appoint a Specialist Support Coordinator if your situation is socially complex requiring higher level of support interventions through L3 -Specialist Support Coordination funding.

There are 4 different ways to manage your plan:

• Self-managed – you manage your plan by yourself
• Plan-managed – a Plan Manager helps you manage part of your plan. Your service providers need to send their invoices to your Plan Manager.
• NDIA-managed – the NDIA manages your plan for you.
• A Combination of the above options!

• What is a nominee under the NDIS?

The National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (NDIS Act) recognises that there may be circumstances where it is necessary for a person to be appointed as a nominee of a participant to act on behalf of or make decisions on behalf of a participant.  It is important to remember that this is a last resort measure.

Appointments of nominees will be justified only when it is not possible for participants to be assisted to make decisions for themselves

Under the NDIS, there are 2 types of nominees:

1. Plan nominee
2. Correspondence nominee.

A single person can be appointed as both plan nominee and correspondence nominee. Either type of nominee can be appointed either indefinitely or for a specified term.

Plan nominee definition

A person can be a plan nominee with or without being a payment nominee.

A plan nominee is appointed to undertake specific duties for the participant such as; the preparation, review or replacement of the plan (planning and implementation).

Effectively, the plan nominees should have the participant at the forefront of all the decisions they make. The plan nominee would take on the participants role of making decisions about:

• engaging providers
• attend planning meetings and include the participant in conversations and decisions that affect them
• ensure the plan is implemented and working effectively for the participant
• where required, be an advocate for the participant

A plan nominee does not have the power to discuss financial matters with providers or the Agency.

A participant can have several plan nominees who may work collaboratively to the benefit of the participant but there can only be one payment nominee. Alternatively, the NDIA might appoint 2 or more plan nominees, and, in each instrument of appointment, limit the matters in relation to which each person is the plan nominee.

Correspondence Nominee 

In contrast, the role of a correspondence nominee is significantly narrower. Although a correspondence nominee can do a range of acts on behalf of a participant under the NDIS, they are not able to do any of the acts by a plan nominee. The acts that a correspondence nominee can do include making requests to the NDIA (for example, requests for information), and receiving notices from the NDIA, on behalf of the participant.

The matters the correspondence nominee can deal with cannot be limited further by the instrument of appointment.

A plan nominee or a correspondence nominee may be appointed:

1. at the request of the participant; or
2. on the initiative of the CEO of the NDIA.

• What is Guardianship under NDIS?

Guardianship is different from nominees. Guardianship is the authority to manage the legal and non-legal affairs of a person such as power of attorney or Centrelink nominations. Guardians are not nominees under the NDIS and there is no automatic process for guardians to be made nominees. Where it has been identified by the NDIA that the participant requires a nominee and there is a guardianship arrangement in place, the presumption is that the guardian will be appointed as the nominee.

NDIS participants under 18

For a participant under 18 years of age child representatives instead of nominees can be appointed. A child representative is only appointed where the NDIA is deciding that a person other than the person or persons with parental responsibility should be the child representative. There are rules about who has parental responsibility for a child participant and when a child representative can be appointed by the NDIA.

Three new participant transport support levels

Level 1 – The NDIS will provide up to $1,606 per year for participants who are not working, studying, or attending day programs but are seeking to enhance their community access.

Level 2 – The NDIS will provide up to $2,472 per year for participants who are currently working or studying part-time (up to 15 hours a week), participating in day programs and for other social, recreational or leisure activities.

Level 3 – The NDIS will provide up to $3,456 per year for participants who are currently working, looking for work, or studying, at least 15 hours a week, and are unable to use public transport because of their disability.

Exceptional circumstances: participants may receive higher funding if the participant has either general or funded supports in their plan to enable their participation in employment.

Reviewing your plan

Your plan will have an end date on it.

NDIA will contact you before your plan ends to organise a plan review.

The plan review might happen:

• in person
• over the phone.

You can have another person with you when we review your plan, such as:

• a family member
• a friend
• an advocate – someone who speaks up for you if you can’t speak up
  for yourself.

There are processes that NDIS must follow to review our decisions. This is called doing an internal or an external review.

At First NDIA makes the decision. You can’t ask for a review before we make the decision. They call this the original decision. For example, they could decide you’re not eligible for the NDIS. Or if you’re a participant, they could decide to approve your plan.

Internal review:

If you don’t think their original decision is right, you may be able to ask for an internal review. This is where a different staff member not involved in the first decision makes the decision, checks if they made the right decision the first time.

External review:

If you don’t agree with the internal review decision, you may then ask the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for an external review. This is where the Tribunal checks if the internal review decision was the right decision.

The Tribunal is separate to NDIA, so external reviews are independent from NDIA’s decisions. You can’t have an external review until NDIA have done the internal review. Please check the Tribunal website for more details.

Targeting FRAUD and NON-COMPLIANCE

The NDIA protects the NDIS from fraud and non-compliance that results in the misuse of NDIS funds through the NDIS Fraud Taskforce which is a multi-agency partnership between the Australian Federal Police (AFP), The NDIA and Services Australia.

Their goal is to safeguard NDIS funds for participants so that the NDIS is there for Australians with disability when they need it.

We want to make sure participants get the maximum benefit from their NDIS funds so that they can pursue their goals and live an ordinary life.

Fraud and non-compliance hurts participants

When people do the wrong thing with NDIS funds it:

• takes money from a participant’s NDIS budget
• stops participants from being able to purchase the supports they genuinely need
• makes it harder for participants to pursue their goals
• puts additional pressure on carers, family, friends, and support networks.

Participants who have been the victim of fraud and non-compliance have also told us they:

• feel fear or shame
• have lost trust in their providers and the NDIS
• are worried they will lose supports if they report suspicious behaviour to us.

If you are the victim of fraud or intentional non-compliance, it is important to remember it is not your fault. Criminals and dishonest people who target the NDIS all have the same goal – to rip off people with disability and the taxpayers who fund the NDIS.

Anyone with concerns that fraud is being committed against the NDIS should contact the NDIS fraud hotline on 1800 650 717, or email [email protected].