NDIS Alice Springs

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The Australian Government created the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) to provide support to individuals who suffer a permanent and significant physical or mental disability. The NDIS began rolling out in Northern Territory on July 1, 2014, and from July 1, 2017, it has rolled out to accommodate residents in Alice Spring to provide support and services to eligible participants.

Alice Spring citizens and residents can avail themselves of the support and services offered by NDIS by applying for funding. However, even though the Australian government encourages individuals with a disability to sign up for an NDIS plan to get the support they needed based on their conditions, there are specific criteria that need to be met to become eligible for NDIS funding.

What is the NDIS?

The National Disability Insurance Scheme is created to provide funding directly to people with a disability, their families, and as well as to those who take care of them. The support plan provided by the government and their service provider is tailored according to everyone’s specific needs. The NDIS's main objective is to provide life-long support to Australian's with a permanent and significant disability. Through this, eligible individuals can improve their independence, contribution to economic and social activities, and be able to develop their abilities to take part with their community, and change their lives, their families, and those who provide the care they needed by providing the much-needed support to ease their way of living.

Eligibility for NDIS Support and Services

The Australian Government has recorded 4.3 million Australians who are suffering from a disability and they estimated to offer support and services to 500,000 individuals in the next five years who are citizens and residents of Australia. Although they aim to aid improve the lives of individuals with a disability, there are specific conditions that need to be met to be eligible for NDIS support and services.

To be qualified for NDIS funding, an applicant must have a significant and permanent disability that hinders their day-to-day living. The applicant must also meet the following criteria:

Should fall under the age of 7 to 65 years old
Individuals who reside in Australia, Australian citizens, Permanent Visa holders, Protected Special Category Visa holders
Experiencing intellectual disability
Experiencing crucial incapacity in communicating, motor-sensory skills

If your child falls under 7 ages below, Early Childhood Intervention (ECEI) approach support will be provided to help them enhance their capacity and to reach their full potential.

Support provided by NDIS

To provide the much-needed support for individuals with a disability, the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) has funded 90 disability-related health supports on October 1, 2019, to accelerate the rollout of services in other Australian states and territories. By funding the new 90 health supports, it will become more accessible for eligible applicants to avail the support they needed.

Since everyone with a disability has different needs, the NDIS in partnership with their registered service providers in different states can cater to the support they need to achieve their goals and aid to meet their daily needs. To assure that the participant needs will be provided according to their specific conditions, NDIS made sure that the registered service providers are all registered professionals in the disability-related field.

Once the applicant plan has been approved and now an eligible NDIS Participant, the next step to take is to collaborate with their local NDIA office and to registered NDIS providers near their area. But before applying for support, an individual must know that there are specific types of support that NDIS provides funding to eligible participants and there are some kinds of supports that will not be funded by the NDIS such as:

Any request for support that is not related to a person's disability
Taking over any previous responsibility of another government system or community service
Shouldering the daily living costs that are not related to the participant needed support
Providing services or support that can endanger the lives of the participant and can cause risk to others

NDIS Types of Support Budgets and Rules

Everyone who suffers from permanent and significant disability has different needs according to their conditions. The NDIS funding provides the participant a tailored support plan to support their needs according to their disability to enhance their capacity and help them achieve their specific goals. Although individuals with disabilities already receive support from their families, friends, and other community and government services, the NDIS funding can give them further assistance and it will be based on what is suitable and essential to help them chase their goals.

Listed below are the three types of support budgets that NDIS provides funding under an individual's NDIS plan.

Core Supports Budget

Core Supports Budget is simple as an individual’s “Core Budget”. It is the most flexible budget that NDIS is offering and there are four categories of support that is included such as:

Consumable which is used to acquire daily use products like continence aids
Daily Activities like assistance with personal care activities both day and nighttime
Provides aid to help participate in social and community activities
Provides transport assistance to individuals who are not suitable to use public transportation due to their disability

The advantage of Core Budget is that you can reallocate it to purchase another support category that is different from the previous support category you acquired but it should be in line with any core budget item like compensation, in-kind support such as school transport or therapy supports, specialised disability accommodation that provides housing solution to aid significant mental and physical disability, and stated items that can assist in a shared living arrangement.

Capacity Building Budget

There are eight support sub-categories where funding is allocated under Capacity Building that is suitable for everyone’s specific goals within their plan. NDIS Participants are given the free will to choose how to spend their funds by purchasing any approved individual support that is within the category. But unlike the Core Budget, the disadvantage of the Capacity Building Budget is that the funds cannot be reallocated from one category to another.

The support categories under Capacity Building are:

Choice and Control
Daily Activity
Employment
Health and Well-being
Home Living
Lifelong Learning
Relationships
Social and Community Participation

Capital Support Budget

This support budget is the most distinct of all and it cannot be used to fund other support categories or other items. Two support categories fall under the Capital Support Budget which are:

Assistive Technology includes any equipment products that are used to aid mobility, sustain personal care, improve communication, and use recreational products such as wheelchairs or vehicle modifications
Home Modifications is the support given to provide products that are installed in an individual's home based on their needs such as installing bathroom rails and chair lifts for stairs.

The NDIS can help an individual with a disability to create a plan to turn their goals into reality. For more details on application and services, an individual must contact the NDIA and apply for NDIS. Alice Spring residents who wish to participate in the said program can visit the NDIS office at Level 3, 14 Parsons Street, Alice Springs NT 0870 Australia from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. You can also contact NDIS at 1800 800 110 or email them at enquiries@ndis.gov.au.