How to Apply for NDIS Funding

First, you need to determine whether you are eligible to apply for NDIS funding. 

See our 'Who is eligible for the NDIS' resource to see if you might be eligible.

Making your Access Request to the NDIS

If you’re 9 or older it’s best to contact your local area coordinator (LAC)

For children younger than 9, families can contact an early childhood partner.

Partners will help you understand:

1. the eligibility requirements,
2. what information and identification you need to give us.

1. Find your nearest NDIS office

Partners can help you apply to the NDIS by submitting the application on your behalf. This means you don’t need to complete the access request form yourself.

To find your nearest NDIS LAC or Early Childhood Parttner, use the Office Locator tool on the NDIS website.

Find Office Locations

2. Call the NDIS

You can call the NDIA on 1800 800 110 and ask for your nearest office or ask them for help if there is not an office in your area.

3. Complete the Access Request Form without help

If you do not have access to a partner, you can download and complete the Access Request Form yourself.

Access Request Form

What do I need to include in my NDIS application?

As part of the Access Request process, you will be asked:

1. to confirm your identity and/or a person's authority to act on your behalf
2. questions to see if you meet the NDIS access requirements (age, residence and disability)
3. questions about providing consent to enter the NDIS and about seeking information from third parties.

If you currently receive disability supports, you can give your provider consent to give the NDIS your information.

You will be asked to provide some additional information after you submit your Access Request.

This includes information about your disability and how it impacts on your day-to-day life.

You can provide copies of existing information, including letters or reports, or you can ask your treating health professional to fill out and sign a form.

Providing Information about your Disability

The NDIS needs evidence to help us consider if you meet the disability or early intervention requirements.

This includes information on:

1. what your disability is,
2. when it was diagnosed
3. how long it will last
4. available treatments (i.e. medications, therapies or surgeries)

You meet the disability requirements if the you provide the NDIS with evidence of all the following:

• Your disability is caused by an impairment.*
• Your impairment is likely to be permanent.
• Your permanent impairment substantially reduces your functional capacity (ability) to undertake one or more of the following activities:
  • moving around,
  • communicating,
  • socialising, learning, or
  • undertaking self-care or
  • self-management tasks.
• Your permanent impairment affects your ability to work, study or take part in social life.
• You’ll likely need support under the NDIS for your lifetime (your disability is permanent).

You may be asked to provide additional evidence if the information you provided initially is deemed insufficient in meeting the NDIS eligibility criteria.

See the Disability Requirements information on the NDIS website.

*To meet the disability requirements, we must have evidence your disability is linked to at least one of the impairments below:

1. intellectual – how you speak and listen, read and write, solve problems, and process and remember information
2. cognitive – how you think, learn new things, use judgment to make decisions, and pay attention
3. neurological – how your body’s nervous system functions
4. sensory – how you see or hear
5. physical – the ability to move parts of your body.

You may also be eligible for the NDIS if you have a psychosocial disability that means you have reduced capacity to do daily life activities and tasks due to your mental health.

It doesn’t matter what caused your impairment. For example, if you’ve had it from birth, or acquired it from an injury, accident or health condition.

It also doesn’t matter if you have one impairment, or more than one impairment.

For more detail about the impairments listed above see our resource on Notice of impairments. 

What kind of evidence is needed when applying to the NDIS?

The NDIA requires information that is:

• recent (no more than 12 months old if relating to your functional capacity)
• completed by a treating health professional who is relevant to your primary disability*
• confirms your primary disability*
• confirms the impacts of your disability on the different areas of your life
• describes previous treatments and outcomes
• describes future treatment options and expected outcomes of those treatments

*Primary disability refers to the impairment that impacts most on your daily functioning.

You may be asked to provide additional information and evidence if your information provided in your initial application is deemed insufficient. 

Here is a template that may help in developing an impact statement from SaveourSons

Who can Provide Evidence of your Disability?

You can work with your treating health professionals to provide your evidence of disability.

Examples of common treating health professionals include:

• General Practitioner (GP)
• Paediatrician
• Orthopedic surgeon
• Occupational Therapist
• Speech Pathologist (Therapist)
• Neurologist
• Psychologist
• Psychiatrist
• Physiotherapist

The treating health professional who provides the evidence of your disability should:

• be the most appropriate person to provide evidence of your primary disability; and
• have treated you for a significant period of time (e.g. at least six months).

Use the information provided in the NDIS Types of Disability Evidence Fact Sheet to help you decide who the most appropriate treating health professional for your primary disability is.

Your treating health professional can provide evidence by:

• completing the NDIS Supporting Evidence Form
• completing the NDIS Evidence of Psychosocial Disability Form 
• section 2 of the Access Request Form, or
• providing existing reports, assessments or letters that show the impact of your disability.

Children under the age of 9

If you are a parent, guardian or representative of a child younger than 9 and you have concerns about your child’s development or disability, you should first speak with your doctor, child health nurse, early childhood educator or other health professional.

Your child’s health or education professional can provide evidence of your child’s disability or developmental delay to support an NDIS access request.

Get Reports from Health Professionals

This is really important when you are gathering evidence for your NDIS application from your GP, Specialist or other allied health professionals.

The reports need to present your disability in a view the NDIS understands. Often, health professionals use technical language when discussing conditions.

When working in the NDIS, the terminology used by health professionals must reflect the access requirements of the NDIS. The NDIS is focussed on 'functional capacity' whereas a doctor typically focuses on the symptoms or diagnosis. 

Please find below some resources on how to write reports for the NDIS. It is important for your health professionals to follows these guidelines:

Writing for the NDIS: help for doctors, practitioners, participants and families

Writing Reports for NDIS Access and Plan Reviews

Sources and Links:

Applying for the NDIS
Providing Evidence of your Disability
Access to the NDIS - Early Intervention Requirements
How to Apply for NDIS Funding
CARER Impact Template