What age do I have to be to get the NDIS?

You can apply for the NDIS if you're under 65 years of age.

The good news for existing participants: the NDIS doesn't stop when you turn 65. If you're already in the scheme, you choose what happens next - stay with the NDIS or move to the aged care system. It's your call.

If you're under 65 and think you might be eligible, it's worth applying sooner rather than later.

What are the requirements to become a participant in the NDIS?

To become an NDIS participant, you need to meet three requirements:

Age: you're under 65 when you apply.
Residency: you're an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or hold a Protected Special Category Visa and you live in Australia.
Disability or early intervention: you have a permanent and significant disability. Permanent means it's likely to be with you for life. Significant means it substantially affects your ability to take part in everyday activities. Participants can also qualify under early intervention rules, where getting support now reduces future support needs. Early Intervention is a common pathway for young children.

You'll need evidence from health professionals showing your diagnosis and, importantly, how your disability affects your daily life. The functional impact matters as much as the diagnosis.

What disabilities are covered by the NDIS?

There's no single tick-box list, but the NDIS publishes lists of conditions that are likely to meet the disability requirements.

Conditions that commonly qualify include:

Intellectual disability assessed as moderate, severe or profound
Autism assessed at Level 2 or Level 3 (requiring substantial or very substantial support)
Cerebral palsy assessed as severe
Spinal cord or brain injury resulting in paraplegia, quadriplegia, tetraplegia or hemiplegia
Neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease
Substantial vision or hearing impairment
Amputation or loss of limbs
Genetic conditions that consistently result in permanent and severe impairment
Psychosocial disability arising from mental health conditions such as schizophrenia, where the impact is severe and ongoing

Two important things:

Being on a list doesn't guarantee access and not being on a list doesn't rule you out. What matters is showing your disability is permanent and significantly affects your daily life.
For conditions with variable impact (including psychosocial disability), the evidence about functional impact does the heavy lifting.

The full condition lists are on the NDIS website.

How do I apply for the NDIS?

Applying for the NDIS is a three-step process:

Check you're eligible: under 65, Australian citizen/permanent resident/Protected SCV holder, with a permanent and significant disability.
Make an access request: call the NDIA on 1800 800 110 and ask to apply. They'll take some details and give you an Access Request Form. Someone can do this on your behalf with your consent.
Provide your evidence: reports from your doctor and health professionals showing your diagnosis and how your disability affects your everyday life. Your GP is often the best starting point for pulling this together.

Then the NDIA assesses your request and lets you know the outcome. If you're accepted, the next step is your planning meeting, which is where preparation really pays off.

Want support through the process? Email hello@providerchoice.com.au and we'll point you in the right direction, including our free preplanning tool for when you get to the planning stage.

When should I apply for the NDIS?

As soon as you think you might be eligible.

If you have a permanent and significant disability that affects your everyday life, there's nothing to gain by waiting. The earlier you apply, the sooner supports can start. Early intervention is a core part of the scheme's design, especially for children.

You'll need to be under 65 when you apply and an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or Protected Special Category Visa holder.

If you’re unsure whether you’re eligible, it’s worth reaching out to the NDIA or speaking with a GP, support coordinator or local area coordinator (LAC). They can help you understand what information you’ll need and guide you through the next steps.

What is an Access Request Form?

An Access Request Form is the official form you use to apply for the NDIS. It's how you tell the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) about your situation and the support you need.

The form asks for details about:

Your personal information (like age and residency)
How your disability impacts your daily life
Any support or medical evidence that helps show your eligibility

You can get an Access Request Form by calling the NDIA on 1800 800 110, or through your local NDIS office or NDIS partner.

Once you submit it, the NDIA reviews your information and lets you know whether you're eligible to become a participant.

When will I hear back after I send in my Access Request Form?

Once the NDIA has everything it needs, it aims to make access decisions within 21 days.

The clock works like this: if your request is complete, you should hear back within about three weeks. If the NDIA needs more information, they'll ask for it and the decision timeframe restarts once you've provided it. That's the most common reason applications take longer.

The practical takeaway: the more complete your evidence is upfront, the faster your answer comes. Make sure your reports clearly cover both your diagnosis and how your disability affects your daily life.

If you've been waiting longer than expected, call the NDIA on 1800 800 110 for an update.

What evidence do I need to prove my disability?

Before you can get an NDIS plan, the NDIS need to know some things about your diagnosis and how your disability affects your life. There's a bit on the form they'll give you that your doctor can fill in, or you can give the NDIS copies of reports you've gotten from medical professionals.

The NDIA needs two things from your evidence: your diagnosis and how your disability affects your everyday life. That second part , the functional impact, is where many applications succeed or fall short, so make sure your reports cover it clearly.

Good evidence usually comes from the professionals who know you best:

Your GP or specialist, who can complete the health professional section of your access form
Reports from allied health professionals like occupational therapists, psychologists, speech pathologists, physiotherapists
Existing assessments you already have on file

Recency helps too. Reports that reflect your current situation carry more weight than ones from years ago.

The NDIS website has detailed guidance on disability evidence.

Can someone apply on my behalf?

Yes, someone can absolutely apply for the NDIS on your behalf.

If you need help with your application, a family member, friend, carer, support coordinator or nominee can complete the Access Request Form and speak with the NDIA for you.

You'll just need to give your consent for them to act on your behalf by signing the form, or by giving verbal permission when the NDIA contacts you.

If you're not sure who can help, contact your local NDIS office or NDIS partner and they'll connect you with someone who can support your application.

Can someone help me with my application?

Yes, you don't have to do this alone and the help is free.

Your local NDIS partner can walk you through the application process, help you understand what evidence you need and assist with the form. You can find your local contact through the NDIS website or by calling 1800 800 110. Your GP is also a great ally, they know the evidence side well.

Family, friends, carers or a support coordinator can also help and can even apply on your behalf with your consent.

And we're happy to point you in the right direction too. Email hello@providerchoice.com.au and we'll help you work out your next step.

Is there a process for applying for two people at once or do they have to be done separately?

Each person needs their own application and will have their own plan. Even when two people share a diagnosis or similar goals, their supports will be individual and that's the point of the scheme.

The applications can absolutely run at the same time, though. Much of the legwork overlaps: same forms, same evidence process, often the same professionals writing reports. If you're applying for two children, for example, you can gather evidence for both in the same GP and specialist visits.

If there is more than one child in a family with a disability, does that affect the support we can get?

Each child gets their own NDIS plan, built around their individual needs and goals because every person is different, even within the same family.

That means most supports are funded separately for each child. Occasionally, where it genuinely makes sense, the NDIS may coordinate supports across plans but the starting point is always individual funding for each child.

One child's plan doesn't reduce another's. Each application and plan stands on its own merits.

Managing multiple plans is exactly where plan management earns its keep with one place to track every budget. Email hello@providerchoice.com.au if you'd like plan management support.

What happens if I don't meet the NDIS requirements?

Not meeting the access requirements isn't the end of the road. You still have options:

Ask for a review: if you think the decision is wrong, you can request an internal review within three months. Plenty of access decisions change on review, especially with stronger evidence about how your disability affects daily life.
Reapply when things change: if your situation or your evidence changes, you can make a new access request at any time.
Community supports still exist: the NDIS funds community programs (through what's called ILC - Information, Linkages and Capacity Building) that anyone with disability can use, participant or not. State governments and mainstream services also provide disability supports outside the NDIS.
For children: families of children under 9 can get support through the NDIS early childhood approach even without the child becoming a participant.

Can I get a review of an eligibility decision?

Yes. If you disagree with an NDIA access decision, you have the right to challenge it and decisions do get changed.

Step one: internal review. Ask the NDIA to review the decision within three months of receiving it. A different decision-maker looks at it fresh and this is a good moment to add any stronger evidence about how your disability affects your daily life.

Step two: the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART). If you're still unhappy after the internal review, you can take it to the ART, an independent tribunal that reviews government decisions to make sure they're fair. (You might see older references to the AAT; the ART replaced it in 2024.)

Free advocacy support is available for both stages, you don't have to argue your case alone.

What happens if I'm aged over 65?

It depends on whether you're already in the scheme.

If you're already an NDIS participant when you turn 65, you're in control. You can choose to stay with the NDIS or move to the aged care system. Your supports don't automatically stop.

If you're over 65 and not yet a participant, you can't apply for the NDIS. The aged care system is the pathway for support instead. My Aged Care (myagedcare.gov.au) is the starting point there.

If you're approaching 65 and think you might be eligible for the NDIS, apply before your birthday. Eligibility is assessed at the age you apply.

Will NDIS funding continue when I turn 65?

Yes, if you're already an NDIS participant, turning 65 doesn't end your supports.

You get to choose: stay with the NDIS and keep your plan, or move across to the aged care system if that suits your needs better. Nobody makes that call except you.

It's worth reviewing your options as you approach 65, because the two systems fund different things.

Can I make my own plan?

Your planner puts your plan together and the NDIA approves it. You don't write your NDIS plan yourself, but you absolutely shape it. The goals, the evidence and the picture of your daily support needs all come from you and they drive what ends up in the plan.

That's why preparation is the closest thing to writing your own plan: walk in with clear goals, good reports and a realistic picture of the support you need and the plan that comes out the other side will look a lot like the one you'd have written.

Our free preplanning tool helps you build exactly that a draft of your goals and needs to bring to your planning meeting. Or email hello@providerchoice.com.au and we'll help you pull it together.

How do I put my plan together?

Your plan comes together in partnership with your NDIS planner, but the raw material comes from you.

Before your planning meeting, work out:

Your goals: what you want to achieve, short-term and long-term
Your current supports: what's working, what's missing
Your evidence: reports and assessments that show your support needs

Then at the meeting, your planner uses all of that to build a plan around your goals.

The single best predictor of a strong plan is walking in prepared. Our free preplanning tool helps you build a draft to bring with you. Or email hello@providerchoice.com.au and we'll help you get ready.

What are goals?

Goals are the things you want to achieve and in the NDIS, they matter enormously, because your funding is built around them.

Goals can be short-term (the next few months) or long-term (the next five to ten years). Things like:

Building independence at home
Joining more social and community activities
Getting or keeping a job
Improving physical strength or communication skills

Every support in your plan needs to connect to a goal, so well-framed goals genuinely unlock funding. A goal like "I want to build the skills to live independently" opens more doors than something narrow or vague.

Our free preplanning tool walks you through building strong goals.

What is the early childhood approach?

The early childhood approach (previously called Early Childhood Early Intervention, or ECEI) is how the NDIS supports young children and their families.

It covers:

Children younger than 6 with developmental delay, no formal diagnosis needed
Children younger than 9 with disability

Support comes through early childhood partners which are teams with expertise in child development. They can connect your family with mainstream and community supports, provide some early supports directly and help you apply for an NDIS plan if your child needs longer-term help.

The whole idea is acting early: the right support in the early years can change a child's trajectory, which is why you don't need to wait for a diagnosis to get started.

If you have concerns about your child's development, talk to your GP or child health nurse, or contact the NDIS on 1800 800 110 to connect with your local early childhood partner. More detail is on the NDIS website.

What sort of paperwork does the NDIS planner need?

Bring the evidence that shows your support needs. Depending on your situation, that can include:

Diagnosis reports from specialists
Occupational therapy, speech pathology and other allied health reports
Mental health reports
Care needs assessments
Medication charts
Home modification assessments
Quotes for assistive technology or equipment you're seeking, plus reports supporting why you need them

The theme across all of it: documents that show not just your diagnosis, but how your disability affects your daily life and what support makes the difference.

Two useful tips: you can bring a completed Plan Ready Summary from our free preplanning tool and you can submit extra documents after the meeting too so don't panic if a report isn't ready on the day.

How do I build a goal?

Start with what you actually want your life to look like, then work backwards.

Think about things like joining more social activities, building physical strength, learning new skills, getting a job or maintaining your independence. Then shape each one into a goal statement from your perspective: "I want to build my confidence in social settings" or "I want to develop the skills to live more independently."

A good NDIS goal is specific enough to connect supports to, but broad enough to give you flexibility in how you get there.

Our free preplanning tool walks you through building goals step by step. Or email hello@providerchoice.com.au and we'll talk them through with you.

NDIS Eligibility & How to Apply