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.