About the National Disability Insurance Scheme

The National Disability Insurance Scheme is designed to empower people with a disability to work towards achievements, identify the disability related supports they need, and to choose where they would like to purchase their supports. The NDIA are the Federal government agency that implements the NDIS.

No, it’s your choice to do so. In our experience, Clients on the NDIS receive greater supports to help them achieve their individual goals. It also enables Guide Dogs Victoria (GDV) to help more people as it releases our philanthropic funds to others.

Those who:

• Live in an NDIS trial site or roll out area.
• Have a permanent disability that:
  • Reduces your ability to participate in activities, or perform tasks or actions unless you have support, and
  • Affects your capacity for social and economic participation, and
  • Means you are likely to require support under the NDIS for a lifetime.
• Have Australian citizenship, hold a permanent visa, or hold a Protected Special Category Visa.
• Are aged under 65.

If you turn 65 before the NDIS comes to you, you will not be eligible. The Federal Government is developing a different support scheme for this age group, called My Aged Care. If you are on the NDIS and then turn 65 you can elect to remain on the scheme.

Yes. If they are permanent disabilities that fit the criteria identified in the eligibility question above.

If you have previously had government funding, or are a current Guide Dogs Victoria Client, then the NDIS will have your details and will phone you to check your eligibility and consent.

Alternatively, up to six months prior to the NDIS roll out in your area, you can ring 1800 800 110 to apply.

To find out if you are eligible for the NDIS funding, you can use an online tool called the NDIS Access Checklist. This tool asks questions that can help you to work out if you are eligible for NDIS support. For more information on eligibility, you can visit the NDIS website.

You may be able to complete all relevant information over the phone. Or you may be mailed out a paper copy of the Access Request Form. This form is to be completed by you. You can also ask your GP or specialist to complete part of it. The Access Request Form will require evidence that supports your permanent disability. All appropriate medical documents need to be supplied to the NDIS.

An official NDIA Planner will call you and arrange to either meet in person, or formulate your plan over the phone.

This Planner could work directly with the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), or be from a Local Area Coordinator (LAC) organisation working on behalf of the NDIA. The NDIA do not directly employ enough planners for everyone, so they use the services of LAC organisations to help set up the more straightforward plans more efficiently.

If your needs are complex, or you want funded Support Coordination in your plan (as the majority of people with low vision or blindness will, because Support Coordinators help with accessibility issues and more), then your plan should be developed by an NDIA Planner. You will need to make sure you request funded Support Coordination at first call, if you want it.

• What supports do you currently access and whether these meet your needs
• What you want to learn
• Where you want to live
• What sort of work or community activity you want to do
• Whether you have enough support to do these things

The discussion needs to be goals-based. If you are worried about how to clearly identify and voice your goals, then contact a Support Coordinator at GDV to help.

You can request these free Support Coordination services through our Request a Service form, or by calling 1800 804 805.

• Equipment (canes, clocks).
• Assistive technology including Apps and programs.
• Home modifications.
• Day-to-day support such as personal care.
• Skills building.

The NDIS can provide you with funding for ‘Reasonable and Necessary’ support, services and equipment.  The supports and services should assist you to:

• Do things independently.
• Participate in the community.
• Gain employment where applicable.
• Achieve personal goals.
• Develop skills to assist you with daily activities.

• Be related to your disability.
• Not include day-to-day living costs that are not related to your disability support needs.
• Represent value for money.
• Be likely to be effective and beneficial to you.
• Take into account informal supports given to you by families, carers, networks, and the community.

• Medical or pharmaceutical needs
• Education needs
• Day to day living expenses – e.g.: groceries and bills (items not related to your disability)

When your plan is under review, services can be suspended pending the outcome. Outside of the first three months you can still appeal to have your plan reviewed, however the process becomes a lot longer. It is crucial that you ask and talk about any challenges you face, or anything you may benefit from, in the planning meeting to try and avoid the need to do a plan review. After the initial three month period, a plan review can take up to 9 months or longer.

A new 12-month plan will be made for you at the end of the twelve-month period. You will have planning meetings each 12 months to ask for supports to be included on your NDIS plan. It is normal to ask for some of the same supports in each NDIS plan, if they are helping you work towards your goals. If you do not use all of the funding in your 12-month plan, it does not roll over to the next year and you are not guaranteed it in your following plan.

Your plan can be managed in the following ways:

• By You – where you manage your NDIS funds and pay the service providers and keep your own records. This is called self-managed.
• By a financial intermediary – where they pay service providers for you. This is called plan-managed.
• By the NDIS – here the NDIS directly pays providers on your behalf and manages the money in your plan. This is called agency-managed.
• A combination of the above options.

Whatever option you choose, the NDIA can support you to make arrangements and set up the processes.

• Costs associated with the upkeep of your Guide Dog per year as mentioned above. This money is to be used for the purpose of pet insurance, food, grooming, flea treatment & worming, medication and other incidentals.
• Annual Orientation and Mobility Specialist follow-up, or up to 10 hours per year.

You can request Support Coordination services from Guide Dogs Victoria through our Request a Service form, or by calling 1800 804 805.