NDIS Legislation Changes: Securing Support for Additional Impairments – Your Questions Answered

It is a Support Coordinator’s responsibility to understand the impact of a person’s disability and related impairment/s and the barriers they experience in accessing the supports they need – as this informs the supports a participant requires to pursue their life goals. 

Information can be gained from a number of sources:

• Family members, friends, the participant, etc. – essentially, anyone who knows the participant and can provide information about how the person’s disability and related impairment/s impact them and create barriers to accessing appropriate supports
• Previous Support Coordinators who have worked with a participant will likely have copies of reports
• Any Functional Capacity Assessments (FCAs) that have been completed
• Any provider within the participant’s support network should have information about the participant’s disability-related support needs

Additionally, see the answer to question no.1.

For a support to be funded in a participant’s NDIS plan, it must meet the ‘reasonable and necessary’ decision-making criteria:

• How does the support relate to the participant’s disability-related support needs?
• Will the support assist the participant to achieve one or more of their goals?
• Will the support assist the participant to increase their social and economic participation?
• Is the support likely to be effective and beneficial and be considered good practice?
• Would the support be considered value for money?
• Is the support something the NDIS would reasonably expect the participant’s informal support to provide?
• Is the support most appropriately funded by the NDIS or another service system? I.e., can the support be provided through a mainstream service or accessed within their community?
• Does this support fall within the supports the NDIS does not fund?

Impairment notices only began to be issued to new people accessing the NDIS from January 2025.

If a participant would like clarification of the impairment the NDIS has noted on their profile, they can request this information from the NDIS directly. 

A GP or treating professional must provide the following as evidence:

• The person has been diagnosed with a disability

The term disability relates to an impairment of body structure or function, a limitation of activities (the tasks a person does) or a restriction in participation (the involvement of a person in life situations). 

• The disability is directly related to an impairment

The impact of a person’s disability diagnosis is evident by the barriers they face and their reduced functional capacity to complete daily activities.

These include an intellectual, cognitive, neurological, sensory, physical or psychosocial impairment. Note: a person may have one or more related impairments.

• The impairment is likely to be permanent, requiring lifelong supports from the NDIS.

‘Likely to be permanent’ relates to the permanency (enduring) and ongoing (lifelong) impact of the impairment, not the disability diagnosis.

The impairment may be permanent, even if its impact changes over time. For more, see the following links:

• Conditions that are likely to meet the disability requirements
• Conditions that are likely to result in a permanent impairment

Handy information for GPs and health professionals can be found here.

For other diagnoses, and for the NDIA to acknowledge an impairment is likely to be permanent, a person needs to evidence that all available and appropriate treatment options have been pursued – e.g., clinical, medical, therapeutic, assistive devices, life changes, etc.

Additionally, the NDIA will require evidence from a treating professional that there are no further treatments available that could relieve or remedy the impact of the impairment.

• The impairment significantly reduces the person’s functional capacity to complete daily activities.

This relates to evidencing how the impairment impacts and significantly reduces the person’s capacity to complete daily activities across at least one of the six domains: communication, socialising, learning, mobility, self-care and self-management.

For more information, refer to the NDIS Operational Guidelines: Applying to the NDIS.

This is about the sustainability of the NDIS. The NDIS was only ever meant to provide funding for supports that are directly related to a participant’s disability and the impact of their related impairment. 

The NDIS is designed to complement, not replace, existing mainstream services like healthcare, education and community supports. 

No, it does not. A Functional Capacity Assessment (FCA) is a comprehensive and holistic evaluation conducted by an Occupational Therapist (OT) to assess an individual’s ability to perform daily tasks and activities. It identifies strengths, limitations and areas requiring support to enhance independence and quality of life.

This assessment is crucial to inform personalised support plans for an NDIS participant, ensuring they receive the appropriate level of support and funding based on their unique situation and supports needs. 

There is no limit to the number of disability diagnoses and related impairments a person can have on their NDIS profile. 

But for the NDIS to acknowledge a person’s disability diagnosis and related impairment/s, the participant must provide evidence that addresses and meets all the NDIS disability access criteria.