- What the NDIS is and who it's for
- How to apply and how a plan works
- The four support budgets and what the NDIS can fund
- The three ways a plan can be managed
- Common NDIS words, translated
What is the NDIS?
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is Australia's national scheme for funding support for eligible people with disability. Each person who joins becomes an NDIS participant. Every NDIS participant receives an individual plan based on their situation and goals, with choice and control over the providers they use.
The scheme is run by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) — the Australian Government agency that assesses access, approves plans and pays providers. Funding is shared between the Australian Government and the state and territory governments. You'll hear it called the NDIS, the scheme, or simply the NDIS program; they all mean the same thing.
What does the NDIS actually do?
In practical terms, the NDIA assesses access, creates and manages participant plans, and pays for approved supports. It does not usually deliver the support itself: providers — such as support workers, coordinators and therapists — deliver services. The separate NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission regulates provider quality and safeguards. That split is why choosing providers well matters once a plan is approved.
Who is the NDIS for?
Broadly, the NDIS is for people with disability who are under 65 when they apply and who meet residence requirements plus the disability or early-intervention requirements. The disability requirements look at whether an impairment is permanent and significantly affects everyday life; the early-intervention pathway is for people — including young children — where support now is likely to reduce the support needed later. Eligibility is assessed against current access criteria, so check the official NDIS application guide rather than relying on an older summary.
Not everyone with disability will meet the access criteria — and not meeting them doesn't mean no help exists. The NDIA can still connect people to community and mainstream supports through its local partners, and our NDIS questions guide covers what to do if an access decision doesn't go your way.
The NDIS in NSW — and the aged care boundary
The NDIS is one national scheme, so there's no separate "NSW NDIS" — the access criteria are the same in every state. What changes locally is the layer around it: in NSW, Local Area Coordinators are delivered by NDIA partner organisations in your region, and your real choices depend on which providers actually staff your suburb. In Sydney that market is crowded but uneven — plenty of providers on paper, fewer with genuine capacity — which is why our guide to choosing a provider focuses on questions that test substance.
One boundary trips people up constantly: the NDIS and aged care are separate systems. If you're 65 or over when you first apply, you're generally outside the NDIS — My Aged Care is the pathway instead. A person who joins the NDIS before 65 can choose to stay in it after turning 65.
How do I apply for the NDIS?
You start by applying through an NDIS partner or the NDIA. You can call the NDIS on 1800 800 110, or follow the official five-step application process. You will need identity and residence information, plus disability evidence from an appropriate treating professional. The NDIA says it will tell you its decision within 21 days after a complete application and supporting evidence are submitted. An NDIS partner can help you understand what evidence is needed.
How an NDIS plan works
Once you're eligible, you'll work through a planning conversation about your goals, your daily life and the support you need. The result is a funded NDIS plan. Plans are reviewed periodically so your funding keeps pace with your circumstances and goals.
There is no cost to apply for the NDIS and no cost to be a participant — the funding in a plan pays providers for the supports it covers, and it isn't income-tested. What the plan doesn't cover, it doesn't pay for, which is why the next two sections matter: what the budgets are, and what the scheme can and can't fund.
The four support budgets
The current NDIS support-budget guide describes four budgets. Not every participant has funding in all four:
- Core supports — everyday assistance, the most flexible budget (daily living, social and community participation)
- Capacity Building — building skills and independence, including support coordination
- Capital — equipment, assistive technology and home modifications
- Recurring — regular supports paid at set intervals, such as some transport funding
What can the NDIS fund — and what can't it?
The NDIS funds supports that meet its "reasonable and necessary" test: the support relates to your disability, helps you pursue your goals, represents value for money, and is likely to work. That covers things like support workers, therapy, equipment and help to take part in the community.
It does not fund everyday living costs that everyone has regardless of disability — rent, groceries, utilities — or supports that are the job of another system, such as hospital treatment (health) or teaching (education). Since October 2024 the NDIA also publishes explicit lists of what counts as an NDIS support and what doesn't; the current lists are on the NDIA's what are NDIS supports page. When something sits in a grey area, a support coordinator can help you check before money is spent.
The three ways a plan can be managed
Every plan is "managed" in one of three ways — and this decides which providers you can use and who pays the invoices:
- Agency-managed (NDIA-managed) — the NDIA pays providers directly. You can only use registered NDIS providers.
- Plan-managed — a plan manager (funded separately in your plan) pays the invoices and tracks the budget. You can use registered and unregistered providers.
- Self-managed — you pay providers and claim the money back, with the most flexibility and the most paperwork.
Plans can mix these — for example, most supports plan-managed with one budget agency-managed. Tegrity is a registered provider, so we can support NDIS participants under any of the three arrangements.
How providers and support workers fit in
Registered providers deliver the supports in your plan — support work, community participation and support coordination. For participants whose disability arises from a mental health condition, psychosocial support can provide practical, non-clinical help with routines, community access and social connection. You choose who you work with, and with a good provider you should meet your worker before supports start. If you'd like help understanding what your plan can fund, a support coordinator can walk you through it.
The NDIS for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the scheme itself is the same — but navigating it can be harder when services have not been culturally safe. The NDIS First Nations Strategy 2025–2030 sets priorities for fair access, cultural safety, power-sharing and coordinated support. Our guide to First Nations and the NDIS covers the practical pathway in more detail.
Common NDIS words, translated
NDIS paperwork uses a vocabulary of its own. These are the terms people ask us about most:
- Participant — a person with disability who has been accepted into the NDIS and has a plan.
- Nominee — someone formally appointed to act for a participant, often a family member.
- LAC (Local Area Coordinator) — an NDIA partner who helps you understand and start your plan; not the same as a funded support coordinator.
- Service agreement — the written agreement between you and a provider setting out supports, prices and notice periods.
- Reasonable and necessary — the legal test every funded support has to meet.
- Plan reassessment — the NDIA's review of your plan (people still call it a "plan review").
How to get started
If you have a plan and you're ready to put it into action, or you just want to talk through your options, send a referral — it takes about three minutes and we'll confirm receipt and explain the next step.
Keep reading
The next questions people usually have, answered in plain English:
- How to choose an NDIS provider — the questions that test substance before you sign anything.
- NDIS rates and pricing — what support work actually costs against the price limits.
- What is Capacity Building funding? — the budget that pays for skills, independence and coordination.
- NDIS questions answered — the quick-fire version of everything on this page.
- Switching providers — your right to change, and how a clean handover works.