What are the NDIS eligibility requirements and what’s changing?
To become an NDIS participant, you must meet the age and residence requirements. You must also meet the disability requirements, early intervention requirements or both.
You’ll need to provide information and evidence to help the NDIS determine whether you meet these requirements.
The current eligibility criteria will remain in place until 1 January 2028, when new rules for accessing the NDIS will begin.
Current NDIS eligibility criteria.
1. Age requirements.
To be eligible, you need to be under 65 on the day you apply. People aged 65 or over cannot apply for the NDIS but may be eligible for aged care services instead.
Children younger than 9 may qualify if they meet the residence requirements and either the disability requirements, early intervention requirements or both. An Early Childhood Partner can help families understand their options and apply.
Children who are younger than 6 with developmental delay may qualify under the early childhood approach. Those in this age group with developmental concerns may be given funding to be able to access some early supports, without becoming an NDIS participant.
Learn more about the NDIS age requirements.
2. Residence requirements.
You must live in Australia, spend most of your time here and be one of the following:
- An Australian citizen
- A permanent resident
- A protected special category visa (SCV) holder (applies to some New Zealand citizens only)
With your consent, the NDIS may be able to confirm your residence status using information from your Centrelink record. Otherwise, you’ll need to provide documents showing that you meet the requirements.
When confirming if you live in Australia, the NDIS will consider:
- Where you live most of the time
- Where your immediate family lives
- Whether you work in Australia
- Whether you own property or assets in Australia
- How much time you spend overseas.
NDIS participants can generally go overseas for up to six weeks and continue to use their NDIS supports. Longer stays need to be reported to the NDIS and may be subject to restrictions.
Learn more about the NDIS residence requirements.
3. Disability requirements.
To qualify under the disability requirements, you must meet all the following criteria:
- You have a disability that is caused by one or more impairments
- Your impairment is, or is likely to be, permanent
- The impairment substantially reduces your ability to complete everyday tasks
- The impairment affects your ability to work, study or take part in social life
- You’ll likely need NDIS supports throughout your life.
The NDIS will consider evidence from your doctor, specialist or treating health professional when deciding whether you meet these requirements.
Current NDIS guidelines include lists of conditions that are likely to meet the disability requirements or result in permanent impairment. These lists may streamline the assessment process, but having a particular diagnosis does not guarantee eligibility. (This will change from 1 January 2028 – see below.)
Learn more about the NDIS disability requirements.
4. Early intervention requirements.
You may qualify under the early intervention requirements if you have an impairment that is likely to be permanent and receiving NDIS supports now will help you with at least one of the following:
- Improve how you move around, communicate, socialise, learn, look after yourself and organise your life
- Improve your functional capacity
- Prevent your functional capacity from declining
- Help your family or other informal supports support you.
Different early intervention requirements apply to children younger than 6 with developmental delay and people aged 25 or younger with a hearing impairment.
Learn more about the early intervention requirements.
NDIS eligibility checklist.
You may be eligible if you:
- Are younger than 65 when you apply
- Live in Australia and meet the citizenship or visa requirements
- Meet the disability requirements, early intervention requirements or both.
Meeting the disability requirements.
To meet the disability requirements, the NDIS needs evidence that your disability is caused by at least one of the following types of impairment:
- Intellectual
- Cognitive
- Neurological
- Sensory
- Physical
- Relating to a psychosocial disability.
The NDIS describes an impairment as a significant change to your body’s structure or functions, or to how you think and learn.
How does the NDIS decide whether an impairment is permanent?
The NDIS will need evidence that you will likely have the impairment and need support under the NDIS for the rest of your life. It will generally consider whether all available and appropriate treatment options have been explored.
An impairment can still be considered permanent if its effects change over time, fluctuate or occur in episodes.
NDIS eligibility and functional capacity.
To be eligible for the NDIS, a permanent impairment must substantially reduce your functional capacity or ability to do daily activities in at least one of these areas:
- Communicating
- Socialising
- Learning
- Mobility
- Looking after yourself
- Managing your life.
The NDIS will also consider whether you need support from other people, assistive technology, home modifications or other similar disability-specific supports to complete these activities.
NDIS eligibility and taking part in work, study and social life.
The NDIS will also consider how a permanent impairment affects your ability to work, study or socialise. This may include your ability to find and keep a job or study. It also covers everyday activities like the ability to save and spend money, play sport or go to the movies.
Changes to eligibility for NDIS funding from January 2028.
New access rules will begin on 1 January 2028. People applying from that date will be assessed under the new criteria. Most existing participants will be reassessed progressively over three years.
The changes include:
- Placing a standardised, evidence-based assessment of functional capacity at the centre of eligibility decisions
- Focusing on how significantly an impairment affects a person’s everyday life
- Removing the current condition lists used to streamline some eligibility decisions
- Applying clearer requirements for determining whether an impairment is permanent, including whether a person has tried appropriate publicly funded treatments
- Changing eligibility for some people accessing support through workers’ compensation or motor vehicle accident schemes
- Changing access arrangements for children aged 8 and younger with developmental delay or autism and low to moderate support needs.They will instead be supported by Thriving Kids.
Children aged 8 and younger with permanent and significant disability, including those with developmental delay or autism who have substantially reduced functional capacity and high support needs, will remain eligible for the NDIS.
Any children accessing the NDIS before 1 January 2028 will continue to be reassessed under the current criteria while they are younger than 9. Once they turn 9, they will be reassessed under the new functional capacity criteria.
How to apply for the NDIS.
If you think you may be eligible for the NDIS, contact an NDIS partner who can help connect you with supports and apply for the NDIS. They will talk to you about your situation, the NDIS eligibility criteria, the application process, information and evidence required.
The application process depends on your age and circumstances:
- People aged 9-64: Contact your local NDIS partner. They can explain the eligibility requirements, help you gather evidence and support you to apply. They can also connect you to non-NDIS supports in your local area
- Children younger than 9: Contact an Early Childhood Partner for help through the NDIS early childhood approach.
Contact the NDIS directly if there is no NDIS partner in your area or you need assistance to apply. You can also complete an Access Request Form yourself and submit it through the NDIS service hub, by mail or at an NDIS office.
If you are eligible for the NDIS and your application is successful, your NDIS partner will work with you to create your first NDIS Plan.
Get started with Leap in! plan management.
Leap in! is an NDIS plan manager. We don’t make decisions about whether you are eligible for the NDIS, but once you have an NDIS Plan, we can help you manage your funding, pay provider invoices and keep track of your budget.
When you attend your NDIS Plan meeting, you will be asked how you want to manage your NDIS Plan. Plan management is one of the options. Choosing a plan manager like Leap in! is a bit like having a bookkeeper to help you with the financial aspects of your NDIS Plan.
