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Who can apply

The NDIS is designed to support people with permanent disabilities. To gain an NDIS plan, a person must first apply to the NDIS (known as "making an access request"), demonstrating that they meet the entry criteria which are set out by the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013, and the National Disability Insurance Scheme (Becoming a Participant) Rules 2016.

Simply put, this means a person needs to be able to demonstrate:

they are an Australian citizen or permanent resident aged under 65
they have a disability attributed to a medical condition and it is likely to be permanent
their disability substantially reduces their capacity to communicate, interact with others, learn, move around or look after themselves
their disability affects their capacity to participate in society or the workforce
they are likely to need NDIS support for their lifetime.

Applying to the NDIS with a mental health condition

Usually, people apply to the NDIS via the NDIS's Access request form or ARF; however, this is more appropriate for people with physical and intellectual disabilities.

In conjunction with the NDIA, we have developed a streamlined access pathway tailored for people with psychosocial disability. This approach combines the verbal access request (VAR) with the Evidence of psychosocial disability form. You can find more detail on our How to apply page.

Resources for who can apply

To learn more about who can apply

Complete our online training module:

NDIS Explained

Start module

Complete our online training module:

Recovery and the NDIS

Start module

Complete our online training module:

NDIS access and psychosocial disability

Start module