The National Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a commonwealth government initiative to fund the delivery of support services to people living with a disability in Australia. The NDIS was established by the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 and began rollout in July 2016 providing funding to 460,000 Australians as of January 2019.
NDIS users are called Participants. A Participant will make an NDIS Plan outlining their goals, skills and requirements to ensure support needs are being met. This NDIS Plan contains funding for supports, services and technologies to assist Participants in their daily life.
The NDIS will connect participants to service providers who deliver the supports outlined in the Plan. The Plan is adaptive and can be renegotiated as support needs and lifestyles change.
The participant can decide on the delivery of services to best suit their wants and needs. This may include choosing the support provider, medical and therapeutic professionals, programs and assistive technologies required.