What are the new changes to the NDIS pathway?

Today the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has let everyone know they will be making changes to the NDIS. Some of the changes are things that people with disability have been asking for.

These changes will be piloted very soon – which means they will test the changes with a small group of people first, and then introduce them to everyone else a bit later.

NDIS pathway

The changes are being made to what is called the “NDIS pathway”. The NDIS pathway is the journey, or process, that people go through with the NDIS. It’s what happens before, during and after you become an NDIS participant. It covers contacting the NDIS, applying to be a participant and starting and using your plan.

The pathway includes things like:

Finding out what the NDIS is

Finding out how the NDIS could help you

Finding out if you can become an NDIS participant

Talking to the NDIS to set up your planning meeting

Having your planning meeting

Getting your plan

Using your plan to get things that you need, like supports or equipment

Talking to NDIS staff and other people who help you with the NDIS, like Local Area Coordinators

Looking at your NDIS plan again after a year, and making changes to it

So, what’s actually changing?

The NDIS said the new pathway will mean:

No more phone planning. All planning meetings will be held face to face – as long as that’s what you want.

Simpler and more accessible information – including more information in Braille and plain English.

Planners will have more information and tools at their fingertips to help people develop their plans. They will have a better understanding of different types of disabilities.

More help to connect people with disability with other government services like health, education and transport.

Changes to the NDIS portal to make it easier to use. The portal is the online system NDIS participants and providers use to manage plans.

The NDIS have also said that they want to provide people with a “consistent point of contact” so that getting information and getting questions answered is a bit easier. But there isn’t any detail about how that’s going to happen.

The NDIS also said that they recognised that some groups of people might need some extra help navigating the NDIS. These groups might include:

People with psychosocial disability,

Children,

People from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities,

People from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds, and

People with more complex needs.

They said they would change the pathway to better suit the needs of these groups.

So when will this all happen?

The NDIS haven’t said yet when the pilot will start or where it will start. They also haven’t said when they will stop testing and start introducing the changes for everyone.

We will let you know as soon as we find out. Keep checking back here.

More information

Read the media release from the NDIS.

Learn more about the new NDIS pathway on the NDIS website, learn about it in this Easy English fact sheet (PDF, 8 pages, 1.2MB), or watch this Auslan video (9:29, captions, no audio).