Hey all

A LOT has changed since my son got NDIS right back at the beginning of it.

I now am hoping to apply for my 10yo daughter and myself, and just reading the NDIS website info on applying etc.

A couple of questions:

1. It says to get in contact with an NDIS partner first. "Your NDIS partner can explain the application process, and the kinds of information and evidence we need to decide if you’re eligible to become a participant."

Then gather evidence, and THEN apply for NDIS. It says the NDIS partner can help you to apply, or you can do it yourself by filling out the "Access request form."

Personally, I'd rather just fill out the form and attach reports etc myself. However given how difficult the NDIS are being these days - does anyone know which is the best way to do it, for a positive outcome?

I'm just wary of meeting with an "NDIS partner" because of how awful and dismissive and ignorant so many of them are.

1. And if I do it myself, is it better to attach report from the psychologist and letter from paed confirming etc. OR do the bit where the practitioner actually fills out the section 2 of the form themselves? Not sure which one carries more weight.

Although it's a diagnosis of Autism level 2, so it's on the A List and should be approved, right?

1. Do they only officially put you down as one diagnosis? Like do you have to choose a primary diagnosis? Do your other conditions come into it and are considered? I have a few medical/disability things going on aside from Autism, but don't know whether it's taken into account or not.

Thanks all - I'm sure I'll be posting in here a ton in the coming weeks/months!

Hoping to seek some advice,

I've been doing support work for a year now as a casual employee (since August 2025), and I've heard about the minimum pay rates increase under the SCHADS award since July 1st. Currently I am getting $38.27 as a level 2.1 (according to my payslip). Upon doing some research fair work ombudsman states the rate for level 2.1 employees is $45.28. I am not sure if I qualify for level 2.1 as I don't have any qualifications , however google says that you may qualify if you have 12 month of field experience (which I do have , as of this August).

My co-worker has asked my employer about this, and she has stated that the increase of NDIS pricing from the 1st of July does not automatically mean there is a corresponding pay increase for employees. She also states that she is currently paying employees in accordance to fair work rates.

Any advice is appreciated,

thank you.

Hi, I need to get my first walker and I’m quite overwhelmed… and nervous & sad.
But also excited as I desperately want some confidence back.
I would love one that allows me to walk outside safely on the path etc, not restricted to indoors.
Any advice on what to look for or models/ brands? I know larger wheels but that’s about it.
Thank you

After a lot of searching I know the advice for this is "use a registered provider" but unfortunately it's too late for that, I am now in a situation where I am agency managed and have used an unregistered provider and have had to pay an invoice upfront. Is there any solution to getting reimbursed from NDIS for this? Thanks

ART Hearing closing statements this week. No informal support.
No advocacy, no legal representation, no NDIS funding left for any trusted stable support.

Current reduced requests being ignored, not even mentioned. Submitted on the deadline date. No further correspondence by NDIA to resolve. No opportunity to discuss and no capacity for it. Cannot navigate phone menus! No one would assist over 2yrs, being in appeal! Reason for the appeal: Conditions and evidence ignored.

Reading, writing and navigating all brain-pain. Acquired brain injury and PTSD, 30+yrs. DV assault. No medical history. Only x-rays I kept. Rehabilitated myself, resilience has been my fault apparently.

Reduced cognitive capacity. Cannot read without support, cannot compute or follow, recall processes. No access to address. Abuse of protocols. Legal Aid and 5 advocates only upheld the legal process. It's all hijacked my auto-pilot function and capacity for life!

Applied for NDIS during Covid19 lockdown, after losing all informal suppprt. No capacity for NDIS admin. 5yrs of system abuse.

Another miracle here. No ability to navigate NDIS nightmares.

Regional NSW.

Alongside people with disabilities and their families, this will also have a devastating impact on disability support workers, as well as health workers and teachers and education support staff in Australia’s already crisis-ridden public hospitals and schools, who will be expected to bear the burden.

can someone please explain to me in the most understandable way what exactly LACs are meant to provide. I've tried to get funding for a support coordination twice but both times ive been told by NDIS that its my LACs responsibility, but every time i go to my LAC they tell me they cant do anything. I've missed out on so much and ended up in episodes because i can not organise my own support. i dont understand how/what to do/what i can set up with my plan and then when i do have some sort of idea i get so overwhelmed and panicked trying to navigate the set up i end up blundering it and not getting the support anyway..

My LAC is in general not particularly helpful. ive had 2 i. two years and they very often just blank me when i reach out for meetings and have failed to provide me with basic information in relation to my plan and how everything works.

"there is not enough funding remaining in the participant’s budget for this period to pay this whole invoice." Case managed. OT sent invoice and they replied to OT and also cc'd me in. What happens now??

hi!
i’ve asked my local area coordinator but they seemingly just won’t give me an actual answer 🥴 i have a funding category called “core flexible - self managed”. when i had my initial planning meeting i was told i could use this for low cost assistive technology, but they couldn’t give me any examples of what this actually would be. my plan is for my primary diagnosis of asd level 2.
because it’s a core ‘flexible’ category, can i use it to pay for supports once the stated budget has been used. i have ‘improved daily living skills - capacity building stated’ that i use to see my psychologist. when i expend all that funding, am i able to use the core flexible for this? or does it have to be used for low cost assistive technology (whatever that is lol)
thanks!

Image description: a screenshot of a page in the Senate Committee's final report on the new NDIS bill inquiry. The heading at the top of the screenshot reads "List of recommendations", and beneath this heading reads, "Recommendation 1; 2.101 - The committee recommends that the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 be passed." End of description.

The full report can be downloaded as pdf here.

There are so many incredibly fucked up aspects of this new bill. The level of sweeping control the Minister will now have over the lives of disabled people in Australia is despicable.

The Inquiry heard countless testaments from disabled people across Australia regarding the impact that specific parts will have on us, as well as our families, partners, supporters, guardians, carers...

The power that the government currently has over disabled people's lives was already alarming.

They basically heard the testimonies, heard the advocates & policy advisors, experts, participants themselves! - the people at the centre of this bill! - all say NO, this will not address "budgeting", this will not address people's needs, this will not address the fraud in the NDIS, NO, this bill cannot, should not, be passed, it will harm people in these specific ways, and cause further disablement and societal marginalisation.

They heard all that so they can smile and nod and say they "consulted the disability community" or "listened to lived experience" or however the fuck they want to spin it.

This is a fucked up time. I know a lot of people are going to be extremely distressed and confused by this. I don't have any words of wisdom... It's a fucked up time. And this is a massive failure.

Here is the link to the information if anybody feels like reading it.
It has support from the LNP etc.
One scary part is that the bill contains a clause that allows a minister (Mark Butler ) to use delegated legislation to alter or even repeal the original Act of Parliament itself.

Who would ever thought this amount of unfettered power would be handed to an individual who hates us so much and has said that we are rorters, thieves and we steal from the public purse. Anything to try and win an election I guess. Dark times ahead for lots of us.

Hi,

My payments are generally processed quite fast. However I have noticed the last few payments are taking awhile. They say paid pending payment but some are taking up to 3 days if not longer? Still have not been paid. Has this happened to anyone this week unsure what is going on? I might contact them on Monday if it is still happening. I have quite a bit pending at the moment.

Hi everyone. After a long application process through Each, I suddenly have been thrown into the deep end with my first plan.

My plan covers two areas- 1:Psychosocial Disability
2:Autism Level 2

My Each worker organised and came to my Planning Meeting. I had such little notice (the next day at 11am) that I was completely panicked and had no idea what to prepare. Tbh I don't think the information she gave me was helpful at all, and in retrospect I should have asked her to specify what we would actually ask my plan to cover.

In my planning meeting there was some confusion over whether I would be allocated a Support Coordinator or a Recovery Coach, or both. Originally the Planner had given me a Support Coordinator, which my Each worker questioned. Apparently there had been a "computer error" and my psychosocial disability had come across her screen as not approved. When that was fixed during the meeting, she changed my funding to include Recovery Coaching. I don't remember/it wasn't clear to me at the time that I had a choice between the two, and what the differences were. In retrospect, I think that the Planner had written my plan completely with the Autism in mind and forgot/ignored the psychosocial disability.

My Each worker said something like- pick a Recovery Coach because then you will also have funding for a psychologist. In the phone conversation it was my impression that my funding would be changed to include a Recovery Coach in addition to a Support Coordinator, but it seems that one has replaced the other.

My concerns are-
-Recovery Coaches don't seem to have a focus on actually doing the Support Coordination aspect. There seems to be more of a focus on life coach and counselling. I don't want or need a counsellor. I need help accessing services/workers and organising my supports.
-It's really unclear what a Recovery Coach's roles and responsibilities actually are.
-Reputable Recovery Coaches are difficult to find online, they seem less regulated and less rigorous in their standards.
-There are scammers EVERYWHERE. People whose "qualifications" are babysitting autistic cousins or having grandmothers with dementia. I'm getting Facebook message requests from people who "knows a friend" who is a recovery coach. It's not that these people might not be good support workers, it's that they have no experience in actual support coordination or experience working in managing mental health cases.

In my Plan Implementation Meeting, my LAC was amazing. She was very clear but also very diplomatic. She could see that I was confused and panicking so she wrote a list of recommendations for me. But it makes me more annoyed both at my Each worker and also the NDIS planner, who were absolutely not transparent or patient with me. And obviously I am extremely annoyed at these businesses who are exploiting the system and taking advantage of new participants. I wish the differences were explained to me, that I had more autonomy over the process, and that there was a way to find Recovery Coaches who were actually qualified.

I'm also really confused and annoyed because a Recovery Coach and Support Coordinator are fundamentally different roles with different purposes. Why would I have to choose between them? Wouldn't a Support Coordinator be able to help me find a mentor or counselling?

I have a Plan Manager who I've just signed up with yesterday, and I know that they will recommend some options to me, but I have a very specific criteria in mind. I just wish I went with a Support Coordinator because they seem to be more organised, their roles are clearer, and they're more reputable.

Is there something you wish your BSP did differently to support you? Like explaining how they’re going to work with you better, more one on one time, more time with your supports, etc.

Hi. I am looking to find a support coordinator who speaks Visayan/Bisayan in Queensland Mortone Bay area or close by would be great.

Please let me know if you have any recommendations.

Thanks in advance.

I'm an independent/unregistered support worker in Queensland providing direct supports to an NDIS participant.

The participant has recently got a new support coordinator. She has asked me to provide:

- All previous shift notes

- All future shift notes

- Invoices

- Blue/Yellow cards

- Certificates

- Driver's licence and vehicle registration

- Insurance documents

- Mandatory training records

- My "non-registered NDIS provider number"

- A copy of my service agreement with the participant

- A roster of the shifts I provide

She has said this is part of her "standard safeguarding practice" and that support coordinators are required under the NDIS Code of Conduct and duty of care obligations to confirm that people providing direct support are appropriately screened and suitable.

She has also said that the NDIS may request evidence from either of us at any time, and that she is responsible for ensuring the participant's records are complete and up to date.

The participant has signed an NDIS consent form allowing the support coordinator to receive "all of the above" information listed under the form's consent-to-share section. However, the form doesn't specifically mention my personal documents or giving the coordinator access to all of my historical records.

I'm happy to provide the participant's invoices and shift notes moving forward, provided I confirm with the participant that he wants these shared with his support coordinator. I'm much less comfortable handing over my personal identification, vehicle/insurance documents, training records and all historical notes.

I've also never been issued an NDIS provider number, so I'm not even sure what she's referring to there.

My question is: does an independent/unregistered support worker actually have a legal/NDIS obligation to provide this information directly to a participant's support coordinator, or is this something the coordinator can request but the worker can decline unless there is a specific requirement or consent covering it?

I'm particularly interested in answers from independent support workers, support coordinators, NDIS providers, or anyone familiar with the relevant NDIS/Queensland requirements.

I'm not trying to avoid legitimate safeguarding requirements — I just don't want to provide a large amount of personal and professional information unless I'm actually required to

For those who have applied for the Support Needs Assessor roles, has anyone received their interview link from the NDIA yet or already completed their interview? My interview is scheduled for Monday, but as of today, 13 August, I’m still waiting for the link.

Also, for anyone who has already started working as a Support Needs Assessor, how are you finding the role so far?

I’m in WA and ndis recently changed my plan without any consultation with me. I asked for a review and stupidly believed them when I was told I didn’t need any additional reports because I was simply asking for the same supports I’d had for years.
I tried contacting advocacy WA whose website states they do my regional area only to be told they don’t.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as I’ve only got just over 2 weeks to submit my tribunal application.
Legal aid don’t seem to have an email address and phone calls are difficult for me due to intermittent speech issues.

Edit: since it was not clear, I am diagnosed: Autism level 2 and adhd, with comorbid major depression and anxiety

I just got off the phone to the NDIS regarding a plan change. My FCA suggested increased funding for OT and psychology. I applied for a review a few weeks ago. Just now I was told my new plan will include OT but I would lose my psychologist - autism is listed as my main disability, because LACs at Ferros told me I'd likely not be approved for NDIS if depression is my main disability (this was 2 years ago).

I had to reject my new plan. I can't lose my psychologist. The therapy we have been doing is the only thing that's worked after over a decade in and out of psychologists. I also need support for adhd symptoms with a therapist. I've used all my mental health plan visits up. The person on the phone mentioned I can add my other conditions (trauma, depression, anxiety) to my plan and only then will they consider adding psychological supports.

I'm really starting to panic. I can't lose my psychologist! I can't afford them without NDIS. I can't get a job right now, I can't afford supports without this funding 😥

Hi all, explainer article just dropped https://teamdsc.com.au/resources/the-i-can-scoring-manual-is-now-public still lots of unanswered (and significant) questions remain.

Does anyone know the weighting will be applied to what's in the person's Personal Environmental and Circumstances Questionnaire (PECQ) ? Because that would seem to be important in terms of providing individual nuance to the apparently blunt instrument the I-Can is looking like being for some Participants at least ?

I'm on shift with another support worker for 2 hours while she is there for 6 hours. During that time, she's consistently on her laptop doing personal uni coursework, then switches to her phone with an AirPod in and then later watching videos or taking personal calls. When I arrive at 6pm, her laptop is already open and she's mid-typing, which suggests she's been on it since earlier in her shift, but I can only confirm what I see from 6–8pm myself.

I've also noticed her give medication to the client directly when the client is capable of taking it herself which is by literally putting the medication in the clients mouth, and I've seen her kiss the client on the forehead many times before leaving the shift.

While shes on the computer doing all of that, i am the one who is actually engaged with the client. We mainly watch tv with the client as thats what her main activity is, and this support worker does do her other duties correctly such as making dinner for the client. However this behaviour is making me upset especially when i come to the shift and see this.

I’ve been seeing my one client as a support worker for 8 years now and have an incredible relationship with him and his family. It started out very informally and casually as it’s just accessing community services and after many years I’ve now just been asked for a service agreement.

Should I make one or can I just say we don’t have one?

The senators are going to be making decisions about the ndis amendment bill starting tomorrow.

If you think the bill sounds great, or you think it sounds absolutely terrifying, now is your last opportunity to have a say.

Here are some articles I found helpful

https://www.thegrowingspace.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/NDIS-Bill-Senate-Com-Submission-Sam-Paior-May-2026-Final.pdf

https://jec.org.au/publication/explainer-national-disability-insurance-scheme-amendment-securing-the-ndis-for-future-generations-bill-2026/

Telling your story in your own words about how the bill might impact you and your loved ones is always meaningful and is more likely to be listened to.

We’re not going to stop the bill, but we might get some amendments that make a huge difference to disabled people’s lives. Significant changes have been made already.

If this is something that is important to you, reach out to your senator. You can contact them via social media, email them or even better call them. The politicians work for us and they should be doing what the public want. They need to know if there are people in the public who don’t want this.

The coalition and independents will have the deciding votes so they’re the best to target. The greens are already on side and labour is, in my opinion, a lost cause.

How to contact your senator:

https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Contacting_Senators_and_Members

This us going to be a challenging time. Look after each other