Government and NDIA support

There have been some recent updates for NDIS participants during COVID-19.

For NDIS participants, the Government has announced: 

• NDIS plan reviews can now be extended by up to 24 months to make sure people continue to receive support through this time. 
• Plans will be automatically extended by 365 days on the day a plan is due to expire (previously 28 days). 
• Face-to-face planning has been moved to telephone meetings where possible. 
• Help will be provided to NDIS participants and their families to find providers, so they can continue receiving essential supports.
• Flexibility for support workers to do some different tasks, like visiting the pharmacy to purchase supplies, or doing a person’s grocery shopping for them.
• Flexibility so that people can receive some supports remotely if they cannot be delivered face-to-face.
• The NDIA will proactively reach out to high-risk participants, and share important data with states and territories to make sure essential supports continue.
• Three new support coordination items under Core Supports (Assistance with Daily Life) have also been introduced. These new line items allow participants to use their funds more flexibly (to access from either their Core or Capacity Building budgets). 

For more details and answers to a range of questions about NDIS funding and supports for participants, we encourage you to visit the NDIA’s special coronavirus webpage.