NDIS glossary
Plain-English definitions of NDIS terms used by providers, participants, the NDIA and the NDIS Commission. Search by term or acronym, or browse A to Z.
N
- NDIA
- The National Disability Insurance Agency, the Australian Government agency that runs the NDIS, approves participant plans and pays claims from providers.
- Also called: National Disability Insurance Agency
- NDIS Commission
- The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. It regulates NDIS providers and workers, handles complaints and reportable incidents, and manages provider registration.
- Also called: NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, NDIS Commission
- NDIS plan
- The document that sets out a participant's goals, supports and funding for a set period. The NDIA approves each plan.
- Also called: plan, participant plan
- NDIS Worker Screening Check
- The check that workers in NDIS-funded roles must pass before they start. State and territory screening units run it.
- Also called: worker screening, NDIS worker screening
P
- Plan manager
- A registered provider that manages a participant's NDIS funds. It pays providers and issues invoices for plan-managed supports.
- Also called: plan-managed provider, plan management
- Price limit
- The most a provider can charge for an NDIS support item, set by the NDIA. Remote and very remote areas have higher limits.
- Also called: price limits
- Progress note
- A record of the support delivered on a shift, how the participant responded and anything the next worker needs to know.
- Also called: progress notes, shift note
R
- Reasonable and necessary supports
- The NDIS test a support must pass to be funded. It must relate to the participant's disability, be reasonable and necessary, represent value for money, and be the right support from the right provider.
- Also called: reasonable and necessary
- Restrictive practice
- Any action that restricts a participant's rights or freedom of movement, such as restraint or seclusion. Restrictive practices are regulated by the NDIS Commission and must be authorised.
- Also called: restrictive practices
S
- Self-managed
- A participant who receives their NDIS funds directly, pays providers themselves and keeps the records of how the funds are spent.
- Also called: self-management
- Service agreement
- A written agreement between a provider and a participant that sets out the supports, prices and terms of the service.
- Also called: service agreement
- Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA)
- Specialist housing designed for participants with very high support needs or extreme functional impairment. It is funded through the plan's capital supports.
- Also called: Specialist Disability Accommodation
- Support budget
- The funding in a participant's plan for each budget category: Core supports, Capacity building, and Capital supports.
- Also called: funding budget, plan budget
- Support coordinator
- A person who helps a participant understand their plan, find providers and arrange the supports in their plan.
- Also called: support coordination
- Support item
- A specific support in the NDIS Support Catalogue, identified by a support item number and paid at a price set by the NDIA, up to its price limit.
- Also called: support item number
- Supported Independent Living
- NDIS funding for help with daily tasks in a person's home, often a shared house, so they can live as independently as possible. It pays for support staff, not for rent or the house itself.
- Also called: SIL
Acronyms
Short forms you'll see in NDIS documents, and the glossary term that explains each one.
| Acronym | Stands for or means |
|---|---|
| NDIA | National Disability Insurance Agency (see NDIA) |
| SDA | Specialist Disability Accommodation |
| SIL | Supported Independent Living |