At the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), we are genuinely committed to listening and responding to the voices of people with disability.
This is vital to our goal of getting the right outcomes and supporting the welfare of every NDIS participant.
Recently, we've heard feedback and concerns about our process for eligibility reassessments. These assessments help us understand if a participant's support needs have changed and whether they still meet the eligibility criteria for the Scheme.
We've heard from both representatives in the disability sector as well as participants who are undergoing reassessments.
We understand that eligibility reassessments can be stressful and feel overwhelming, our current communications can be confusing and 28 days is not long enough to gather information.
We're responding to these concerns by making some immediate changes to improve this process, and we will keep working in coming months to improve communications and the experience for participants and their families.
From today, participants will now have more time to get information to us. We have extended the timeframe for participants to provide additional information to support eligibility reassessments from 28 to 90 days.
We're also working to provide greater clarity through better communication and resources for participants and families about what is involved during an eligibility reassessment. This work involves listening directly to participants and the disability sector about ways we can improve our communications and ensure people can feel as supported as possible.
Work is already well underway and is expected to be finalised in March 2025.
While eligibility reassessments have always been a part of the NDIS, we know the experience is likely to be a new one for most participants. This means the process can make people feel stressed or unsure.
For some participants, their support needs won't change. For others, they may reduce over time.
No matter a participant's circumstances, we want them to feel supported in every interaction they have with the NDIA. That's why we are committed to always improving the ways we work.
