We need to decide that getting early intervention supports means you’ll likely need fewer disability supports in the future.
We need to know that early intervention supports will help you with at least one of the following:
- addressing the impact of your impairment on your ability to move around, communicate, socialise, learn, look after yourself and organise your life.
- preventing your functional capacity from getting worse.
- improving your functional capacity.
- supporting your informal supports, which includes building their skills to help you.
To help us decide if the early intervention will help you in these ways, we look at:
- how your impairment might change over time
- how long you’ve had your impairment
- if there’s been a significant change to your impairment
- if your needs are likely to change soon, such as if you’re finishing school.
Is your early intervention most appropriately funded by the NDIS?
The support you need must be most appropriately funded or provided by us.
You won’t be eligible if we decide the support you need is more appropriately funded or provided:
- by other general systems of service delivery or support services, such as a workers compensation scheme.
- under a universal service obligation that other government services must provide to all Australians, such as schools and public hospitals.
- as a reasonable adjustment under discrimination law, such as making places or venues accessible for you.
For example, you usually won’t be eligible if you only need the following supports. These are more appropriately provided by other government and community services:
- medical services, and treatments for health conditions, including ongoing or chronic health conditions.
- clinical early intervention mental health supports, such as services to help children, teenagers and young people grow and develop.
- clinical acute and crisis mental health supports – such as care in a hospital or similar setting.
- inclusion supports to help young children join early childhood learning and care settings.
- Disability Employment Services , and reasonable adjustments in the workplace to make your job suit your needs.
For more information on when early intervention supports are most appropriately funded by us or by other services, check out:
- Our mainstream and community supports guideline
- Schedule 1 of the NDIS (Supports for Participants) Rules
- Applied Principles and Tables of Support .
What about people aged between 0 and 25 with a hearing impairment?
If you’re aged between 0 and 25 with a hearing impairment, you may meet the early intervention requirements. We’ll decide you meet the early intervention requirements if you give us evidence of all of the following:
- You’re aged between 0 and 25.
- You have auditory neuropathy or hearing loss of at least 25 decibels in either ear at 2 or more adjacent frequencies – see below.
We need evidence of your auditory neuropathy or hearing loss from a specialist audiological assessment. The assessment might include electrophysiological testing when required. The evidence must show your hearing loss is likely to be permanent.
If you’re aged 26 or older with hearing loss, we’ll check if you’re eligible in the same way we consider all other impairments. You may be eligible under the disability requirements.