We don’t fund supports that are more appropriately provided by another service or organisation.
For instance, many local clubs and community organisations provide social and recreation activities you can join in with. If one of these services provides the type of help you need, you might not need funded support.
Your My NDIS contact or support coordinator can help you connect to other organisations in the community. They can help you find information on what’s available or help you to develop the skills and confidence to connect with those services.
Example - live music
Jo loves heavy metal and wants to go see some live music, but needs some support to do this. Jo’s local area coordinator suggests a community group that connects people with a disability to volunteers so that they can go and see bands together. Jo is connected with a volunteer who also loves heavy metal. The volunteer is the same age and lives close by. Now Jo and the volunteer are catching up every fortnight to see a band and they both enjoy the live gigs. Jo and the volunteer continue to learn just how Jo wants to be supported and they are planning some other activities together.
Community organisations, shops and sporting clubs also must take positive steps to remove barriers you may face because of your disability. This is to ensure you receive the same services as everyone else. We call this a ‘reasonable adjustment’.
Reasonable adjustments could be things like:
- physical access such as ramps and wide doorways
- giving you the same opportunity to participate. For example, making changes to standard golfing competition rules to allow you to use a motorised buggy
- adapting to suit your communication needs, like using a flash instead of a noise to signal the start of a game or race.
Example - robotics group
Adeem is a teenager who uses a wheelchair and loves robotics. Adeem is very keen to meet others who have the same interests. Adeem and his mum learn from their local area coordinator about a robotics group running at the local library every Tuesday after school. Adeem, his mum and local area coordinator talk about whether Adeem will need any extra supports to attend the group.
The library already has a ramp and accessible space. This is part of their reasonable adjustment to make sure all community members can access the library. Adeem will need extra support to get in and out of his wheelchair to test the robots on the floor. Adeem doesn’t want his mum to stay with him during the robotics group. As a teenager, building independence can be very important. We could fund a support worker to help Adeem get up and down as needed during the robotics group.
The Australian Human Rights Commission has more information on reasonable adjustment. You can also ask your My NDIS contact, planner or Support Coordinator.