How do we decide if supports while studying meet the NDIS funding criteria?

All NDIS supports we fund must meet the NDIS funding criteria.

This includes that it’s an NDIS support for you.

Ask yourself the questions below.

They can help you think about whether we can consider funding NDIS supports while you’re studying.

Is the support while studying an NDIS support for you?

A support while studying will be an NDIS support for you if either:

• the NDIS laws say that the support is an NDIS support for everyone
• the NDIS laws say that the support is only for a specific group of people and you’re part of that group. 

NDIS supports are the services, items and equipment that can be funded under the NDIS.

Your school or tertiary education provider is responsible for providing you with a safe place to study.

They should make changes to remove any barriers that stop you from taking part in education on the same basis as someone without a disability.

We can’t fund supports that are better funded or provided through another program or service, like schools and universities. We call these ‘mainstream supports’ because they’re provided by mainstream services.

Mainstream supports are available to other Australians and are not just for people with a disability. 

We can help you work out where to get the help you need. Talk to your my NDIS contact, support coordinator or recovery coach.

Is the support while studying related to your disability support needs?

We’ll only fund the extra support you need because of your disability.

This means there must be a direct link between your disability support needs and the NDIS supports we fund.

These are not the responsibility of your school or tertiary education provider to provide.

For example, we might fund things like personal care while you’re at university. We don’t fund supports while studying that aren’t related to your disability support needs. 

Is the support an effective and beneficial NDIS support for you?

We need to check the NDIS supports we fund while you study will be effective and beneficial for you.

We also look at how effective the supports have been for other people with similar circumstances as you. 

We’ll talk with you to understand how the NDIS supports we fund could help you to study.

We know building your study skills can take time.

We think about what NDIS supports will help you build your skills over time and what NDIS funding can help with this.

If the NDIS supports you need for study are to help you get a job, we need to make sure they:

• are provided by a qualified training provider
• are likely to help you get the job you want
• improve your chances of successfully finishing the course
• will lead to a reasonable chance you’ll be able to get paid work once you finish the course.

Does the support help you pursue your goals?

We need to check if NDIS supports while you study will help you pursue your goals.

For us to fund supports while you study, you need to set a study goal in your plan. For example, you might have a goal to complete a qualification at TAFE or obtain a university degree.

Is the support legal and safe to use?

The NDIS supports we fund must be legal and safe for you and other people.

 We won’t fund anything that puts you or others at risk.

Is the support value for money?

Your NDIS support while you study must be value for money compared to other supports.

It’s important to consider:

• if there are supports that might achieve the same outcome that cost less 
• if your NDIS supports while studying will help you in the long term 
• if your NDIS supports while studying could help you become more independent or reduce your support needs in future. 

Do we expect friends, family or the community to provide this support?

We think about whether we’d usually expect family, friends or others in the community to provide the kind of supports you need. 

This includes thinking about the different supports that are usually provided by family and friends at different ages.

For example, most parents help small children get ready for school in the morning, but this wouldn’t usually be the case for an older child at high school, or an adult at university or TAFE.

We generally expect families to provide their primary or secondary school aged children with help completing homework or getting to and from school.

This is the same for all children, even if they don’t have a disability.

We don’t expect family or friends to provide personal care at school or tertiary education.