What does NDIS fund?

NDIS supports lists now available

From 3 October, participants will only be able to use their NDIS funds for items listed as approved supports. There is also a list of things NDIS funding cannot be used for. In some circumstances participants may be able to request a substitution from the replacement support list.

You can view these lists below:

Supports that are NDIS supports
Supports that are not NDIS supports
Replacement supports list

Easy read versions of the NDIS supports lists

Accessible versions of the NDIS supports lists will be made available shortly.

For more information please refer to our Changes to NDIS legislation page.

What does the NDIS fund?

We would typically fund a requested support if it meets ALL of the following criteria:

it is for your impairments that meet the disability or early intervention requirements, or both
it will help with your individual goals and aspirations
it will help your social and/or economic participation
it is value for money, which means that:
- the cost of the support is similar to or cheaper than alternative options that can provide you with the same outcome (NDIS Supports for Participants Rule 3.1(a)); and/or
- purchasing the support is likely to reduce the costs of funding for other supports in the long term (NDIS Supports for Participants Rule 3.1(c)).
it is effective and beneficial for you
it helps to maintain your informal supports
it is an NDIS support.

For more information, go to section 'Does the support meet the reasonable and necessary criteria?' in Our Guideline – Reasonable and necessary supports.

What is an NDIS support?

We fund NDIS supports that relate to your disability. NDIS supports are the services, items, and equipment that can be funded by the NDIS.

To find out what is an NDIS support, download a copy:

What is not an NDIS support?

Under the law for the NDIS, there are things we can’t fund or provide. We can’t fund services, items and equipment that are not NDIS supports. You also can’t spend your funding on things that aren’t NDIS supports.

But in some specific circumstances, we can fund supports that aren’t NDIS supports. We call these replacement supports.

To find out what is not an NDIS support, download a copy:

What is a replacement support?

In some specific circumstances, we can fund supports that are not NDIS supports. We call these replacement supports. When we say replacement support, we mean the service, item or equipment you would like to use instead of the NDIS support or supports in your plan. Only some supports can be replaced and only if we agree in writing can you can buy this support. A replacement support isn’t an extra support. It replaces an existing NDIS support or supports in your plan.

To find out what can be considered as a replacement support, download a copy of one of the following:

For more information about replacement supports including how to apply for them, download:

Easy Read versions of the factsheets will be available shortly.

To apply for a replacement support, download:

Application for replacement support form (DOCX 639KB).