The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) provides funding to people with a permanent and significant disability to access the supports and services they need.
Am I eligible for the NDIS?
- Are you aged between 7 and 65?
- If not, you may be able to access other supports. Find out about NDIS and Aged Care
- Do you live in Australia and have Australian residency?
- Do you usually need support from another person?
- Do you use special equipment?
Visit the eligibility checklist on the NDIS website.
About 5% of people eligible for the NDIS have a primary disability of hearing impairment: this includes people whose first language is Auslan.
A report released by the NDIS (download it here) provides insights into the experiences of NDIS participants with hearing impairment, visual impairment or other sensory/speech impairment.
Some key findings:
- At 31 March 2021, there were 450,000 active NDIS participants with an approved plan. Of these 33,500 had a primary sensory disability:
- 21,700 (4.8%) had a primary disability of hearing impairment
- 8,897 (2.0%) had a primary disability of visual impairment
- 2,903 (0.6%) had a primary disability of other sensory/speech impairment.
- A higher proportion of people who apply to the NDIS with hearing impairment or visual impairment meet the access criteria compared to individuals with other disabilities. The opposite is true for people with other sensory/speech impairment, with a significantly lower amount of these people meeting the NDIS access criteria.