NDIS resources
ACCC website resources and videos for consumers
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has developed some resources for people with disability and their families to help them protect their rights as consumers when purchasing disability services. There are fact sheets, videos and information in Easy English.
Advocacy for Inclusion
Advocacy for Inclusion have created a thorough, 67-page NDIS Troubleshooting Kit. It can be used together with their Self-Advocacy Kit, also available from the resources page on their website.
Association for Children With a Disability (ACD)
Association for Children With a Disability (ACD) have an NDIS planning workbook for families, as well as a standalone website – ndis4kids.org.au.
Carers Australia
Carers Australia has developed lots of information and resources to help families and carers find their way through the NDIS. There are videos, fact sheets and information booklets. There is also information about their peer project.
Council for Intellectual Disability (CID)
The new CID website has a great new NDIS section. It has Easy English resources, articles and stories, and campaigns.
Disability Advocacy NSW
Disability Advocacy NSW have created two 19-page PDF booklets for people who need help understanding what they can do when things haven’t gone right with the NDIS: NDIS Help – I Can’t Get Access to the NDIS. What Can I Do?, and NDIS Help – I don’t think I’m getting enough support. What can I do?.
Disability Loop
Disability Loop is a website dedicated to all things NDIS. The website focuses on explaining everything about the NDIS in clear and simple language, and brings resources from all around the internet to the one spot. Disability Loop is run by the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations.
Finding Your Way
Finding Your Way is a website with all of the info you need to help you plan and get you through all sorts of systems and life stages. There is plenty of information about the NDIS sprinkled throughout, or you can use the search function to find it all in one place. It is beautifully designed and delightful to use – and even allows you to switch back and forth between an Easy Read view, and/or turn a voiceover on or off easily from any page. It is a work in progress so not all of the content is up yet, but they are adding to it all the time. Finding Your Way is the result of collaborations and support from lots of organisations, primarily Association for Children with a Disability Tasmania and Speak Out Tasmania.
The Growing Space
The Growing Space is a small organisation in South Australia helping people find their way through the NDIS. They have developed a huge NDIS resource library. Some articles are free to access and others require a membership.
IDEAS
IDEAS is a NSW-based independent disability information organisation. They provide free, accurate and independent information through their 8am-8pm 1800 029 904 telephone line and online search directory regarding any issue, including NDIS, for people with disability, their families and carers. IDEAS have a range of resources about the NDIS and have an NDIS specific search button.
Mental Health Australia and Carers Australia
Mental Health Australia and Carers Australia have developed a pair of resources for carers of people with mental illness: a Guide for Mental Health Carers on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), and a Mental Health Carer Checklist to prepare for NDIS assessment and planning meetings.
Muscular Dystrophy NSW – My NDIS Toolkit
Muscular Dystrophy NSW have developed a comprehensive NDIS Toolkit to help people with neuromuscular conditions prepare for their NDIS planning meetings and reviews. They also have a series of factsheets on different neuromuscular conditions and the types of supports people might need for people to use and give to their LAC or planner and service providers.
My Choice Matters
My Choice Matters is a website for all people with disability and their families, but in particular has a lot of information and resources which people with an intellectual disability might find helpful. It has been developed to help people learn more about the NDIS and how get more choice, voice and control over their lives.
PHN – NDIS Support Calculator
NDIS Support Calculator is a user-friendly online tool to help you work out how much NDIS supports will cost over 12 months. You calculate by choosing a support category, then line item, then hours per week. It calculates a total and can make a PDF to print or save. The pricing is based on the 2018/2019 VIC/NSW/QLD/TAS Price Guide for NDIS service providers, so keep in mind that the results will be a bit different for people from other areas.
Peer Connect
Peer Connect is a website for people with disability and their families to learn more about or get involved with peer support. There is also useful information about the NDIS.
Queenslanders with Disability Network (QDN)
QDN’s Getting on the NDIS Grid project is finding people who may not have ever received disability supports before, who may not know they could be eligible for support from the NDIS. They’ve developed a workbook, boardgame and video.
QDN have also created a 60-page booklet for your GP to help them help you with your NDIS paperwork.
Reimagine
Reimagine today is a website for people with psychosocial disability and their families to help them find their way through the NDIS. It includes a pre-planning booklet. It was co-designed with people with psychosocial disability and their support networks.
Resources for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people
If you have a disability and you are from an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background, the NSW government provides these fact sheets that might be helpful.
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)
The RACGP’s Guide for GPs to support their patients accessing the NDIS is a PDF published in 2019. It is designed to help GPs support their patients with disability apply for access to the NDIS.
The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP)
The RACP’s NDIS Guides for Physicians and Paediatricians is available online or as a PDF, and is designed to help RACP members support their patients with disability through their NDIS journeys.
Summer Foundation
Dr George Taleporos from the Summer Foundation hosts a regular podcast called Reasonable and Necessary, on all things NDIS. The Summer Foundation have also created a series of NDIS guides and tools related to NDIS Specialist Disability Accommodation (housing) – like infographics, NDIS sample plans, housing plan tools, and more – as well as a section on general NDIS resources.
VALID
VALID advocates have created the booklet 10 steps to excellent NDIS therapy reports: VALID’s guide to NDIS therapist reports for allied health professionals to help allied health professionals write reports for NDIS participants. They have also written some helpful articles, like What to expect from your Support Coordinator, NDIS and Making Decisions, and What you need to know about the NDIS Code of Conduct.
Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council (VMIAC)
VMIAC have six short animated videos on the NDIS designed to help people with mental illness and psychosocial disability.
Women with Disabilities Victoria
Women with Disabilities Victoria have two short videos You Can Ask That in which two women talk about their experience with the NDIS and how to get the most out of it.
Youth Disability Advocacy Service (YDAS)
YDAS have a few short videos in which young people talk about their experience of the NDIS, as well as a great infographic on how to join the NDIS, helpful hints for your planning meeting, and four fact sheets to help you make sense of the different options you have for managing your NDIS plan.
NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission is a new system being rolled out across Australia starting in NSW and SA in July 2018. It is designed to make sure NDIS Participants are safe, and providers follow rules for delivering good quality services. The Commission’s website has a series of resources including fact sheets in Easy English and languages other than English. It also has links to policies, legislation, information sessions, and draft documents for consultation.
NDIS website
The NDIS website has lots of information on it – but it can be a bit hard to find what you need. So we have listed some ones we have found helpful here.
NDIS website: Auslan videos
The NDIS has a number of Auslan videos explaining important NDIS information and key concepts.
NDIS website: NDIS participant booklets
In 2018 the NDIS created 3 new booklets for participants, covering pre-planning, planning, and using your plan. Each has three versions – a PDF, Word document, or Easy English PDF.
- Booklet 1 – Understanding the NDIS
- Learning about the NDIS
- Deciding whether to apply for the NDIS
- Accessing the NDIS
- Booklet 2 – Planning
- Understanding your current supports
- Creating an NDIS plan to achieve your goals
- Receiving an approved NDIS plan
- Booklet 3 – Using your NDIS Plan
- Understanding what’s in your plan
- Learning how to use your plan
- Choosing and managing supports and services
- Reviewing your plan and progress
NDIS website: Easy English resources
The NDIS has developed quite a lot of information in Easy English. The previous link has all the resources in the one spot. You can often also find information in Easy English on subject pages on the NDIS website – but it can be a bit hit and miss.
NDIS website: How to use the Myplace portal
The Myplace portal is the secure website for NDIS participants to view their plan and manage their supports. The NDIS have developed a guide to help people use the portal.
NDIS website: NDIS Glossary
The NDIA have an NDIS glossary (which is a word list with descriptions) on their website, to help you understand what all the different terms mean. They also have an Easy English version, and an Auslan video on ‘key concepts’.
NDIS website: NDIS Q&A
In the past the NDIA used to answer questions sent to them during the week. They would post the answers each Friday in the news section on the NDIS website. You can still find the old answers here – and there is still some very useful information in there. But just keep in mind with the speed at which things change in NDIS-land it might be worth double checking the answer is still current before you act on anything. We wish very much the NDIA would bring this feature back – it was a great way to get information out that was helpful to lots of people.
NDIS website: Material in other languages
The NDIS has translated important information about the NDIS into a number of languages. Including Arabic, Auslan, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Filipino (Tagalog), French, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Macedonian, Samoan, and Vietnamese.
NDIS website: Translator and interpreter services
People from culturally or linguistically diverse backgrounds may need help from a translator or an interpreter to find their way through the NDIS.
