This information sheet is aimed to provide a brief overview of the NDIS, specifically relating to the support and availability of the scheme in Western Australia.
The NDIS is a new approach to support people with disabilities, their families and carers. It is a lifelong approach to disability that has been developed around two core principles:
- Giving people with disability better choice and control over their funding and support(s); and
- Helping them reach their goals through reasonable and necessary supports.
“Reasonable and Necessary Support”
The NDIS funds a range of supports and services which may include education, employment, social participation,
independence, living arrangements and health and wellbeing.
In order to be considered reasonable and necessary, a support or service:
- Must be related to a participant’s disability;
- Must not include day-to-day living costs not related to your disability support needs, such as groceries;
- Should represent value for money;
- Must be likely to be effective and work for the participant; and
- Should take into account support given to you by other government services, your family, carers, networks and the community.
Is NDIS available in Western Australia?
The NDIS has been available to Western Australian since 1 May 2019. The National Disability Insurance Agency (“NDIA”) is working with the following Partners in the Community to deliver the services:
- Mission Australia ((Local Area Coordination (“LAC”));
- APM (LAC); and
- Wanslea Family Services (Early Childhood Education Intervention (“ECEI”)).
What is a Local Area Coordinator?
Local Area Coordinators play a central role helping people with disability between the ages of 7 and 65 years live valued, quality and contributing lives by building relationships and connections within the community and practical means for making this happen.
Local Area Coordinators have three key roles. They will:
- Link people to the NDIS;
- Link people with disability, their families and carers to information and support in the community; and
- Work with their local community to make sure it is more welcoming and inclusive for people with disability.
What is the Early Childhood Education Intervention?
You must maintain appropriate records while running an account-based pension, including records of:
- The value of the pension at commencement;
- The taxable and tax-free components of the pension at commencement;
- The earnings from assets set aside to support the pension; and
- The pension payments made.
What is the Early Childhood Education Intervention?
The ECEI approach is focused on children with developmental delay aged 0 to 6 years, their families and carers in a family centred manner. ECEI focuses on the individual needs of each child and working with families to link them with mainstream supports.
The ECEI approach is designed to:
- Assist children with developmental delay or disability, their families and carers to build and pursue their goals for Life, exercise choice and control and engage with the Scheme; and
- Ensure that children with developmental delay or disability can be supported in their local communities and mainstream services enabling greater awareness and social inclusion for children with a developmental delay or disability.
ECEI is designed to support children in a range of mainstream settings, such as preschools, play groups and other early childhood settings, enabling increased opportunities to learn and develop positive social relationships.
