Don't know WHODAS from a SPOC? You're not the only one. Find out the meaning of common acronyms.
NDIS concepts in Auslan
Many NDIS concepts have not previously been translated in to Auslan so equivalent ways of signing them is required. A diverse linguistic team was formed to create the signs to ensure they are accurate and reflect the diversity of language in Auslan across Australia. These signs were created for the purpose of translating existing information in to Auslan, but they have been provided to help all Auslan speakers understand and talk about NDIS concepts in the same way.
You can watch the videos on the Information in Auslan page.
A
Access request
A request to become an NDIS participant. A person with disability can request access to the NDIS by submitting an access request.
This might include information and documents about their disability and the impact it has on their life.
Ages and stages questionnaire
A developmental screening tool that pinpoints developmental progress and identifies delays in children who are younger than 5.5 years.
Applicant
A person who has applied to access the NDIS but has not yet received an access decision. Once a person has had their access request approved, they become a participant.
Assistive technology (AT)
Equipment or devices that help people do things they can’t do because of their disability. Someone might use assistive technology to do something more easily or safely.
C
Carer
Someone who provides care, support or assistance to a person with disability and is not a paid support worker.
Check-in
A conversation between a participant and their NDIS planner or partner.
During a check-in, the participant will be asked if their current plan is working for them and if they have the right NDIS supports in place for their needs.
Child representative
Someone with parental responsibility for a child under 18 who can make decisions on their behalf. For some children, this may be an alternative adult who is not their parent.
Choice and control
The right for a participant to make their own decisions about their NDIS supports.
This can involve: choosing the NDIS supports they receive, including how and when they are provided; having a range of providers to work with; and having the option to manage their own plan funding.
Community and mainstream supports/services
Goods, services, supports and assistance available to the general public which are not funded by the NDIS.
Community supports and services include social, study, leisure or sporting activities that are available in the community from local groups, such as men's sheds or playgroups.
Mainstream supports and services are delivered by other government departments like health, mental health, early childhood, education, justice, transport, housing, child protection and family support, employment services and aged care.
Community connections
Information provided by a local area coordinator or early childhood partner to help people who are not NDIS participants make connections to community and mainstream supports and services to meet their needs.
Community connections assist people with:
- finding practical information relevant to their situation
- connecting with community and mainstream services
- connecting with other people like them for peer support
- applying to the NDIS.
For people aged 9 to 64, local area coordinators can provide support to develop community connections plans where appropriate.
Correspondence nominee
Someone who can receive mail or make enquiries on a participant’s behalf. They can be nominated by the participant or the NDIA.
D
Developmental concerns
Delays in a child's development that don't meet the NDIA's criteria for developmental delay.
These delays may impact the everyday activities a child can do when compared with children of the same age.
Developmental delay
Delays in a child’s development that mean they find it much harder to do everyday things that other children their age can do.
This means they need lots of extra help to do things like dressing themselves, talking or walking.
E
Early childhood approach
An approach tailored to the needs of children and their families.
Children younger than 6 with developmental delay or developmental concerns, and children younger than 9 with disability, are supported through this approach.
Early childhood partner(s)
Local organisations funded by the NDIA to deliver the early childhood approach.
They have teams of professionals with experience and clinical expertise in working with young children with developmental delay or disability and their families.
The term 'early childhood partner' may refer to either the partner organisation, or the staff working within the organisation.
Early connections
Services provided by early childhood partners for children younger than 6 with developmental delay, or children younger than 9 with disability, and their families.
Early connections may include a combination of services, such as connecting children and families to community and mainstream supports, practical information relevant to a child’s development, early supports, and assistance to apply to the NDIS.
Early intervention
Providing support to a person, either a child or an adult, as early as possible to reduce the impacts of disability or developmental delay and build skills and independence.
Early supports
A program delivered by early childhood partners to build capacity in families and children younger than 6 with developmental concerns.
It promotes everyday learning through a goal-focused approach, addressing specific concerns about the child’s development.
Early supports plan
A time-limited capacity-building plan for children younger than 6 with developmental concerns.
An early supports plan includes identified goals and priorities for the child, a list of who will provide support, and an outline of the strategies which will be used to support progress towards goals.
This is not a funded NDIS plan.
Eligibility criteria
Criteria that a person must meet to access the NDIS.
They must be under 65 years of age, an Australian citizen or permanent resident, and meet the requirements for disability, early intervention, or both.
F
Funding component amount
Funding for a specific NDIS support, or a group of reasonable and necessary NDIS supports, in a participant's plan.
Funding period
The time that a part of a participants funding becomes available and how long it needs to last. A participant can spend up to the amount of funding that is available in that time.
Funding periods can be for either the total funding amount of a plan or for each funding component amount in a plan.
G
Global developmental delay (GDD)
When a child, up to 5 years of age, has significant delays in meeting milestones in 2 or more areas of development.
For example, gross or fine motor skills, speech and language and social and personal skills.
A child with a diagnosis of global developmental delay may be eligible to become an NDIS participant.
Goals
Things people pursue with help from the NDIS and other supports and services.
Goals might include becoming more independent, getting or keeping a job, learning new skills, enrolling in education, becoming more active in the community, or improving relationships and making friends.
H
Health liaison officer (HLO)
A staff member that provides a link between state and territory hospital staff and the NDIA.
Health liaison officers work to ensure prospective and existing participants, deemed medically fit for discharge from hospital, have the right NDIS supports in place.
They are based throughout Australia.
I
Informal support
The support people receive from the people around them, for example, from family, friends and neighbours. People providing informal support are not paid for the care they provide.
Internal review of decision
A review conducted by the NDIA. This may take place if a person doesn’t agree with a decision the NDIA have made.
During the review, the NDIA will determine whether the right decision was made under the law by looking at the facts and circumstances at the time of the review.
J
Justice liaison officer (JLO)
A staff member that provides a link between justice staff and the NDIA.
Justice liaison officers work to ensure prospective and existing participants, who are soon to be released from custody, have the right NDIS supports in place as they transition back to the community.
They are based throughout Australia.
K
Key worker
An early childhood professional who works with families and carers to coordinate services for children and support their learning and development.
L
Lived experience of disability
A person’s own experience of living with disability.
Local area coordination
A program to support people with disability to access a broad range of community and mainstream supports and services.
It is delivered by local area coordinators (LACs) and local area coordination partners.
Anyone with disability can access these supports, regardless of whether they are an NDIS participant or not.
Local area coordination supports people with disability to pursue their goals, build capacity to make their own choices, and access the supports they need to live the life they choose.
Local area coordination partners
Local organisations funded by the NDIA to deliver local area coordination services to people with disability aged between 9 and 64.
Local area coordinators (LAC)
A local area coordination partner staff member delivering local area coordination services.
M
my NDIS app
An accessible mobile application for NDIS participants and representatives. Participants can use the my NDIS app to view and manage their NDIS plan on their mobile phones or tablet.
my NDIS participant portal
An accessible and secure portal for participants and their nominee or child representative to view and manage their NDIS plan and supports.
This portal is for participants with an NDIS plan built using our new computer system.
my NDIS provider portal
An accessible and secure portal for providers to view and manage their participant’s NDIS plan and supports.
This portal is for providers accessing NDIS plans built using our new computer system.
myplace participant portal
A secure website for participants and their nominee or child representative to view and manage their NDIS plan and supports.
This portal is for participants with an NDIS plan built using our old computer system.
myplace provider portal
A secure website for providers to make payment claims for NDIS supports.
Providers can use this portal regardless of whether the participant has an NDIS plan in our new or old computer system.
N
National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA)
The Australian Government organisation administering the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
A national scheme for people with disability, administered by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).
The NDIS provides funding to eligible Australians with disability to purchase NDIS supports related to their disability.
These supports help participants in their everyday life, and to pursue their goals.
NDIS plan
A unique document that details a participant's goals and the supports they will receive from the NDIS.
It also outlines the community and other government supports participants can access to help them pursue their goals.
NDIS planner
An NDIA employee who works with participants to create an NDIS plan. The planner is a delegate of the CEO and can make funding decisions under the NDIS Act.
NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (NDIS Commission)
An independent Commonwealth agency established to improve the quality and safety of NDIS supports and services.
NDIS supports
Supports the NDIS funds that relate to a participant’s disability. NDIS supports are the services, items and equipment that can be funded by the NDIS.
Nominee
A person appointed to act or make decisions on behalf of a participant.
They can be appointed by both participants and courts. Under the NDIS they may be called a child representative, correspondence nominee or plan nominee.
O
Operational Guidelines/Our Guidelines
A collection of documents outlining the NDIA’s operational information based on the NDIS Legislation and Rules.
These guidelines explain what the NDIA needs to consider and how it makes decisions based on legislation.
P
Paediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory Computer Adaptive Test (PEDI-CAT)
A functional capacity assessment for children and youth.
PEDI-CAT can be used alongside other assessments to understand how a child’s developmental delay or disability impacts their ability to participate in daily life activities, compared to other children their age.
Participants
People who apply and meet the eligibility criteria for the NDIS.
Partners
Community-based organisations funded by the NDIA to help deliver the NDIS in some parts of Australia.
This includes early childhood partners and local area coordinators. They are also known as NDIS partners.
Partners help people with disability to connect with services and supports in their local community.
Permanent and significant disability
A disability that is likely to be lifelong and has a substantial impact on a person’s ability to complete everyday activities.
This can include disability that is episodic or fluctuating in nature, such as psychosocial disability.
Person with disability
A person who has long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.
Plan-managed funding
A plan manager pays for NDIS supports from a participants plan, on their behalf. The NDIA provides funding in a participant’s plan to pay for the plan manager.
Plan nominee
A person appointed to assist in the development, preparation or reassessment of a participant's plan. Plan nominees can be appointed by either the participant or the NDIA.
Plan reassessment
The process of developing a new NDIS plan.
This happens when a participant’s plan ends, or they require a significant change to their current one.
This may be due to a change in their situation, or because their support needs have changed.
During a plan reassessment, participants meet with an NDIA planner to discuss how their current plan is working for them, and what changes they may require.
Plan variation
A small change to a participant’s current plan.
This is used to update specific information, such as a participant’s goals, contact details, how their NDIS supports are grouped, funding periods, plan reassessment date, plan management type or to provide crisis or emergency funding.
Price limits
The maximum price that a registered provider can charge a participant for their NDIS supports or services.
The NDIA's price limits and pricing arrangements help participants get reasonable value for money from their plan funds.
Pricing arrangements
The rules around when and how a registered provider can claim for NDIS supports and services from a participant's plan.
They provide information on the current and previous price limits for each NDIS support item and indicate which claim types (travel, non-face-to-face, etc.) apply for each price-limited NDIS support item.
Provider
An individual or organisation that delivers NDIS supports, services or products to participants. Participants can use both NDIS-registered and unregistered providers.
Provider finder
An online tool where individuals can browse a list of NDIS-registered providers in their area.
R
Reasonable and necessary NDIS supports
NDIS laws determine what we can and can’t fund. Things we can fund are called NDIS supports.
Participants can use the funding in their plan to buy NDIS supports if they are related to their disability and are in-line with their plan.
Registered provider
A provider that is registered with the NDIS Commission to provide NDIS supports and services.
To do this, they must meet requirements for qualifications, approvals, experience, capacity and quality standards.
Remote community connectors
Community-based NDIA representatives that support the culturally appropriate delivery of the NDIS in remote and very remote communities.
Remote Community Connectors can provide support and guidance about:
- What is the NDIS and how to get access
- How to identify current and future support needs
- How to develop and use an NDIS plan.
S
Self-management funding
Participants are responsible for paying their providers directly. They will need to keep records of NDIS supports purchased, like receipts or invoices.
Payment claims are made through the my NDIS participant portal or NDIS app.
Service agreement
An agreement between a participant and their provider that outlines what both parties have agreed to.
Service agreements help make sure the participant and provider have the same expectations of what NDIS supports will be delivered and how they will be delivered.
Making a service agreement is a negotiation between the participant and the provider.
Support coordinator
A type of provider that helps participants understand and use the funding in their NDIS plan on NDIS supports.
They also help participants build their skills so they can use their plans more independently and connect with community supports and services.
T
Total funding amount
The total budget amount for the NDIS supports funded in a participants plan.
V
Vehicle modifications
Changes or equipment installations which enable a person with disability to gain access to and, in some cases, operate a vehicle.
This can include enabling the person to get in and out of a vehicle with or without a wheelchair, be transported safely whilst seated in their wheelchair, or drive a vehicle with specialised controls or other adaptions.