What supporting evidence is
Supporting evidence is information or advice a treating health professional gives us about your disability.
It tells us:
- what your disability is
- any treatments you’ve had
- how your disability impacts your daily life
- any recommendations they make.
Supporting evidence can be informal, like an email or letter. Or, it might be more formal, like an assessment or report.
What supporting evidence is for
If you're an applicant
We'll ask for evidence of your disability, such as a diagnosis or treatment information.
We'll also ask for evidence of how your disability impacts your daily life. For example, the tasks you need support to complete, and the type of assistance you need.
We might ask you for more information to help us make a decision about your eligibility for the NDIS.
If we check your eligibility
We may check your eligibility if we have information that your disability support needs or situation have changed.
We ask you for supporting evidence when this happens, so we can check whether you still meet the eligibility requirements for the NDIS.
What supporting evidence is like
Good evidence is recent and completed by a treating health professional relevant to your primary disability.
A primary disability is the impairment that has the greatest impact on your daily life.
It should include information about:
- your disability and impairment
- the impact of your disability on different areas of your life
- previous treatments and outcomes
- future treatment options.
Your treating health professional can complete assessments with you that provide this information.
You, your providers and your carers can also provide evidence of the impacts of your impairment on your daily life. This helps build a fuller picture of the supports you need day-to-day.
You should work with your treating health professional
It's helpful to get information about the impacts your disability has on your daily life from a treating health professional you’ve worked with for a long time. They’ll know more about you and your needs.
The most common health professionals include GPs, paediatricians, orthopaedic surgeons, neurologists and psychiatrists.
Who can help you to gather supporting evidence
NDIS partners can help you get the right evidence together.
Remember, the person helping you gather your disability evidence won’t be able to tell you if you meet the NDIS eligibility requirements. Only we can make this decision.
Learn more about how to gather evidence for your application.