If your child is younger than 7 and has been diagnosed with a permanent hearing loss, with your permission, your audiologist may refer you to Hearing Australia. 

Hearing Australia can help you to connect to the NDIS. Connecting to the NDIS following your first appointment with Hearing Australia will make sure you and your child can access early intervention supports sooner. You can also do this at another time that suits you by calling 1800 800 110 or visiting your local early childhood partner. The choice is yours.

To learn more about the eligibility criteria for children with hearing loss, refer to our guidelines – applying to the NDIS .

What happens next?

With your permission, Hearing Australia will forward evidence of your child's hearing loss to the NDIA. Your local early childhood partner will then contact you to discuss your child’s support needs and help you to apply for the NDIS, if required.

If your child is likely to be eligible for the NDIS, your early childhood partner can support you to apply. The information provided by Hearing Australia, will be included in your application.

If your child is eligible, you will then receive written confirmation that your child is an NDIS participant.

A specialist NDIS planner will contact you within two weeks to discuss and approve your child's NDIS plan. This plan will include a reasonable and necessary level of capacity building funding for supports. Once approved, you can use your NDIS-funded supports straight away with the providers you choose.

What if there are no early childhood partners in my area?

If you live in an area that does not have an early childhood partner, an NDIS planner will make 
contact to help you apply to the NDIS and develop your child's NDIS plan 

More information

For more about supports for your child, visit our guides for understanding supports for children who are deaf or hard of hearing .

These guides are for families with a child younger than 7 who is deaf or hard of hearing. They detail early intervention supports (including NDIS funded supports) available from providers and the community.

This page current as of
13 December 2023
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