Disability Loop - Fact sheet - Getting ready for the NDIS (4 of 5)

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Fact sheet - Getting ready for the NDIS (4 of 5)

The New South Wales (NSW) Government has produced a series of 5 fact sheets for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disabilities from NSW.

This is Fact sheet 4: Getting ready for the NDIS.

Download this fact sheet as a PDF or continue reading below.

Getting ready for the NDIS

The National Disability Insurance Scheme is also called the NDIS.

The NDIS is a new way for people with disability to get the care and supports they need to live a better life.

The NDIS gives people with disability choice and flexibility over the support they receive.

This means you can choose who provides that support.

To make the most of this choice, it is important to start getting ready.

Planning for the NDIS

If you are already receiving support

You will be contacted by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) before the NDIS starts in your area.

If you don’t already receive support

You can apply for the NDIS when it starts in your area.

Refer to Fact sheet 5: Accessing the NDIS to see when the NDIS is coming to your area.

Getting ready…

There are different things you can do to get ready for the NDIS before you meet with an NDIA support planner.

Ask yourself: What does a good day or week look like for me?

This will help you decide what support you need to make every day, or week, a good one.

A family member or carer can also help you work out your goals.You could think about:

What help do you need to go to school or look for a job?
What support would help you stay healthy?
What support would help you to do everyday tasks at home?

There may be other people in your community that are planning for the NDIS so have a yarn with them as well.

Check out if there are any local NDIS workshops, forums or information sessions being held.

Have all your ideas ready for when you meet with the NDIA support planner.

Meeting with the NDIA support planner

An NDIA support planner will arrange a time to meet with you.

When you meet with the NDIA support planner, you will yarn about your goals and the support that could help you.

It’s important that you take these things to your meeting:

Information about any disability supports you or the person you care for, already receive.
Your ideas about the types of support you, or the person you care for, might need. For example, did you pick up a good idea from a local NDIS information session?

If you aren’t sure what types of support you currently receive, you can ask your support worker or service provider.

What should you do next?

If you already receive disability support or services from a service provider you can have a yarn with them about the NDIS and what it all means.

They can also explain what other types of disability support are available and who can provide the support you may be looking for.

There may be other people in your community who may want to learn about the NDIS as well. Yarn with them, share ideas and swap stories.

Check out in your community for local NDIS workshops, forums or information sessions being held. If you can’t attend, remember to call and ask for information to be sent out to you.

The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) will work out if you can use the NDIS.

You can phone the NDIA and have a yarn with them on 1800 800 110 or you can get more information on the website: www.ndis.gov.au

There is also a checklist on the NDIS website to help you find out if you are able to apply for the NDIS: www.ndis.gov.au/ndis-access-checklist

You may like to check when the NDIS will be available in your area by entering your postcode on the NSW NDIS website: www.ndis.nsw.gov.au

More information

There are several fact sheets available for Aboriginal People about the NDIS in NSW. These include:

This information is sourced from http://ndis.nsw.gov.au/ndis-resources/aboriginal-people/fact-sheet-getting-ready-for-the-ndis/

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