Help with your NDIS application

Bart had a major stroke in his 40s. It affected his mobility, communication, socialising, learning, self-care and management.

Despite some improvement made in rehabilitation, Bart has a significant disability and requires ongoing support. 

Due to severe right sided weakness in his arm and leg, he requires assistance and equipment with all his transfers and mobility.  This further impacts his activities of daily living. He needs assistance with eating, showering, toileting, and medication management. 

He has severe speech, language and cognitive impairments. He is unable to communicate his basic needs and wants. This also causes him difficulty understanding information, engaging in social interaction and learning new skills.  

Three months into his rehabilitation, he gave consent for an NDIS application to be submitted on his behalf. The impacts of his disability plus the type and frequency of assistance he needed was clearly outlined. His application was supported by assessments and letters from members of his rehabilitation team. This included the rehab consultant, Rehabilitation Medicine registrar, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, speech pathologist and social worker.

His NDIS application was approved shortly before he was discharged from the rehabilitation hospital. His funding is NDIA-managed which means his booked NDIS registered providers claim their payment directly from his plan. 

Bart currently lives in a wheelchair accessible, specialist disability accommodation where he receives full-time, professional care. He is also regularly seen by his team of allied health therapists including a physiotherapist, an occupational therapist, and a speech pathologist. On weekends, he goes on outings with his family.

View Bart's Access Request Form

Carli is a proud Yawuru Woman living in the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia. She had a stroke when she was 28 years old. Carli sustained significant communication impairments and some mild cognitive deficits following her stroke.  

Carli has moderate expressive and receptive aphasia. Aphasia is a language impairment which impacts her ability to talk, read, understand and write. She also has mild cognitive limitations that affect her memory, recall, attention and concentration.  

A few weeks after leaving hospital, a Remote Community Connectors team visited Carli and her family at their home. These NDIA representatives sat down with Carli to talk through what supports she needs. They used communication aids to help Carli express herself fully. They also helped Carli to fill in her application forms and explained how to get the right supporting documents. Her finished application was successful in gaining access.  

Carli’s application gives details of the type and frequency of support she needs as well as the impact of her disability on her life. Carli depends on the assistance of a trained communication partner and assistive technology to talk, read, understand and write. Assistance is need for all social interactions, opportunities for learning, medical and legal appointments, and managing finances.  Carli needs assistance to convey her basic wants and needs, and aid in her overall quality of life. 

The Remote Community Connector helped Carli to develop her NDIS plan and allocate her funding to best meet her needs.  At a planning meeting, Carli identified one of her goals was to improve her ability to communicate with her mob. In Carli’s plan, the bulk of her core budget goes towards speech therapy, a communication partner and assistive devices. Carli needs to regularly travel to Broome to see her speech pathologist. Her plan includes funding for travel and assistance from her communication partner to access services that Carli would prefer to have in person.

With the dedicated supports Carli can now access, she has improved her ability to communicate and connect with her mob.

View Carli's Access Request Form

Keith submitted his application for the NDIS eight years after he had a stroke. He has some limitations to his mobility and no movement in his left hand and arm.  

Keith prepared his application documents himself. He collected supporting evidence in the form of letters from his neurologist and physiotherapist. He then had an intensive interview with the NDIS representative. His application was approved after a few weeks.   

At his NDIS planning meeting, they talked about the items that Keith thought were important to include in his plan. His goal was to improve the function on his left side and maintain or improve his mobility. Every year the NDIS contacts him to ask if the plan still meets his needs.  

The funds in his core budget are flexible. This means he can choose how to spend the funding to meet his support needs. This accommodates changing requirements.  

Of the three ways to manage his NDIS funding, he chose the option to self-manage. Self-management is useful for Keith because he feels confident in managing it himself and he saves on the cost for plan management. 

Through liaising with his Local Area Coordinator, he was approved additional items that were not in the original plan. Examples of these include a recumbent exercise bike and special tailored shoes fitted with “BOA” laces which he found excellent for quick one-handed operation.  

Keith now lives at home with his husband Adam who is his main support. He is independent with most of his personal care, but Adam helps him complete tasks requiring two hands. These include some parts of his personal care routine like doing up buttons. He goes to the gym four times a week. He also works and studies part-time. He has regular appointments with his GP, neurosurgeon, and orthotist. He also attends fortnightly catchups with a stroke support group in his area. 

View Keith's Access Request Form (coming soon)

Jane suffered multiple strokes in different areas of her brain. She was 31 years old. She underwent intensive inpatient rehabilitation. Her strokes caused significant physical and cognitive deficits.  

Jane’s ability to mobilise independently is affected by cognitive and balance impairments. Jane has difficulty with problem-solving, memory, safety awareness and maintaining concentration. Jane’s application for NDIS was completed while still in inpatient rehabilitation, with the help of healthcare professionals. It was approved before she returned home. 

Jane’s application emphasised that despite being in intensive rehabilitation, her condition remains permanent in nature. The application also stated that assistive equipment, memory aids and home modifications were needed before returning home.  Jane will need ongoing support from paid carers to aid in her quality of life. 

The type and frequency of assistance she needs was clearly outlined in her application and included reports from her doctor, physiotherapist, occupational therapist and social worker.  

Jane's cognitive impairments impact her ability to follow instructions, remember information, sequence tasks and learn new skills.  Jane requires a 4-wheel walker to move around her home. A manual wheelchair is needed to move longer distances in the community. She needs assistance from another person to ensure her safety when mobilising at home and in the community.  

Jane lives with her partner who works from home. She has a carer who comes in twice a day to help her with her morning and evening routines. They live in a one-storey house with a ramp at the entrance and safety rails in the bathroom. Her partner assists her with meal preparation and medication management. He also looks after the complex tasks including shopping, finances, organising appointments and transportation.    

View Jane's Access Request Form

Tony was in his early 50s when he had a stroke. He had complications which required admission to the intensive care unit and then the stroke ward. He went on to inpatient rehabilitation for six weeks. After being discharged home, he had weekly rehab sessions at a community rehabilitation centre for 3 months. They focused on exercises for his right arm.   

4 years later he applied for the NDIS. At the time, he was seeing his neurologist every 3 months. He had some mild weakness in his right arm and peripheral vision loss. His rehab was limited to exercises he could perform at home.  

Tony’s initial NDIS application was rejected. He attributes it to remarks made by his neurologist that Tony was ‘making excellent progress.’ 

On Tony’s second attempt to get access approved, there was a greater emphasis on the permanence of his disability and how the support could improve his quality of life. He attached assessments from his neurologist which said that the power in his right arm had not changed over the years. He also included ophthalmology reports and visual field tests. These reports proved his peripheral vision loss made him unable to drive.  

His NDIS application was approved. It had been 4 years since his stroke.  

Tony had a planning meeting with a Local Area Coordinator. Shortly after the meeting Tony’s services began. Through his NDIS plan, Tony receives assistance with gardening and cleaning. He also receives funding for regular physiotherapy and transport assistance.  

Tony lives at home with his wife. The gardening and cleaning services are helpful for Tony as he is unable to perform some of the heavier gardening tasks. This also impacted his wife, who took on the extra load while waiting for support.  

With regular physiotherapy, Tony can maintain his current strength and prevent complications like muscle shrinkage. The transport assistance comes through half-priced taxi vouchers and funding for an electric scooter. As he is unable to drive, these support his independence to complete chores and travel to his appointments.  

View Tony's Access Request Form