National Disability Insurance Scheme
Fact Sheet on the bilateral agreements for transition to the NDIS and transitioning of
responsibilities for aged care and disability services
Purpose
This Fact Sheet provides information on two Bilateral Agreements between the Commonwealth and Victoria:
1. Transition to a National Disability Insurance Scheme
2. Transitioning Responsibilities for Aged Care and Disability Services in Victoria
The National Disability Insurance Scheme
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a
national approach based on insurance principles that will
provide individualised support and services for people with
a disability, their families and carers to achieve their goals
and aspirations.
Bilateral Agreement for Transition to a National Disability
Insurance Scheme
The Commonwealth and Victorian Governments have
demonstrated their commitment to the implementation of
the NDIS through the signing of an agreement, the ‘Bilateral
Agreement between the Commonwealth and Victoria:
Transition to a National Disability Insurance Scheme’.
The Bilateral Agreement describes how and when the NDIS
will be rolled out across Victoria from July 2016, and
provides broad information on how the transition will be
made and who is responsible.
As shareholders to the NDIS both governments are making
significant financial contributions to the NDIS to ensure that
eligible Victorians with disability have, throughout their life,
choice and control over the support and services they need
to meet their goals and aspirations.
The NDIS will be rolled out progressively in Victoria over a
three year period from July 2016. By July 2019, it is
estimated that 105,000 Victorians will have transitioned to
the scheme. This includes 76,000 clients from the existing
Victorian specialist disability and mainstream systems that
will be replaced by the NDIS.
Bilateral Agreement Transitioning Responsibilities for Aged
Care and Disability Services in Victoria
As part of this agreement, the Home and Community Care
(HACC) program and specialist disability services will be split
from July 2016 where:

Services for older people (people aged 65 and over and
50 and over for Aboriginal people) will be directly
funded and managed by the Commonwealth
Government through the Commonwealth Home
Support Programme or other arrangements for
specialist disability services.

Services for younger people (people aged under 65 and
under 50 for Aboriginal people) will be funded and
managed solely by the Victorian Government, until the
NDIS is in full operation. It is expected that some of
these people will become participants in the NDIS.
Transition to the NDIS in Victoria
The NDIS roll out in Victoria has been carefully planned to
give Victorians with disability their families and carers the
time, information and resources to move from the current
state based system to the NDIS.
In making the decision to have an area-based transition we
have considered many factors including:

the number and the needs of people with a disability
(people currently using Victorian disability services)
living in the area

the readiness and availability of disability providers to
support clients to transition to the NDIS

the experience to date from Barwon and other NDIS
trial sites.
The sequence of Victoria’s area-based transition is outlined
below, and can be accessed here: www.ndis.gov.au/vic
Accessing the NDIS for people on the Disability Support
Register or ECIS waitlist
The Victorian Government is committed to ensuring that
people with urgent needs are prioritised when the NDIS is
rolled out.
People on the Victorian Disability Support Register (DSR)
and Early Childhood Intervention Services (ECIS) waitlist and
Mental Health Community Support Needs Register will enter
the scheme as the first groups in each geographical area.
In addition, children on the ECIS waitlist and people on the
DSR who have the most urgent need for supports will enter
the scheme within the first two years of the transition
period ahead of their geographic area entering the scheme.
Urgent needs will be assessed on a case by case basis.
Factors that will be considered include the need for
additional support to ensure safety and wellbeing and a
stable living situation.
Some people with a disability will not be eligible for
the NDIS - continuity of support
The National Disability Insurance Agency will consider a
range of eligibility criteria such as a person’s age, where
they live, and their support requirements.
Not all clients currently receiving supports and services will
be supported under the NDIS. If you do not meet the
eligibility requirements of the NDIS and are currently
receiving care and support you will continue to receive
supports to ensure that you are not disadvantaged by the
transition to the NDIS. This is known as ‘continuity of
support’.
Both governments have agreed to provide continuity of
support for clients of their funded programs. The
Commonwealth will have responsibility for continuity of
support arrangements for people aged 65 years and over
(and indigenous people 50 to 64 years), which will be
implemented to coincide with the roll out of the NDIS.
Specific continuity of support arrangements will be finalised
by the Commonwealth and Victoria by March 2016.
Through the transition period what quality and safeguards
will be in place to ensure people are protected?
Victoria will continue to have high quality and strong
safeguards in place during transition to full scheme and
Victorians with disability will continue to have the same
avenues for raising concerns and making complaints.
Until a nationally consistent quality and safeguards
framework for the NDIS is agreed and implemented,
Victoria’s existing legislation and policies will continue to
apply to the registration and vetting of providers and their
staff.
Victorian disability sector and workforce
The NDIS represents a significant change in the way in which
people with disability will be accessing services which will
change the way in which service providers do business and
workers provide support.
The Victorian and Commonwealth governments recognise
that the existing sector and workforce are the building
blocks upon which the future NDIS market will be built and
critical for the transition of existing state clients to transition
to the NDIS.
While the agreement for transition has been finalised, the
Victorian Government will continue to work with the
National Disability Insurance Agency to support the
transition and readiness of providers and the workforce.
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Sequence of Victoria’s geographic approach to transition
The sequence of Victoria’s transition is outlined below
From 1 July 2016
Department of Health and Human
Services Area
North East Melbourne
From 1 January 2017
Central Highlands
From 1 May 2017
Loddon
From 1 October 2017
Inner Gippsland
From 1 October 2017
Western District
From 1 October 2017
Ovens Murray
From 1 November 2017
Inner Eastern Melbourne
From 1 November 2017
Outer Eastern Melbourne
From 1 March 2018
Hume Moreland
From 1 April 2018
Bayside Peninsula
From 1 September 2018
Southern Melbourne
Time
Local Government Area
Banyule
Darebin
Nillumbik
Whittlesea
Yarra
Ararat
Ballarat
Golden Plains
Hepburn
Moorabool
Pyrenees
Campaspe
Central Goldfields
Greater Bendigo
Loddon
Macedon Ranges
Mount Alexander
Bass Coast
Baw Baw
Latrobe
South Gippsland
Corangamite
Glenelg
Hindmarsh
Horsham
Moyne
Northern Grampians
Southern Grampians
Warrnambool
West Wimmera
Yarriambiack
Alpine
Benalla
Indigo
Mansfield
Towong
Wangaratta
Wodonga
Boroondara
Manningham
Monash
Whitehorse
Knox
Maroondah
Yarra Ranges
Hume
Moreland
Bayside
Frankston
Glen Eira
Kingston
Mornington Peninsula
Port Phillip
Stonnington
Cardinia
Casey
Greater Dandenong
3
From 1 October 2018
Brimbank Melton
From 1 October 2018
Western Melbourne
From 1 January 2019
Goulburn
From 1 January 2019
Mallee
From 1 January 2019
Outer Gippsland
Brimbank
Melton
Hobsons Bay
Maribynong
Melbourne
Moonee Valley
Wyndham
Greater Shepparton
Mitchell
Moira
Murrindindi
Strathbogie
Buloke
Gannawarra
Mildura
Swan Hill
East Gippsland
Wellington
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