Operational Guideline – Planning and
Assessment – Supports in the Plan – Interface
with School Education
Legislation
1.
Read ss. 4, 5 and 34 of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (NDIS Act) and
National Disability Insurance Scheme (Supports for Participants) Rules 2013 (Supports for
Participants Rule).
General principles
2.
People with disability have the same right as other members of Australian society to realise
their potential for physical, social, emotional and intellectual development.
See s.4(1) of the NDIS Act
3.
People with disability should be supported to participate in and contribute to social and
economic life to the extent of their ability.
See s.4(2) of the NDIS Act
4.
People with disability should be supported to receive supports outside the National Disability
Insurance Scheme (NDIS), and be assisted to coordinate these supports with the supports
provided under the NDIS.
See s.4 (14) of the NDIS Act
5.
Reasonable and necessary supports for people with disability should:
a.
Support people with disability to pursue their goals and maximise their independence, and
b.
Support people with disability to live independently and to be included in the community
as fully participating citizens, and
c.
Develop and support the capacity of people with disability to undertake activities that
enable them to participate in the mainstream community and in employment.
See s.4(11) of the NDIS Act
6.
The preparation, review and replacement of a participant’s plan should so far as reasonably
practical be individualised; directed by the participant; where relevant consider family, carers
and significant others; consider availability of informal support, access to mainstream and
community supports; and build individual capacity to increase participation and inclusion in
community with the aim of achieving individual aspirations.
See s.31 of the NDIS Act
7.
Plans should maximise choice and independence of the participant and facilitate tailored and
flexible responses to individual goals and needs.
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See s.31 of the NDIS Act
8.
The statement of participant supports specifies the general supports (if any) and the
reasonable and necessary supports (if any) that will be funded. In deciding whether to approve
a statement the delegate must:
a.
Have regard to the legislation and rules, participant statement, relevant assessments,
b.
Be satisfied that all clauses of s.34 of the NDIS Act on reasonable and necessary are met
including that the support is most appropriately funded by the NDIS and offers value for
money, and
c.
Have regard to the principle that a participant should manage their plan to the extent they
wish and the operation and effectiveness of any previous plans of the participant.
See ss.33, 34 and 35 of the NDIS Act
Reasonable and necessary supports
9.
Before specifying any general support, or reasonable and necessary support, in a participant’s
plan the delegate has to:
a.
Be satisfied that all the criteria set out in s.34(1) of the NDIS Act are met in respect of
each funded support before it is included in a participant’s plan;
b.
Ensure the support:
i.
Will not cause harm to the participant or pose risk to others,
ii.
Is due to the effect of the disability on the participant and does not duplicate supports
available from other systems,
iii.
Does not relate to day to day living costs (e.g. rent, groceries, utility fees) unless
directly attributable to the impact of the disability on the participant, and
iv.
Is not illegal or consist of income replacement.
See Operational Guideline – Planning and Assessment – Supports in the Plan
See rs.5.1, 5.2 and 5.3 of the Supports for Participants Rule
c.
Consider the additional guidance for delegates provided by the National Disability
Insurance Agency (NDIA) set out in this Operational Guideline in relation to the interface
with school education.
10. This Operational Guideline lists the matters that delegates are to consider under headings
which refer to the paragraphs of s.34(1) of the NDIS Act. For example, value for money
(s.34(1)(a) of the NDIS Act) and effective and beneficial having regard to current good practice
(s.34(1)(b) of the NDIS Act). Delegates are to note that the matters to be considered may fall
across more than one paragraph of s.34(1) of the NDIS Act and need to be considered in
relation to more than one paragraph of s.34(1) of the NDIS Act.
Goals and aspirations
11. Before including a support in a participant’s plan the delegate must be satisfied that the support
will assist the participant to pursue their goals. School education supports may be threshold
supports to assist a participant in pursuing a number of goals rather than related to a specific
goal.
See s.34(1)(a) of the NDIS Act
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Supports most appropriately funded by the NDIS
12. The NDIS will be responsible for reasonable and necessary supports that a student requires
that are associated with the functional impact of the student’s disability on their activities of
daily living (that is, those not primarily relating to education or training attainment), such as
personal care and support, transport to and from school and specialist supports for transition
from school education to further education, training or employment that are required because of
the student's disability.
13. Any supports funded by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) will recognise the
operational requirements and educational objectives of schools and will be coordinated with the
relevant school.
See r.7.13 of the Support for Participants Rule
14. The NDIS will not be responsible for personalising either learning or supports for students that
primarily relate to their educational attainment (including teaching, learning assistance and
aids, school building modifications and transport between school activities).
See r.7.14 of the Supports for Participants Rule
15. The table below provides guidance on whether a support is more appropriately funded or
provided through the NDIS or by other parties. Other parties can include other government
departments and agencies, independent organisations funded by governments to provide
services, individuals and families.
A. The NDIS is generally more appropriate to fund the following reasonable and necessary supports:
1.
Assistance with daily personal activities – individualised assistance associated with the
functional impact on the participant’s activities of daily living, that are required by an individual
regardless of the activity they are undertaking, including personal care at school (e.g. for
assistance with eating).
2.
Assistance in coordinating or managing life stages, transitions and supports – specialist
support to assist a participant transition to school or to post-school options (e.g. to further
education, training or employment) such as building the participant’s capacity for independent
living and self-care, development of social and communication skills, development of specialist
behaviour management plans and enabling the participant to travel independently to their place
of education.
B. Depending on their purpose the following supports are generally more appropriately funded by either
the NDIS or other parties:
1.
Aids and equipment
a.
NDIS: aids and equipment which are required by a participant for the purpose of
improving functioning regardless of the activity they are undertaking (e.g. hearing aids,
wheelchairs, personal communications devices), but not related to medical or surgical
procedures. See decision tree attached.
b.
Other parties: aids and equipment, which are:
i.
A reasonable requirement to enable access to school buildings (e.g. ramps, lifts,
hearing loops, or other capital works ), and/or
ii.
Required primarily for educational purposes (e.g. modified computer hardware,
education software, braille textbooks), and/or
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iii.
2.
3.
4.
Fixed or non-transportable in schools that enable a student to access education (e.g.
hoists).
Assistance with transport
a.
NDIS: specialist transport to and from school/education facility required as a result of a
participant’s disability (where no other transport option is appropriate and is not
substituting for parental responsibility),
b.
Other parties: transport for school activities (e.g. excursions, sporting carnivals) or
responsibilities of transport providers (e.g. reasonable adjustments to buses).
Specialist support and training
a.
NDIS: for school staff related to the individual personal support needs of a participant,
including individually tailored specialist behaviour management plans,
b.
Other parties: for school staff to support and engage students with disability at school and
in the classroom.
Therapeutic support - including assistance by allied health professions such as speech and
language pathology, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, audiology, osteopathy, behavioural
optometry and therapy delivered by a therapy assistant under the supervision of the therapist:
a.
NDIS: to specifically support a participant’s functional capacity which are delivered in
schools or other education facilities for non-educational purposes (i.e. where the school
venue is being used, but the therapy is not for school purposes) ,
b.
Other parties: where it is primarily for the purpose of educational attainment, participation
in the school curriculum or a clinical support (see the Operational Guideline – Mainstream
Interface – Health (excluding mental health)).
C. Other support systems are generally more appropriate to fund the following supports:
1.
All aspects of teaching and learning, including:
a.
Learning-specific aids, equipment and resources,
b.
Teaching and learning assistance, including teachers assistants and tutors, in any
recognised educational setting (including alternative education and home-schooling),
c.
Curriculum adjustments such as personalising learning to meet a student’s individual
learning needs,
d.
The general supervision of students while undertaking educational activities, including
supervision during lunch breaks and in the school social environment,
e.
Providing day-to-day supervision for participants of school-age who are temporarily or
permanently excluded from school or are attending school on reduced hours,
f.
Inclusion supports that enable a person with disability to access teaching and learning,
such as an Auslan interpreter.
2.
Skills, capacity and other forms of training and general transition supports – specifically
for students with disability delivered in schools through the Australian curriculum.
3.
Building modifications and fixed aids and equipment within schools - including those
used for personal care such as hoists.
4.
School fees – including for mainstream school settings and any specialist schools which may
have a particular focus on students with disability.
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Assistance available where the NDIS is not more
appropriate to fund a support
16. It may be appropriate to refer a participant to a Local Area Coordinator to support the
participant in accessing mainstream supports.
17. A Local Area Coordinator may be able to provide a range of general supports such as:
a.
When requested, provide local/ relevant information to the participant and their support
networks regarding mainstream services to facilitate independence, participation and
inclusion identified with a participant’s plan,
b.
When requested, support the participant and family’s access and inclusion to service
settings, and
c.
When requested, facilitate coordination of specialised supports between the NDIA and
service settings.
18. A Local Area Coordinator can also work on a broader level with mainstream service systems to
enhance access, participation and inclusion of people with disability. This includes by building
the inclusion capacity of mainstream service providers in the local region.
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Decision tree for participants requiring assistive
technology, aids and/or equipment at school
Planner’s name:
Date:
Participant’s name:
NDIS Number:
Depending on the purpose of the aid or equipment, this may be funded under the NDIS or the education
system. The NDIA will fund aids and equipment for participants, irrespective of the context, including
where these aids or equipment are required at home, school or in other domains of the participant’s life.
Where the equipment and/or modifications are specifically school based (e.g. educational software,
braille textbooks), and enable students with disabilities to fully participate in the education, it is the
responsibility of the education system to ensure these aids and equipment are made available to
students.
Approach to determining mainstream and NDIS
funded aids and equipment for participants
Considerations
Criterion 1

The participant requires or needs assistive
technology, aids and/or equipment
because of their disability
Note: Aids and equipment are required by a participant for the
purpose of improving functioning regardless of the activity they
are undertaking and are additional to the required needs of
children of a similar age.
Criterion 2

The provision of assistive technology, aids
and/or equipment might:
a.
Reduce the participant’s need for
support in the future,
b.
Improve participant’s functional
abilities, or
c.
Prevent or reduce deterioration of
functional abilities.
Note: NDIS funded supports must meet the requirements of
‘reasonable and necessary’ supports as specified in s.34 of the
NDIS Act, including not likely to cause harm to participants;
value for money; facilitate social and economic participation;
supports are effective and beneficial for participants.
Criterion 3

The assistive technology, aids and/or
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Approach to determining mainstream and NDIS
funded aids and equipment for participants
Considerations
equipment are to be used by the
participant in more than one setting, e.g.
used at home and also at school.
Note: The NDIS will fund aids and/or equipment, including
where these aids and/or equipment might be used at school as
well as in other domains of the participant’s life (e.g. personal
communication devices, personal care equipment, wheelchairs
and hearing devices).
The education system will fund aids and/or equipment for
specific educational purposes including assisting students to
participate in education (e.g. an adjusted desk, adapted chairs,
and electronic books).
Criterion 4

The provision of assistive technology, aids
and/or equipment will provide benefits for
the participant related to their functioning
(e.g. improved mobility; reduced risk of
injury; increased physical comfort)
Note: The NDIS will fund supports that may also provide
benefits to participants during school but are also beneficial in in
other domains of their life such as improved reading and literacy
skills through use of a screen reader.
Situations where the education system will be responsible for
supports are when expected benefits of aids and equipment
relate only to school activities, e.g. greater participation in
educational programs and/or the school curriculum by providing
braille school textbooks.
Criterion 5

The required assistive technology, aids
and/or equipment are transportable with
the participant.
Note: The education system is responsible for funding aids and
equipment that are fixed and non-transportable in schools,
including equipment that is not specifically for the purpose of
learning (e.g. hoists, induction loops).
The NDIS is responsible for funding aids and equipment that
are transportable with the participant and can be used at and
during school as well as in other activities (e.g. text to speech
devices used both at home and during school). If
equipment/aids are solely required for school activities, this is
the responsibility of the education system.
Were all of Criterions 1 to 5 met?
Yes ☐
No ☐
If the participant meets criterion 1 to 5, the aids and equipment are more appropriately funded by the
NDIS.
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If the participant does not meet criterion 1 to 5, the support is unlikely to be funded by the NDIS. It may
be more appropriately funded by the education system.
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