NDIA pathways changes: QLD Gov refocuses efforts

The Queensland Government’s Assessment & Referral Team will refocus its efforts commencing Monday 18 December 2023 in response to upcoming changes to access pathways of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).

The key change is that people with disability who are seeking National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) access will need to engage with their local area coordinators in the first instance.  The coordinators will manage the lodgement process for new access applications and will also be required to develop community connection plans with all new applicants.

For people who reside in remote and very remote locations the access pathway through the NDIA’s National Assessment Team has not changed.

To ensure Queensland Government resources can be used most efficiently and reduce opportunities for duplication of effort across jurisdictions, from Monday 18 December 2023, the Assessment & Referral Team (ART) will only support Queenslanders aged 7-65 who meet one or more of the following criteria:

• Live in a remote or very remote location that is not a Local Area Coordination Partners in the Community (LAC PitC) location.
• Are a child or young person in the child protection system, Youth Justice Stronger Communities Initiative or who meet the criteria of the serious repeat offender.
• Are an adult living in community and connected to offender support programs.
• Is an adult living in level 3 supported accommodation.
• Identify as culturally and linguistically diverse and are engaged with resettlement and refugee programs.
• Are referred for emergency support.

Referrals for children and young people aged 7-25 who live in a LAC PitC serviced location will no longer be received after close of business Friday 15 December 2023 (unless they meet the criteria listed above).

ART is working with the NDIA to identify an appropriate access pathway for individual clients who are currently connected to ART. Individual ART case managers will provide an update to each client’s stakeholder group as more advice becomes available. You can be assured that the program will continue to support clients who have already been accepted by ART and are currently on their NDIS access journey.

Who can people in a LAC PitC serviced location connect with for NDIS access assistance?

Contact should be made with your nearest LAC PitC. Further advice can be found on the NDIS website ‘Queensland Partners in the Community’.

Please note: Autism Queensland is not affiliated with this project. Please contact the Queensland Government directly for any questions.

Phone: 1800 569 040
Email: [email protected]