NDIS glossary
The NDIS, in plain English
The scheme runs on acronyms, and nobody hands you a translation. Here is what the common ones actually mean — grouped by topic, with links to the guides that go deeper.
The scheme & who runs it
- NDISNational Disability Insurance Scheme
- Australia's national scheme funding supports for people with permanent and significant disability. It funds disability-related supports, not general health care, housing or income.
- NDIANational Disability Insurance Agency
- The government agency that runs the NDIS — it decides who is eligible, approves plans and sets the funding in them. Contact 1800 800 110.
- NDIS CommissionNDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
- The independent regulator of NDIS providers and workers. It registers and audits providers, handles complaints about services, and publishes a public register anyone can search to check a provider's registration. Contact 1800 035 544.
- Participant
- A person with an approved NDIS plan. If you have NDIS funding, you are a participant.
- LACLocal Area Coordinator
- A partner organisation worker who helps people access the NDIS, understand a plan and connect with supports in their area. LACs are not the same as support coordinators, and their help is free.
- Reasonable and necessary
- The test the NDIA applies to decide whether it will fund a support. Broadly: the support must relate to the disability, represent value for money, be likely to be effective, and not be something another system (like health or education) is responsible for.
Plans & funding
- Core Supports
- The budget covering everyday assistance — help with daily living, community participation, consumables and transport. Core funding is usually the most flexible part of a plan. More on this
- Capacity Building
- The budget for supports that build skills and independence — therapy, support coordination, employment and daily-living capacity building. Unlike Core, funding generally cannot move between Capacity Building categories. More on this
- Capital Supports
- The budget for higher-cost items — assistive technology, equipment, vehicle or home modifications, and specialist disability accommodation. Capital funding is usually tied to a specific approved item. More on this
- Agency-managed
- The NDIA pays your providers directly. You can only use NDIS-registered providers, and you do not handle any invoices. More on this
- Plan-managed
- A plan manager pays your invoices and keeps track of the budget for you. You can use registered or unregistered providers, and plan management itself is funded in your plan. More on this
- Self-managed
- You manage your own funding — paying providers, keeping records and claiming from the NDIA. It offers the most choice and the most administration. More on this
- Stated support
- Funding written into a plan for a specific purpose, which must be spent exactly as described — unlike flexible funding, it cannot be moved to another support type.
- Plan reassessment
- The review that sets your next plan, previously called a plan review. You can also request a reassessment earlier if your circumstances change significantly.
- ATAssistive Technology
- Equipment or devices that help someone do something they otherwise could not do safely or independently — from shower chairs and wheelchairs to communication devices. Usually funded from Capital Supports.
Home & living
- SILSupported Independent Living
- Funding for paid support with daily tasks in the home where you live, usually for people needing significant help throughout the day and often overnight. SIL funds the support, not the housing — rent, groceries and utilities are still paid from your own income. More on this
- ILOIndividualised Living Option
- A home and living support that funds a tailored mix of paid and informal support around how and with whom you want to live — for example living alone with drop-in support, or with a host. It funds the design of an arrangement rather than a standard roster. More on this
- STAShort Term Accommodation
- Funding for a stay away from home, typically up to 14 days at a time, covering support, accommodation, meals and activities. Most people still call it respite. More on this
- MTAMedium Term Accommodation
- Funding for somewhere to stay for up to 90 days when your long-term home is not ready — for example while waiting on home modifications or an SDA vacancy.
- SDASpecialist Disability Accommodation
- Funding for the housing itself — purpose-built or modified dwellings for people with extreme functional impairment or very high support needs. SDA pays for the building; SIL pays for the support inside it. More on this
Clinical & behaviour support
- PBSPositive Behaviour Support
- An evidence-based approach to behaviours of concern that works out why a behaviour is happening and changes the circumstances around it, rather than punishing the person. More on this
- BSPBehaviour Support Plan
- The document a behaviour support practitioner writes setting out why behaviours of concern happen and the strategies everyone around the person should use. Where restrictive practices are involved it must meet NDIS Commission requirements. More on this
- Restrictive practice
- Any practice that limits a person's rights or freedom of movement. Regulated restrictive practices are tightly controlled: they can only be used in line with an approved behaviour support plan, by a provider registered to implement them, with authorisation and reporting. More on this
- Module 2a
- The NDIS registration module covering implementation of regulated restrictive practices. A provider without it cannot lawfully implement those practices, which can make it unsuitable for some participants regardless of its other strengths. More on this
- HIDPAHigh Intensity Daily Personal Activities
- The registration group covering personal supports that carry higher clinical risk — such as PEG feeding, complex bowel care, tracheostomy care or seizure management — which require specific training, assessed competency and clinical oversight. More on this
- FCAFunctional Capacity Assessment
- An assessment, usually by an occupational therapist, of what someone can do independently, what they need help with and what the risks are. It is often the evidence behind a request for more funding. More on this
- PEGPercutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy
- A feeding tube placed through the abdominal wall into the stomach. PEG feeding is a high intensity support requiring trained workers and nursing oversight. More on this
- Dysphagia
- Difficulty swallowing. It carries a real choking and aspiration risk, so it is managed with a mealtime management plan and workers trained to follow it. More on this
- AHPRAAustralian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency
- The national body registering health practitioners including psychologists, nurses, occupational therapists and physiotherapists. Anyone using those titles must be registered, and registration can be checked publicly.
- AuslanAustralian Sign Language
- The sign language of the Australian Deaf community — a full language with its own grammar, not signed English. Tactile Auslan, signed hand-over-hand, is used by many deafblind people. More on this
Working with providers
- Registered provider
- A provider audited against the NDIS Practice Standards and registered with the NDIS Commission. Agency-managed participants can only use registered providers; plan-managed and self-managed participants can use either. More on this
- Support coordination
- Funded help to understand your plan, find and connect with providers, and get your supports working together. Specialist support coordination is a higher-intensity version for complex situations.
- Service agreement
- The written agreement between you and a provider setting out the supports, how often they happen, the cost, and how either side can change or end the arrangement. Read it before signing and ask about anything unclear. More on this
- Worker screening check
- The NDIS clearance a worker must hold to deliver certain supports. It is a national check on whether someone poses a risk to people with disability, and it can be verified by the provider.
Still stuck on a term?
Ask us — no one expects you to arrive fluent in NDIS. Call 1300 206 309 and our intake team will explain it in normal words. The FAQ and our guides cover the bigger topics properly.
Need someone to translate the jargon?
Our intake team will talk through your plan in plain English — free meet-and-greet, no obligation.