S10 E08 - NDIS Support Lists: Simpler Categories, Bigger Questions
The NDIS support lists have only been in place since October 2024, but another significant change may already be on the horizon.
A new consultation is considering how NDIS supports should be defined, including proposals to reduce the number of support categories, simplify their descriptions and remove the replacement supports process.
For OTs, some changes could make the rules easier to interpret. Others raise questions about what happens when an everyday product is also the simplest solution to a disability-related functional need.
Why is the NDIS support list changing?
The current support lists were introduced in October 2024 as transitional rules defining what participants can and cannot generally spend NDIS funding on.
Feedback has highlighted several problems, including confusing categories, unclear descriptions and difficulties understanding replacement supports.
The proposal is to reduce 36 support categories to 18 broader categories, with simpler purpose-based descriptions and examples. These categories are also being developed to align with new framework planning and the introduction of support needs assessments.
Replacement supports could disappear
One of the biggest proposed changes is the removal of the replacement supports process.
Tablets, smartphones, smartwatches and accessibility or communication apps have been among the most commonly requested replacement supports. The proposal is for these types of supports to instead become stated supports where the relevant requirements are met.
This could create a clearer pathway for some disability-related technology. The bigger question is what happens to other products currently considered through replacement supports.
What happens to everyday products that solve disability-related problems?
Mainstream products do not always have mainstream purposes.
Consider a person with a spinal cord injury who can put clothing into a top-loading washing machine but cannot independently retrieve it. A front-loading machine could remove that functional barrier and allow them to complete their washing independently.
Similar questions arise with robotic vacuum cleaners, food preparation appliances and other household products. Sometimes a readily available mainstream product is the simplest and most cost-effective way to address a functional need.
Removing replacement supports could therefore have consequences beyond simplifying an administrative process. The detail of what remains fundable, and through which pathway, will matter.
Some disputed supports could move firmly onto the ‘out’ list
The consultation also identifies products and services where there has reportedly been confusion about whether they are NDIS supports.
These include electronic noise-cancelling headphones, fencing and gates, hairstyling tools, hydrogen fuel and electric vehicle charging costs and scuba therapy. The proposal is to specifically exclude them.
Noise-cancelling headphones are particularly relevant to OTs because they may be recommended to address sensory needs and support functional participation.
This also highlights why looking only at the proposed funded categories does not tell us everything. A product might appear to fit within a broad support definition but still be unavailable if it is specifically excluded elsewhere.
The new categories could make some OT roles clearer
There are areas where the proposed definitions provide welcome clarity.
The proposed therapy supports category specifically includes assessment by allied health professionals for support planning and review. It also captures assessment, prescription, implementation, adjustment and training in the use of assistive technology where required to support functional outcomes.
Home modifications similarly include the design, planning, implementation and review of modifications, alongside maintenance and repair of disability-specific fixtures and modifications.
Assistive technology categories are also being consolidated. While there would be fewer overarching categories, detailed descriptions would continue to sit beneath them, so fewer categories will not necessarily mean less complexity.
These changes are part of a much bigger planning reform
The support list changes cannot be considered separately from new framework planning.
Under the future model, a support needs assessment will play a central role in determining a participant’s budget. The proposed support categories are being designed to align with this new approach.
This means the practical impact of the support list will depend on more than which category a support sits within. It will also depend on how needs are assessed, how budgets are determined and how participants can use those budgets.
Further consultation on the new framework planning rules should provide more detail about how these pieces will work together.
Why OT input into the consultation matters
Funding rules can appear straightforward on paper but work very differently when applied to someone’s actual function, environment and daily occupations.
OTs regularly see where a mainstream product becomes an assistive solution, where a seemingly clear category creates ambiguity and where funding rules affect the practical options available to a participant.
That experience can help identify unintended consequences before proposed rules become established practice.
The consultation provides several ways to contribute, including making a submission, providing a video response, responding by email or requesting a phone call.
Key takeaways for OTs
* The NDIS is proposing to reduce 36 support categories to 18 broader categories
* The replacement supports process could be removed
* Some commonly requested technology may instead become stated supports where requirements are met
* The future of other mainstream household products currently considered through replacement supports needs close attention
* Electronic noise-cancelling headphones are among the supports proposed for specific exclusion
* The new support list is being developed alongside new framework planning and support needs assessments
These are still proposed changes. For OTs, now is the time to look beyond whether the new categories appear simpler and consider how they could work when applied to real functional needs and everyday recommendations.
New Framework Planning and NDIS Supports Consultation: https://consultations.health.gov.au/disability-and-carers-group/nfp-ndis-supports/
OT Unplugged Competition Entry Form: https://www.verveotlearning.com.au/ot-unplugged-competition-sit-at-our-table
