The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) provides funding to people with a permanent and significant disability to access the supports and services they need.
Am I eligible for the NDIS?
- Are you aged between 7 and 65?
- If not, you may be able to access other supports. Find out about NDIS and Aged Care
- Do you live in Australia and have Australian residency?
- Do you usually need support from another person?
- Do you use special equipment?
Visit the eligibility checklist on the NDIS website.
About 5% of people eligible for the NDIS have a primary disability of hearing impairment: this includes people whose first language is Auslan.
NDIS Hearing Stream
The perspectives of participants, parents & carers and providers
Report to the National Disability Insurance Agency by Deafness Forum of Australia, July 2019 (download)
The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) commissioned Deafness Forum Australia to form a Community of Practice-Hearing Stream comprising representatives of NDIS participants, families & carers and sector providers to investigate best practice: what is working well, what is not working well, where are the barriers, where are the risks, where are the opportunities?
To commence this project, a workshop was held at the Australian Hearing Hub in Sydney on 1 March 2019. In the months that followed to the end of June, workshops, teleconferences and out of session discussions were held on specific topics nominated by the NDIA, vis:
- Children learning Auslan
- Best practice for early intervention including options for mode of communication
- NDIS Access requirements
- Interpreter availability, market gaps, communication assistance
- Hearing devices and rehabilitation
- Deafblindness
- Family & carer perspective
Reports on each of these seven topics investigated were the subjects of this report.
A key finding throughout the report was the importance of Informed Choice and Decision Making.
In relation to children,
- it was recognised that ultimately, decision-making authority rests with the family
- Professionals must collaborate with families to support their abilities to exercise this authority.
- given the disparity among the different approaches, parents need access to balanced information from an unbiased source in order to make an informed decision on the mode of communication they want their child to use
- professionals must adopt open and flexible policies that effectively endorse a range of communication possibilities
Community of Practice
Community of Practice members were experts in their respective fields within the sector: persons living with disability and their representative organisations are regarded as being expert. Individuals representing the members of the Community of Practice were at the most senior levels: CEOs, managing directors, executive officers, chairpersons and topic/program managers who were nominated by their organisation’s senior officer.
| 1 | ABLE Australia | VIC |
| 2 | ABLE Australia | VIC |
| 3 | Access Plus (formerly WA Deaf Society) | WA |
| 4 | Australian Sign Language Interpreters Assn | NSW |
| 5 | Audiology Australia | VIC |
| 6 | Aussie Deaf Kids | NSW |
| 7 | Aussie Deaf Kids | NSW |
| 8 | Australian Hearing (renamed Hearing Australia) | NSW |
| 9 | Australian Hearing (renamed Hearing Australia) | NSW |
| 10 | Better Hearing Australia | VIC |
| 11 | Can:Do Group | SA |
| 12 | CHARGE | VIC |
| 13 | Cochlear Ltd | NSW |
| 14 | Deaf Children Australia | VIC |
| 15 | Deaf Society | NSW |
| 16 | Deaf Society | NSW |
| 17 | Deafblind Australia | VIC |
| 18 | Deafblind Australia | NSW |
| 19 | Deafblind Association NSW | NSW |
| 20 | Deafblind Association NSW | NSW |
| 21 | Deafblind Newcastle | NSW |
| 22 | Deafdblind Victoria | VIC |
| 23 | Deafdblind Victoria | VIC |
| 24 | Deafblind West Australia | WA |
| 25 | Deafness Council Western Australia | WA |
| 26 | Deafness Forum Australia | NSW |
| 27 | Deafness Forum Australia | NSW |
| 28 | Deaf Services | QLD |
| 29 | Deaf Services | QLD |
| 30 | Deaf Services | QLD |
| 31 | Expression Australia | VIC |
| 32 | First Voice | QLD |
| 33 | Hear For You | NSW |
| 34 | Hearing Business Alliance | NSW |
| 35 | Hearing Business Alliance | NSW |
| 36 | Hearing Care Industry Association | NSW |
| 37 | Hearing Care Industry Association | NSW |
| 38 | Hearing Matters Australia | NSW |
| 39 | Independent Audiologists Australia | NSW |
| 40 | Independent Audiologists Australia | NSW |
| 41 | Melbourne Polytechnic | VIC |
| 42 | National Hearing Care | VIC |
| 43 | National Hearing Care | VIC |
| 44 | NDIA | VIC |
| 45 | NDIA | VIC |
| 46 | NDIA | VIC |
| 47 | NDIA | NSW |
| 48 | Parents of Deaf Children | NSW |
| 49 | Royal Institute of Deaf and Blind Children | NSW |
| 50 | Royal Institute of Deaf and Blind Children | NSW |
| 51 | Royal Institute of Deaf and Blind Children | NSW |
| 52 | Royal Institute of Deaf and Blind Children | NSW |
| 53 | Royal Institute of Deaf and Blind Children | NSW |
| 54 | Royal Institute of Deaf and Blind Children | NSW |
| 55 | Royal Institute of Deaf and Blind Children | NSW |
| 56 | Senses Australia | WA |
| 57 | Senses Australia | WA |
| 58 | Shenton College Deaf Education Centre WA | WA |
| 59 | Speech Pathology Australia | VIC |
| 60 | Speech Pathology Australia | VIC |
| 61 | Sydney Cochlear Implant Centre and CICADA | NSW |
| 62 | The Shepherd Centre | NSW |
| 63 | Usher Kids Australia | VIC |
| 64 | Usher Kids Australia | VIC |
| 65 | Victorian Deaf Education Institute | VIC |