NDIS Eligibility Criteria 2026: Who Qualifies, Plus a Checklist

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NDIS eligibility comes down to three things the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) checks: your age, your residence, and whether you meet the disability requirements, the early intervention requirements, or both. The table below sets out the NDIS eligibility criteria as the NDIA publishes them, and the yes or no checklist further down helps you test your own situation before you apply.

NDIS Eligibility Criteria at a Glance

Criterion	What you need to meet	Evidence the NDIA asks for
Age	Younger than 65 on the day you apply. Your application must be complete and received by the NDIA before you turn 65.	Your Centrelink record, if you consent, or documents that show your age.
Residence	You live in Australia and spend most of your time here, and you are an Australian citizen, a permanent resident, or a Protected Special Category visa holder.	Your Centrelink record, if you consent, or one birth or arrival document plus evidence that you live in Australia.
Disability requirements (all five)	1. Your disability is caused by one or more impairments. 2. The impairment is, or is likely to be, permanent. 3. It substantially reduces your ability to do everyday tasks. 4. It affects your ability to work, study or take part in social life. 5. You are likely to need NDIS supports for your lifetime.	Evidence from your doctor, specialist or treating professional about your disability, its impact on daily life, and the treatments tried.
Early intervention requirements (the other route)	You have an impairment that is likely to be permanent, or you are a child younger than 6 with developmental delay, and early supports are likely to reduce your need for support in the future. The supports must be NDIS supports.	Evidence that confirms the impairment or delay and shows you need early intervention.

Source: NDIA, What are the NDIS eligibility requirements (current as of 25 May 2026) and What are the NDIS disability requirements (current as of 2 September 2026).

You need to meet the age and residence requirements, and then the disability requirements, the early intervention requirements, or both. The NDIA says the rules are the same for everyone who applies. One more thing matters right now: the Australian Government has confirmed there will be no changes to NDIS access or eligibility until 1 January 2028, so the criteria above are the ones your application is decided against today.

We wrote this guide for participants, families, carers and support coordinators in New South Wales. If you are the person providing care, it is also worth reading how to write an NDIS carer statement, because what you do every day helps the NDIA understand the impact of a disability.

Your NDIS Eligibility Checklist

Work through these questions in order. They follow the NDIA’s own wording, so a “yes” to each one means it is worth talking to an NDIS partner about applying. A “yes” is not a decision: only the NDIA can decide whether you are eligible.

Age: Are you younger than 65, and can your application be complete and received before you turn 65?
Residence: Do you live in Australia, and are you an Australian citizen, a permanent resident or a Protected Special Category visa holder?
Impairment: Do you have an intellectual, cognitive, neurological, sensory or physical impairment, or an impairment relating to a psychosocial disability?
Permanence: Is the impairment permanent, or likely to be, once the known, available and appropriate treatment options have been considered?
Functional capacity: Does it substantially reduce your ability to communicate, socialise, learn, move around, look after yourself or manage your life?
Participation: Does it affect your ability to work, study or take part in social life?
Lifetime need: Are you likely to need NDIS supports for your whole life?

If you answered yes to all seven, you may meet the disability requirements. If you answered yes to the first four but not the rest, look at the early intervention requirements below: they ask whether getting supports early is likely to reduce your need for support later. If your child is younger than 6 and has developmental delay, the early intervention route has its own test, set out in Test 4.

Test 1: NDIS Age Requirements

Age is the first NDIS eligibility requirement. You must be younger than 65 on the day you make your NDIS application. The NDIA explains that this means your application needs to be complete, in the format it asks for, and received before you turn 65. If you are turning 65 soon, contact the NDIA so it can help you apply on time.

If you are already an NDIS participant when you turn 65, you can choose to keep using NDIS supports or change to aged care supports. You cannot use both at the same time, and nothing changes if you stay on the NDIS.
If you move into residential aged care after turning 65, you have to leave the NDIS.
If you are a First Nations person and an NDIS participant, you can choose to access aged care supports from 50 years of age or continue as an NDIS participant.
If you are 65 or older and not a participant, you cannot apply for the NDIS. You may be eligible for aged care supports instead. Centre of Hope also provides aged care services across Sydney.

Children Younger Than 9: The Early Childhood Approach

The NDIA’s early childhood approach is for children younger than 9 with delays in their development or disability. Early childhood partners help these children and their families apply to the NDIS, and they can connect families with supports even when a child is not eligible. Children younger than 9 who meet the residence requirements can be eligible under the disability requirements, the early intervention requirements, or both.

Children younger than 6 with developmental delay may be eligible under the early intervention requirements. Children younger than 6 with developmental concerns, meaning delays that do not meet the NDIS definition of developmental delay, can get supports through the early childhood approach without becoming NDIS participants.

Thriving Kids began its gradual rollout on 1 October 2026. It is the Australian Government’s programme for children aged 8 and under with developmental delay and/or autism and low to moderate support needs, with all supports to be in place by 1 January 2028. The Government has said there will be no changes to NDIS access or eligibility until 1 January 2028, and that children with permanent and significant disability or high support needs will continue to access the NDIS. Our Thriving Kids explainer covers what families can use now.

Test 2: NDIS Residence Requirements

Residence is the second NDIS eligibility requirement. You must be one of the following:

an Australian citizen
a permanent resident
a Protected Special Category visa holder (a visa that is only for some citizens of New Zealand)

You must also live in Australia. The NDIA says this means Australia is your home and you spend most of your time here. To decide, it may ask where you live most of the time, where your family lives, whether you work in Australia, whether you own property here, and how much time you spend overseas.

The residence requirements list only citizenship, permanent residency and the Protected Special Category visa, so people on other visas, such as temporary, bridging or visitor visas, do not meet them.

Usually the NDIA can confirm your residence from your Centrelink record if you give consent. If you do not consent, you will need to give documentary evidence instead.

Once you are a participant, you can travel overseas and use your NDIS supports for up to 6 weeks, which the NDIA calls a grace period. If you will be away for longer and need your NDIS funding, contact the NDIA first and tell it how long you will be away, why you are going, what supports you need while overseas and why you need NDIS funding for them. It will let you know whether it will extend the grace period.

Test 3: The NDIS Disability Requirements (Section 24 of the NDIS Act)

This is the most detailed part of NDIS eligibility. The disability requirements come from section 24 of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013. The NDIA’s current page lists five requirements, and you must meet all of them:

Your disability is caused by one or more impairments.
Your impairment is, or is likely to be, permanent.
Your impairment substantially reduces your ability to do everyday tasks.
Your impairment affects your ability to work, study or take part in social life.
You are likely to need NDIS supports for your lifetime.

The impairment can be intellectual, cognitive, neurological, sensory or physical, or relate to a psychosocial disability. The NDIA treats an impairment as a significant change in your body’s functions, your body’s structure, or how you think and learn. It does not matter what caused it: you could have had it from birth, or it could come from an injury or a health condition. The NDIA also says it checks eligibility based on your impairments, not your type of disability or diagnosis.

What “Permanent” Means

The NDIA needs evidence that you are likely to have the impairment for your whole life. It usually decides this after all known, available and appropriate treatment options have been considered. You may not be eligible if the impairment is temporary, or if there are known, available, appropriate and evidence-based treatments that are likely to remedy it.

The impact of your impairment can go up and down, or come in episodes, and it can still be permanent. In some cases it is clear an impairment is permanent while you are still having treatment or rehabilitation, such as after a spinal cord injury. A degenerative impairment is treated as permanent if treatment is not likely to remedy it.

The amending Act passed in August 2026 changes how permanence will be assessed for people applying from 1 January 2028. The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing says the Act requires appropriate treatment to remedy or alleviate an impairment before it can be considered permanent, that it does not force anyone to have treatment, and that “appropriate treatment” does not mean trying every possible treatment. It means considering treatments that are widely accepted and likely to make a meaningful difference. You will only be expected to undertake publicly funded treatments, such as through Medicare, the PBS and public hospitals, and you will not be expected to undergo invasive or significant medical interventions, such as cochlear implants, to meet the access criteria.

What “Substantially Reduced Functional Capacity” Means

Your permanent impairment must substantially reduce your ability to do daily activities in at least one of these six areas:

Communicating: how you express yourself compared with other people your age, how well you understand people, and how others understand you.
Socialising: how you make and keep friends or interact with the community, and how you cope with feelings and emotions in social situations.
Learning: how you learn, understand and remember new things, and practise and use new skills.
Moving around: how easily you move around your home and community, and get in and out of bed or a chair.
Looking after yourself: personal care, hygiene, grooming, eating and drinking, and health.
Managing your life: how you plan, make decisions, solve problems and manage your money. This is about your mental or cognitive ability, not your physical ability.

The NDIA says this means you usually need disability-related supports to do these activities, such as a high level of support from other people (physical assistance, guidance, supervision or prompting), or assistive technology, equipment or home modifications prescribed by a health professional. A functional capacity assessment by an occupational therapist, physiotherapist, psychologist or medical specialist can help show this, although the NDIA says you do not have to do one to be eligible. If you have more than one permanent impairment, the NDIA considers them together.

Work, Study and Social Life

The NDIA looks at how your impairment affects your ability to work, study or socialise. Its examples include finding and keeping a job or starting a business, studying, spending and saving money, playing sport, going to the movies, volunteering and travelling.

Lifetime Need for NDIS Supports

The last thing the NDIA looks at is whether you are likely to need support under the NDIS for your whole life, even if your needs go up and down. It considers your life circumstances, the nature of your long-term support needs, and whether those needs are best met by the NDIS or by community and mainstream services. Many chronic health conditions, for example, are managed through the health system.

Test 4: NDIS Early Intervention Requirements (Section 25 of the NDIS Act)

The early intervention requirements are the second route to NDIS eligibility. They are for situations where getting supports early can reduce the impact of an impairment and the supports you need later. To meet them, the NDIA must have evidence of all of the following:

You have an impairment that is, or is likely to be, permanent (including a psychosocial disability caused by an impairment), or you are a child younger than 6 with developmental delay.
Early intervention is likely to reduce your need for supports in the future.
Early intervention will help by reducing the impact of your impairment on your functional capacity, preventing it from getting worse, improving it, or building the skills of your informal supports, such as family members who help you.
The early intervention supports you need are NDIS supports.

You can meet both the disability and the early intervention requirements at the same time. The NDIA also says it will check your eligibility regularly when it reviews your plan, and at other times.

Children Younger Than 6 With Developmental Delay

For a child younger than 6, the NDIA needs evidence from the child’s doctor, specialist or treating professional that the developmental delay:

is due to a mental or physical impairment
substantially reduces the child’s functional capacity compared with other children the same age
means the child needs specialist services from more than one professional working as a team for longer than 12 months

Young People With Hearing Loss

You may also meet the early intervention requirements if you are aged 25 or younger with a hearing impairment. The NDIA asks for a specialist audiological assessment showing auditory neuropathy, or hearing loss of at least 25 decibels in either ear at 2 or more adjacent frequencies that is likely to be permanent.

The NDIS Condition Lists (List A to List D)

The NDIA publishes four condition lists, List A, B, C and D, in the appendices of its guideline Applying to the NDIS (26 August 2026). They group diagnoses by how likely they are to meet the disability or early intervention requirements.

List A: conditions likely to meet the disability requirements. It includes intellectual disability diagnosed and assessed as moderate, severe or profound, autism at DSM-5 Level 2 or 3 diagnosed by a specialist multidisciplinary team, paediatrician, psychiatrist or clinical psychologist, and severe cerebral palsy (for example GMFCS Level 3, 4 or 5). If you give evidence of a List A condition, the NDIA says it will likely decide you meet the disability requirements.
List B: conditions likely to result in a permanent impairment, including autism that does not meet the List A severity criteria. The NDIA will likely accept the impairment is permanent, but still needs evidence of how it affects your everyday life.
List C: for people who were receiving disability support in Western Australia. The guideline says that transition is complete and List C is no longer in operation.
List D: conditions for children younger than 7. If a child younger than 7 has been diagnosed with a List D condition, the NDIA will decide they meet the early intervention requirements with no further assessment.

The lists are a shortcut the NDIA uses when it weighs evidence for an NDIS eligibility decision. They are not the legal test itself: the requirements in sections 24 and 25 are what your application is decided against.

What the Lists Mean for Your Application

If your diagnosis is not on a list, you can still be eligible. Whatever your diagnosis, lead with functional evidence. A diagnosis establishes the impairment. Evidence of daily impact shows whether it substantially reduces your functional capacity, and that is what the functional capacity requirement asks about. Ask your treating professionals to describe how the impairment affects communicating, socialising, learning, moving around, looking after yourself and managing your life.

How to Apply for the NDIS

If this NDIS eligibility checklist suggests you may qualify, the NDIA’s application process has five steps.

Connect with an NDIS partner: a local area coordinator if you are aged 9 to 64, or an early childhood partner for children younger than 9. If you are not sure who your partner is, call the NDIA on 1800 800 110 or visit a local office.
Gather evidence with your treating health professional: you may need an appointment to talk about what your application needs.
Complete your application: your NDIS partner can help you complete it, or you can fill out the NDIS access request form yourself. Section 1 is completed by you or your representative, and Section 2 by your treating health professional.
Submit it: your NDIS partner can submit it for you, or you can use the NDIA’s service hub, post it to NDIA, GPO Box 700, Canberra ACT 2601, or deliver it in person to a local office.
Wait for the decision: see the timeframes below.

You can take a support person to any meeting with the NDIA, such as a family member, friend, support coordinator or recovery coach.

The 90-Day Decision Timeframe

Under the Participant Service Guarantee, the NDIA says it will decide whether you are eligible within 90 days once your application and all your supporting evidence are submitted. It works like this:

Day 0: you submit your application with all supporting evidence.
Within 90 days: the NDIA decides that you are eligible, that you are not eligible, or that it needs more information.
If more information is requested: you will have at least 90 days to provide it. Once the NDIA has been given it, its timeframe to decide is 14 days.

If you are eligible, the NDIA tells you whether you met the disability requirements, the early intervention requirements or both, and gives you an impairment notice. Then the planning process begins. For what happens next, see our complete guide to how the NDIS works.

If You Are Not Approved

The NDIA will send a letter explaining why. You can call it on 1800 800 110 to talk about the decision, and you have options:

Internal review: ask the NDIA to review the decision within 3 months of receiving it. Another staff member who was not involved in the original decision checks it.
External review: if you still disagree after the internal review, you can ask the Administrative Review Tribunal to review the decision. The NDIA says you have 28 days after it completes the internal review to do this.
Apply again: there is no limit on the number of times you can apply. You can apply again if your situation changes and you have more evidence, but not while a review of the decision is still under way.

NDIS Eligibility From 1 January 2028: What Is Changing

The National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Act 2026 passed Parliament on 19 August 2026 and received Royal Assent on 20 August 2026. It enables changes to who can access the NDIS, but the eligibility changes do not start straight away. People will continue applying to the NDIS in the same way until 1 January 2028.

From 1 January 2028, according to the NDIA and the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing:

New applicants will go through a standardised, evidence-based assessment of functional capacity, focused on how a person’s day-to-day living is affected by their disability. A Technical Advisory Group is advising on the thresholds and assessments.
Permanence will be assessed more consistently, including whether an impairment can be treated or alleviated (see What “Permanent” Means above).
Compensation schemes: people who are eligible for or receive support for their impairment from workers’ compensation or motor vehicle accident schemes may no longer be eligible.
Existing participants will be reassessed against the new criteria progressively over 3 years. The Department says participants will be given information well in advance of any reassessment.
Children aged 8 and under with developmental delay and/or autism and low to moderate support needs will be supported by Thriving Kids rather than the NDIS. Children aged 8 and under who are accessing the NDIS before 1 January 2028 will continue to be reassessed under the earlier criteria until they turn 9.

The Department says people with permanent and significant disability will still be able to access the NDIS, and that anyone who disagrees with an access decision can still ask for a review. The Department also says it is still working on the design and details for Thriving Kids with the states and territories before making any changes to the laws, and the new eligibility process is still being consulted on, so check back before 2028.

Changes That Affect Plans, Not Eligibility

Some reforms you may have heard about change plans rather than who can join. From 1 October 2026, some support budgets are being reset when plans are reassessed or new plans approved, and from 1 February 2027 when plans are renewed (our budget resets guide explains this), and from April 2027 the NDIA will begin introducing its new way of planning. For the wider picture, see our 2026 NDIS planning changes guide.

Evidence You Will Need: A Practical Checklist

The evidence you provide drives the NDIS eligibility decision. Here is what to gather before you apply:

Identity: the NDIA needs to see 3 identity documents: one birth or arrival document (such as a full birth certificate, passport or Australian citizenship certificate) and 2 documents you use in the community (such as a Medicare card, a bank card with your name on it, or a utility account with your name and current address).
Age and residence: your consent for the NDIA to use your Centrelink record, or documentary evidence instead.
Your primary disability: evidence from a treating health professional relevant to your primary disability that confirms it. The NDIA says evidence also needs to be recent.
Severity, where it matters: for example the DSM-5 level for autism, the GMFCS level for cerebral palsy, or whether intellectual disability is assessed as moderate, severe or profound.
Functional impact: how your disability affects the different areas of your life, ideally across the six functional areas above.
Treatments: previous treatments and their outcomes, and future treatment options and their expected outcomes.

The NDIA says your treating health professional should be the most appropriate person to give evidence about your primary disability, should have treated you for at least 6 months, and should be registered to practise in Australia or New Zealand. If you are not sure what evidence will help most, ask your NDIS partner before you submit.

NDIS Eligibility FAQ

Can I apply for the NDIS without a formal diagnosis?

The NDIA decides eligibility based on your impairments rather than a diagnosis label, but its evidence guidance asks your treating professional to confirm your primary disability and its impact. For a child younger than 6, developmental delay can meet the early intervention requirements when the evidence shows the delay meets the NDIS definition. Talk to your NDIS partner about what evidence your situation needs.

Does autism automatically qualify for the NDIS?

No diagnosis qualifies automatically. Autism at DSM-5 Level 2 or Level 3, diagnosed by a specialist multidisciplinary team, paediatrician, psychiatrist or clinical psychologist, is on List A, so the NDIA says it will likely decide you meet the disability requirements. You still need to meet the age and residence requirements. Autism that does not meet the List A severity criteria is on List B, so you will need evidence of how it substantially reduces your functional capacity. Our access changes for children under 8 guide covers what changes for young children from 2028.

What if my condition is rare or not well known?

You can still qualify. The NDIA assesses the impact of a permanent impairment, not whether your diagnosis appears on a list. Provide diagnostic evidence from a relevant professional plus evidence of daily impact, showing the impairment is likely to be permanent and substantially reduces your functional capacity.

How long does it take to get an NDIS eligibility decision?

The NDIA says it will tell you whether you are eligible within 90 days once your application and all your supporting evidence are submitted. If it asks for more information, its timeframe to decide after receiving it is 14 days.

What if I am 65 or older when I apply for the first time?

You cannot apply for the NDIS. You may be eligible for aged care supports instead. People who are already NDIS participants when they turn 65 can choose whether to stay on the NDIS, and First Nations participants can choose to access aged care supports from age 50 or continue as NDIS participants.

Am I eligible if I am on a temporary or bridging visa?

No. You must be an Australian citizen, a permanent resident or a Protected Special Category visa holder, and live in Australia.

Will the reforms remove me from the NDIS if I am already a participant?

Nothing changes to eligibility before 1 January 2028. From then, existing participants will be reassessed against the new criteria progressively over 3 years, and the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing says participants will get information well in advance and that people with permanent and significant disability will continue to be able to access the NDIS. If you disagree with a decision about your access, you can ask for a review.

What is the difference between the disability and early intervention requirements?

The disability requirements (section 24 of the NDIS Act) apply when your impairment is permanent and you are likely to need NDIS supports for life. The early intervention requirements (section 25) apply when getting supports early is likely to reduce your need for support later, including for children younger than 6 with developmental delay. You can meet both at the same time.

Do I need to re-apply each year?

No. Plan reassessments are about your plan, not about applying again. The NDIA can start an eligibility reassessment if it gets information suggesting you may no longer meet the requirements, and it checks early intervention eligibility when it reviews your plan. From 1 January 2028, existing participants will also be reassessed against the new access criteria over 3 years.

Can I get help to apply?

Yes. Your NDIS partner, a local area coordinator for people aged 9 to 64 or an early childhood partner for children younger than 9, can explain the process, help you gather evidence, and complete and submit your application with you. You can also bring a family member, friend or other support person to any meeting.

How Centre of Hope Can Help

Centre of Hope is a registered NDIS provider in New South Wales. NDIS eligibility decisions sit with the NDIA, so if you are applying for the first time, start with your NDIS partner. Once you are a participant, we can help you put your plan to work.

Our NDIS services include support coordination and Level 3 specialist support coordination, psychosocial recovery coaching, employment coaching, justice and re-entry support, and daily living supports such as personal care, community access, in-home support, transport and supported independent living. You can see them all on our services page. Through our allied health services we also provide positive behaviour support and early childhood intervention, both funded under the NDIS.

Because we deliver daily supports as well as coordination, we make one commitment plainly: if an option we suggest is one of our own services, we tell you, we talk through the alternatives, and the decision stays with you. You can read more about how we work.

Your goals. Your plan. Our support.

Meeting the NDIS eligibility criteria is the first step. The real work begins after you are approved: choosing the right providers, building a plan that reflects what matters to you, and using your funding to live the life you want.

If you are an NDIS participant in New South Wales and want support that explains your plan in plain English and starts from your goals, get in touch.

Call us: 0432 250 900
Visit: centreofhope.com.au
Email: hello@centreofhope.com.au
Refer: Submit a referral