Who DSOA is for
DSOA supports existing clients who, when the NDIS started in their region, were 65 or over, or were a First Nations person aged 50 to 64, were not eligible for the NDIS, and were already getting state or territory specialist disability services.
The program does not accept new clients. If you are an older person looking for disability support and you are not already a DSOA client, contact My Aged Care on 1800 200 422. If you are under 65, you may be able to apply for the NDIS instead. Our page on Continuity of Support explains how the program began.
What DSOA can fund
DSOA services are set out in each client's Individual Support Package. The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing lists services such as:
- Supported independent living and help with self care
- Short term accommodation and respite, so carers get a break
- Specialist behaviour support and counselling
- Community nursing, continence care and other nursing health supports
- Psychosocial recovery coaching and case management
- Therapy, therapy assistants, dietitians, exercise physiology and hearing services
What DSOA does not fund
DSOA funding cannot be used for everyday living costs such as food, for gardening, domestic cleaning or house maintenance, for home modifications or building works, or for holiday travel and accommodation. It cannot pay family members to provide care, cover past costs, or pay for things another level of government is responsible for. Employment and early childhood services are also outside the program.
How it is managed and what it costs
Your DSOA service coordinator is an organisation that manages your package, delivers services directly or through subcontractors, and responds when your needs change. Service coordinators must generally be registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission for the services they deliver. The government pays them a management fee of 1% of the client's total funding.
DSOA prices line up with NDIS price limits, using the highest NDIS rates for each time of day category. When clients joined DSOA they kept their previous client contribution arrangements and hardship provisions, and any contribution must be written into the Individual Support Package. The department published the 2026/27 service and pricing schedule on 2 October 2026.
Annual reviews and change of needs
Your service coordinator must review your services with you, and your carer, advocate or nominee, every year. The review looks at your function, personal care, mobility and cognition, any health crisis, and any change in your living or carer arrangements, and whether your funding still meets your disability support needs.
If you need more support as you age, the coordinator can submit a change of needs application with supporting evidence, such as letters from your GP, specialist or allied health practitioner. Funding is only considered from the date the department receives a complete application, so ask your coordinator to send it promptly.
Changing coordinator or leaving DSOA
You can move to a different DSOA service coordinator. The transfer date is agreed between everyone involved and is usually at least 6 weeks after the transfer form is submitted.
You can leave DSOA at any time, but leaving is permanent: you cannot come back. People leave because they choose aged care instead, no longer need the services, or, for some First Nations clients, become eligible for the NDIS. The department will also start an exit if you have not used DSOA services for 12 months or more.
DSOA and aged care
One aim of DSOA is to help clients understand their aged care options and move across when their needs change. Since 1 November 2025, in home aged care is delivered through the Support at Home program under the new Aged Care Act. Before you choose, ask your service coordinator to compare your current package with what aged care would offer, because the decision to leave DSOA cannot be undone.