The rule: apply before you turn 65
Section 22 of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 says a person meets the age requirements if they were aged under 65 when their access request was made. There is no lower age limit, so babies and young children can apply.
The date that matters is the date you make the request. If you apply at 64 and the NDIA decides after your 65th birthday, you still meet the age requirement. You must also meet the residence requirements and either the disability or early intervention requirements.
If you are nearly 65
If you think you might be eligible and your 65th birthday is coming up, do not wait until you have every report. Make the access request first, then gather evidence. If the NDIA asks for more information you generally have 90 days to provide it.
A support coordinator, local area coordinator, GP or advocate can help you get the request in quickly.
What happens when a participant turns 65
Turning 65 does not end your NDIS plan. You can keep using the NDIS for as long as you meet the access criteria, or you can choose to move to aged care if it suits you better.
Under section 29 of the Act, you stop being a participant if you start accessing ongoing funded aged care services on a permanent basis, and this first happens after you turn 65. Specialist aged care programs are an exception. Moving into permanent residential aged care is the most common example.
Choosing between the NDIS and aged care
You cannot be funded by both systems for the same needs at the same time. Before you choose, compare:
- What your NDIS plan funds now, and whether aged care would fund the same supports
- Whether aged care would mean contributing to the cost of your care
- Which providers you would keep, and which you would have to change
- That leaving the NDIS for aged care after 65 is usually permanent, so you cannot simply rejoin later
Where to get support if you are already 65 or over
If you were 65 or over when you first needed disability support, the aged care system is the main path. Start with My Aged Care, which arranges an assessment for home support or residential care. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can access aged care from age 50.
People who were already receiving state or territory disability services before the NDIS started, but were not eligible for the NDIS because of their age, may get support through Disability Support for Older Australians (DSOA), which replaced the Continuity of Support programme.
Younger people in aged care
NDIS participants under 65 who live in residential aged care remain NDIS participants. Governments have targets to reduce the number of younger people in residential aged care, and the NDIS can fund support to explore other home and living options, such as Specialist Disability Accommodation or an Individualised Living Option.