Where the lists come from
In 2024 Parliament changed the NDIS Act to add a definition of NDIS supports, in section 10. The details sit in a legal instrument called the NDIS Supports Transitional Rules, which started on 3 October 2024.
Before this, decisions about what you could buy relied mostly on whether something was reasonable and necessary for you. Reasonable and necessary still matters, but there is now a first test as well: the support has to be an NDIS support at all.
The three lists
The Rules work through three lists, each doing a different job:
- Supports that are NDIS supports: 36 broad categories, such as household tasks, therapeutic supports, assistive products, support coordination and specialist disability accommodation
- Supports that generally are not NDIS supports: a more specific list of things the NDIS does not pay for, such as rent, groceries, standard household items and treatment that is the health system's job
- Replacement supports: a small set of items, such as tablets and smartphones, that you can ask to buy with NDIS funding when they would replace a support you already have
How to use the lists
The NDIS supports list describes broad categories rather than every item, so a support does not have to be named to count. The list of things that are not NDIS supports is narrower and more exact. If something is on that list, you cannot buy it with NDIS funding unless the NDIA has approved it as a replacement support.
Being on the NDIS supports list is not the whole answer either. The support also has to relate to your disability and fit the funding in your plan. Three things are never NDIS supports under the Act itself: sexual services, alcohol and illegal drugs.
If you are not sure, ask your plan manager or support coordinator before you buy, and keep any written answer. The government's own consultation found people often get different answers from different sources, so it pays to check.
Who the lists apply to
The current Rules apply to participants with old framework plans, which is almost everyone today. Participants start moving to new framework planning from 1 April 2027, and the government proposes that one updated set of Rules will cover both kinds of plan, so there are not two different lists.
The lists matter for everyone who handles your funding. If you are plan managed, your plan manager should only pay invoices for supports that are NDIS supports, and providers need to know the lists to avoid claims being refused.
Proposed changes: 18 categories instead of 36
The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing consulted on updated Rules from 19 August to 14 October 2026. The changes are proposals, not law yet. The main ones are:
- Moving from 36 support categories to 18 broader ones described by purpose, such as in home and community supports, therapy supports and assistive technology
- Splitting disability related health supports into nursing and consumables
- Making clear that assistive technology and consumables can be bought from ordinary shops, pharmacies and hardware stores where suitable
- Removing the replacement supports process, with tablets, smartphones, smart watches and accessibility apps able to be included as stated supports instead
- Adding a few items to the not NDIS supports list, including electronic noise cancelling headphones, fencing and gates, hair styling tools, electric vehicle charging costs and scuba therapy
What this means for providers
Check that what you sell or deliver sits inside a category on the NDIS supports list, and that nothing in your offer is on the excluded list. Be clear in quotes and invoices about what the support is, because vague descriptions are what plan managers query most. Watch for the final Rules, since category names and some exclusions are likely to change.