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Acronyms
| Acronym | Term |
|---|---|
| AAT | Administrative Appeals Tribunal |
| ADL | Assistance with Daily Life |
| ADS | Australia's Disability Strategy |
| AFSR | Annual Financial Sustainability Report |
| API | Application Programming Interfaces |
| APTOS | Applied Principles and Tables of Support |
| ASA | Adult Safeguarding Agencies |
| AT | Assistive Technology |
| BSP | Behaviour Support Plan |
| CFFR | Council on Federal Financial Relations |
| COAG | Council of Australian Governments Reform Council |
| CTG | Closing the Gap |
| CVS | Community Visitor Schemes |
| DAC | Disability Advisory Council |
| DDA | Disability Discrimination Act 1992 |
| DOC | Disability Outcomes Council |
| DRMC | Disability Reform Ministerial Council |
| DRO | Disability Representative Organisation |
| DREF | Disability Research and Evaluation Fund |
| DSOA | Disability Support for Older Australians |
| DSP | Disability Support Pension |
| DSS | Department of Social Services |
| FFA | Federation Funding Agreement |
| GP | General Practitioner |
| HACC | Home and Community Care |
| IAC | NDIS Independent Advisory Council |
| IGA | Intergovernmental Agreement |
| IGR | Intergenerational Report |
| IHACPA | Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority |
| ILC | Information, Linkages and Capacity Building |
| JSC | Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme |
| LAC | Local Area Coordinators |
| LGBTIQA+SB | Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Intersex, Queer or Questioning, Sistergirl and Brotherboy |
| MoU | Memorandum of Understanding |
| NDA | National Disability Agreement |
| NDDA | National Disability Data Asset |
| NDS | National Disability Strategy |
| NDIA | National Disability Insurance Agency |
| NDIS | National Disability Insurance Scheme |
| NDIS Act | National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 |
| NDRP | National Disability Research Partnership |
| NIIS | National Injury Insurance Scheme |
| PSG | Participant Service Guarantee |
| SDA | Specialist Disability Accommodation |
| SIL | Supported Independent Living |
| UNCRPD | United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities |
| UNDRIP | United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples |
Glossary
| Word | Definition |
|---|---|
| 24/7 living supports | Participants who require at least 8-hours of active support and/or supervision with activities of daily living and some level of support for the remaining hours of the day while at home, including overnight (whether active or passive assistance). For some participants, 24/7 support may entail active support for every minute of every day, however, this is only in specified circumstances. |
| Access list | A series of lists designed to automate and streamline access decisions for people with disability to the NDIS.384 List A - a list of conditions that are likely to meet of all elements of the disability requirements under section 24 of the NDIS Act. List B - a list of conditions that are likely to result in permanent impairment in line with sections 24 or 25 of the NDIS Act. List C - a list of programs previously funded by state and territory governments where access was deemed to be equivalent to NDIS access criteria. List D - a list of conditions where a child under 7 will meet early intervention requirements under section 25 of the NDIS Act without further assessment. |
| Adolescents | Individuals in the phase of life between childhood and adulthood - roughly between the ages of 10-19.385 |
| Ageing SDA | Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) dwellings with a design category of Basic, and all Legacy stock. The Basic design category applies to SDA dwellings that were built before 1 April 2016 (Existing SDA) without specialist design features but with a location or other features that cater for the needs of people with disability and assist with the delivery of support services. Legacy stock refers to SDA dwellings that are designed to house 6 or more long-term residents. |
| Annual Financial Sustainability Report (AFSR) | The AFSR provides an assessment of the financial sustainability of the NDIS and is required under the NDIS Act (Section 180B). It is produced using data at 30 June each year. A summary of each year’s AFSR is included in the NDIA Annual Report.386 |
| Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) | A digital tool that allows software and digital product developers to plug into parts of existing digital systems when designing and building new tools and products. APIs can be used to enable data sharing between organisations and government agencies.387 |
| The Applied Principles and Tables of Support (APTOS) | The Applied Principles and Tables of Support (APTOS) are agreed between Australian, state and territory disability ministers. They set out roles and responsibilities of the NDIS and other service systems having regard to the funding and provision of supports to people with disability. |
| Assistance with daily life (ADL) | An NDIS support category that covers a range of supports, including assistance with self-care activities and assistance with household tasks, such as gardening or cleaning. It also includes community nursing supports, and short-term accommodation and assistance. Supported Independent Living (SIL) is also funded under this support category. The NDIA sometimes refers to the ADL support category as ‘Core – Daily Activities’ in published reports. |
| Australian Government Digital Service Standard Criteria | A set of best-practice principles for designing and delivering government services. It helps digital teams to build services that are user-friendly, inclusive, adaptable, and measurable.388 |
| Australia's Disability Strategy (ADS) | Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021–2031 was signed by First Ministers of all Australian governments. It sets out a vision for an inclusive Australian society to ensure people with disability can fulfil their potential as equal members of the community.389 |
| Australia’s Disability Strategy Advisory Council | The Advisory Council’s role is to advise Australian governments and disability ministers on the implementation of the ADS. Advisory Council members are all people with disability.390 |
| Behaviour support or positive behaviour support | A range of proactive strategies implemented to identify and address the underlying causes of behaviours of concern through an individual functional behavioural assessment and development of a positive behaviour support plan.391 |
| Behaviour support plans (BSP) | A document providing evidence-based strategies to help improve the wellbeing of the person with disability who has "complex behaviours of concern". It should be prepared in consultation with the person, their supporters and others who may assist to address their needs.392 |
| Bilateral agreement | Bilateral agreements are between two parties and cover areas of shared interest to achieve a particular outcome. In the NDIS context, bilateral agreements are usually between the Australian Government and one other state or territory.393 |
| Block funded | Refers to a ‘traditional’ model of government funded service delivery where a department, agency or other service delivery organisation receives funding in a ‘block’, often based on fixed criteria with respect to expected numbers of clients, or services to be delivered over a given period of time. This is often contrasted with an activity based funding model where a department, agency or service delivery organisation receives funding based on the amount of services provided, and an assumed efficient price for each service. It is also distinct from an individual funding model such as the NDIS, where a participant receives an individualised budget that they can use to purchase market-provided services and supports. |
| Budget setting | In the NDIS context, budget setting is the process of determining the amount of reasonable and necessary support funding included in a plan. |
| Cabinet Minister | Along with the First Minister of a government, Cabinet ministers form the main decision-making group within executive government – the Cabinet. A Cabinet minister's role includes directing government policy and making decisions about issues, spending time considering and discussing current problems within their portfolio of responsibilities and how these can be solved, and presenting bills – proposed laws – from their departments.394 |
| Capability review | Capability reviews are assessments of an Australian Government agency's ability to meet future objectives and challenges. They are undertaken by the Australian Public Service Commission.395 |
| Capacity building | Increasing people’s knowledge, skills and abilities. This can apply to an individual – for example, developing their skills in a certain area to allow them to live more independently. It can also apply to a community as a whole – for example, building the capacity of organisations to be more inclusive. |
| Care and support sector | The care and support sector describes a range of sectors involved in the provision of paid care and support. This includes aged care, disability support, veterans’ care, and in some cases, early childhood education and care. For the purpose of this report, when we refer to the care and support sector, we do not include early childhood education and care.396 |
| Choice and control | The right to make decisions about what is important, to decide what supports are required and who will deliver them.397 |
| Citizens’ jury | A citizens' jury provides the opportunity for citizens to learn about a complex issue, deliberate together and develop well-informed, common ground recommendations or solutions to difficult public issues. The citizens' jury process also allows decision-makers and the public to discover what people really think once they have heard from a balanced range of witnesses and taken a close look at a topic.398 |
| Commissioning | A process of purchasing supports or services from a provider or group of providers. The commissioning process could involve agreeing on what supports and services are delivered, as well as how much would be paid for delivering the support or service. Governments typically commission supports or services, but communities can also commission supports or services. |
| Commonwealth Mobility Allowance | A payment to people with disability or with other health conditions who need to travel for work or study but are unable to use public transport without considerable assistance. It is not available for people already receiving funded supports from the NDIS. |
| Community supports and activities | Supports and activities run by, in and for the local community. They include everything from local businesses to local sporting or recreational groups. |
| Compensation schemes | Schemes outside of the NDIS that provide payments for supports for losses or injury. These can include motor vehicle accident and compulsory third party schemes, workers compensation schemes, general insurance claims covering permanent illness or injury, and legally determined compensation arrangements. |
| Complex communication support needs | People who need support to communicate to meet their needs. Some people may not use spoken language and will rely on other methods of communication such as pointing or gestures. Some people use technology or a communication partner to assist them in communication.399 |
| Complex Support Needs Pathway | A National Disability Insurance Agency term for NDIS planning for people with complex support needs.400 |
| Corrective measures | Measures that resolve problems, enable improvements to be identified and avoid the same problems recurring (for example, complaints processes and compliance actions).401 |
| Council of Australian Governments | The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) was established in 1992 as the peak intergovernmental forum in Australia comprising of the Prime Minister, state and territory First Ministers and the President of the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA). Its role was to manage matters of national significance or matters that need coordinated action by all Australian governments. On 29 May 2020, National Cabinet agreed to the cessation of COAG. National Cabinet is the successor to COAG.402 |
| Council of Australian Governments Reform Council | Prior to its cessation in 2014, the COAG Reform Council assisted COAG to drive its national reform agenda by strengthening accountability for the achievement of results through independent and evidence-based monitoring, assessment and reporting on the performance of governments. The Council was funded by all governments but was independent of individual governments and reported directly to COAG.403 |
| Council on Federal Financial Relations | The Council on Federal Financial Relations (CFFR) comprises the Australian Government Treasurer and all state and territory treasurers. It is the gatekeeper of the Federation Funding Agreements framework and makes sure that agreements are negotiated and administered efficiently.404 |
| Cross-billing | In the NDIS context, cross-billing payments are made by the Australian Government to state and territory governments for supports provided to participants by state and territory service systems on behalf of the NDIS (for example, taxi subsidy schemes provided to NDIS participants). |
| Decision-supporters | Someone chosen by an individual to help them to make a decision. They do not make the decision on behalf of the individual and can be friends, family, carers, peer networks, advocates or support providers.405 |
| Developmental concerns | Delay/s in the development of a child younger than 6 compared to other children of a similar age, but where the delay does not meet the definition of developmental delay in section 9 of the NDIS Act.406 |
| Developmental delay | Delay/s in the development of a child younger than 6 that meets all criteria outlined in section 9 of the NDIS Act.407 |
| Developmental measures | Measures that strengthen the capability of people with disability, their families and supporters, workers and providers to reduce the risk of harm and promote quality (for example, education, training and information).408 |
| Developmentally vulnerable | Children who demonstrate a significantly lower than average ability in developmental competencies in particular domains (i.e. below the 10th percentile).409 |
| Dignity of risk | Supporting people to take informed risks to improve the quality of their lives. This means rather than seeking to eliminate all risk – which can be highly restrictive and out of proportion to the level of risk involved – the NDIS should work with participants to define acceptable risk levels to achieve their goals.410 |
| Disability | Used in the context of the internationally recognised social model of disability. This is a commitment by all Australian governments under Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021-31. It describes disability as a social construct. Under this model, intersecting societal barriers are the obstacles to equal participation, not people’s impairment. |
| Disability Action Plans and Disability Inclusion Action Plans | A plan that details how an organisation will ensure its goods, services, workplace, premise and facilities are inclusive and accessible for people with disability. |
| Disability Reform Ministerial Council (DRMC) | Commonwealth, state and territory ministers with responsibility for disability policy meet regularly through the Disability Reform Ministerial Council (DRMC). It is established as a Ministerial Council with reporting lines to National Cabinet. For the purpose of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013, DRMC is the Ministerial Council with functions outlined in Part 5, s12.411 |
| Disability Support Pension (DSP) | In Australia, the DSP is a welfare benefit payable to people with disability who are assessed as having a low capacity to work. |
| Early childhood | The period of time between birth and 8 years old. |
| Early childhood approach | The way the NDIA helps children with disability and developmental concerns younger than 9 and their families access supports appropriate to their needs.412 |
| Early childhood partner | Organisations funded by the NDIA to deliver the early childhood approach for children with developmental delay and disability younger than 9.413 |
| Early intervention | Providing support as early as possible to reduce the impact of disability or developmental delay and build skills and independence.414 |
| Early supports | A short-term program delivered by early childhood partners aimed at addressing specific concerns about a child’s development and building family capacity.415 |
| Enrolled provider | Enrolment reflects the Review's recommendation and means a person or organisation that undergoes a process of enrolment to deliver lowest-risk supports under the National Disability Supports Commission (see Recommendation 17). |
| Evidence based support | Supports provided where there is evidence that the support is effective and beneficial for someone with similar needs and circumstance.416 |
| Federation Funding Agreement | When an agreement involves funding from the Australian Government to the states and territories, it is covered under the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) on Federal Financial Relations. Under the IGA on Federal Financial Relations, payments to the states are outlined through schedules to one of five overarching sectoral Federation Funding Agreements or through one of the National Agreements.417 |
| Formal safeguards | Rules and the actions that are taken by organisations with formal responsibility for the safety of people with disability.418 |
| Foundational supports | Disability-specific supports that are available for and benefit people with disability, families and carers outside of NDIS individual budgets. |
| General foundational supports | Disability-specific supports that are available to benefit all people with disability, and where appropriate, their families and carers and people aged over 65. This includes information and advice and peer support. |
| Group homes | Homes where multiple people with disability, often five or more, live together under a single roof and receive support. They usually have a separate room for a support worker to provide onsite overnight assistance. Apart from staff, only people with disability reside in the dwelling. Each person has their own bedroom, while common areas, like a kitchen, bathroom or dining room, are shared with all the people living in the home. Group homes are generally provider-led, where the rhythm of everyday life is dictated by staff and service providers and residents have little or no say over who they choose to live with. |
| Home and community care programs | State and territory programs that deliver lower intensity disability care supports, such as personal and domestic assistance (including cooking and cleaning) to support people with disability live as independently as possible. Programs are targeted at people with disability aged under 65 and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples aged under 50, who do not have an NDIS individualised budget. |
| Housing and living | In this report we use the term ’housing and living’, rather than ’home and living’, to directly recognise that there are two distinct but interrelated components to the supports of interest to this Review — housing supports (i.e. accommodation and the built environment) and living supports (i.e. support to assist participants with activities of daily living). When working together well, these housing and living supports should create a sense of home for people with disability. |
| Inclusive and accessible | Inclusion is where everyone is treated equally and has an active role in society. Inclusive and accessible services and communities ensure people with disability can access appropriate support and participate as equal members of society. |
| Individual budgets | NDIS funding that is individually determined and made available to a single person. |
| Information, Linkages and Capacity Building – (ILC) | ILC is a set of supports designed to increase the capacity of people with disability, their families and carers to achieve their goals and increase the capacity of the community to be more inclusive. Originally, ILC was known as Tier 2. |
| In-kind programs | Some pre-existing programs funded and provided by governments which provide reasonable and necessary supports to people with disability on behalf of the NDIS. When these supports are provided to an NDIS participant, the government that delivers the service receives a discount to their contributions to the NDIS to the value of the supports provided to the participant (i.e. the cost of the service provided to the participant is considered an "in-kind" contribution to the NDIS). |
| Intergenerational Report (IGR) | The Intergenerational Report is produced by the Australian Government. It projects outlooks for the Australian economy and the Australian Government’s budget over the next 40 years. It examines the long-term sustainability of current policies and how demographic, technological and other structural trends may affect the economy and the budget.419 |
| Intergovernmental Agreement | An intergovernmental agreement (IGA) is an agreement made between the Australian Government and state and territory governments. While IGAs are not legally binding, they express the commitment of governments to work together on certain objectives or goals.420 |
| Intermediary | An individual or organisation who acts as a ‘middle person’ in assisting participants to interact or engage with others, including providers. Intermediaries in the NDIS include roles such as: local area coordinators, early childhood partners, support coordinators, remote community connectors and plan managers. |
| Lead practitioner | An allied health, developmental or early childhood educator who is the main professional working with the family. They help coordinate the team around the child, provide information and advice, emotional support, identify and address needs and support the family to develop self-advocacy skills. |
| LGBTIQA+SB | Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Intersex, Queer or Questioning, Sistergirl and Brotherboy. Sistergirl and Brotherboy are culturally distinct queer identities in First Nations communities. These terms are also used as terms of endearment throughout First Nations communities. |
| Local area coordinators | A contractor funded by the NDIA to deliver a range of coordination services in a particular location to people with disability aged 9 or older and their families.421 |
| Longitudinal data | Longitudinal data refers to a dataset where observations regarding a given individual, business or other unit of observation is collected repeatedly over time. This is often also referred to as panel data. A balanced panel implies that for each time period in the sample, there are a complete set of observations for each individual or observational unit in the panel. An unbalanced panel refers to the situation where not every individual or observational unit may record the full set of observations in every time period. |
| Mainstream services | Mainstream services (also known as universal or essential services) are government services outside the NDIS that all Australians can access and benefit from, regardless of whether or not they have a disability. They include things like health care, education, transport, and employment services. |
| Market stewardship | The market stewardship role of governments is to support: informed participant choice; continuous improvement in service quality and effectiveness; access to quality supports; and appropriate regulation and safeguards for people with disability. A number of government agencies have a market stewardship role of NDIS markets. |
| Medicare | Australia’s universal health insurance scheme that provides guaranteed access to a wide range of health and hospital services at low or no cost. |
| Multilateral agreement | A multilateral agreement is an agreement between the Australian Government and more than one other party. Within disability, multilateral agreements are agreements between the Australian Government and more than one state and/or territory |
| National Agreement on Closing the Gap | The National Agreement on Closing the Gap (2020) is a commitment by all Australian governments and First Nations people as represented by the Coalition of Peaks to work in new ways to drive better outcomes. These outcomes are represented through the four Priority Reforms and 17 socio-economic targets. |
| National Cabinet | National Cabinet is a forum for the Prime Minister, Premiers and Chief Ministers to meet and work collaboratively. It is the successor to the former Council of Australian Governments.422 |
| National Injury Insurance Scheme | A program designed alongside the NDIS to provide lifetime care and support on a no-fault basis to individuals who suffer a catastrophic injury resulting in substantial and permanent disability. Intended to be established for four types of injuries: motor vehicle accidents, workplace accidents, medical accidents and general accidents (occurring in the home or community). |
| Natural safeguards | Actions and features that are part of people’s day-to-day lives and support them to manage their safety (also called informal safeguards).423 |
| Natural settings | Places where children live, play and learn like the family home, school or early childhood education and care or community. |
| NDIS Independent Advisory Council | The Independent Advisory Council (IAC) is established under Part 3 of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 and represents the participants’ voice in the NDIS. The IAC has a statutory function to advise the NDIA Board on the most important issues affecting participants, carers and families.424 |
| NDIS outcomes framework | Surveys that measure the outcomes of NDIS participants and their family members and supporters over time. The surveys ask NDIS participants about how their lives are changing in areas like daily living, choice and control, health and wellbeing, relationships, community participation, work and learning. Family members and supporters are also asked about their experiences while caring for a person in the scheme. |
| Nominees | A person appointed to act for or make decisions on behalf of a participant. Nominees can be appointed by participants or courts, and can be child representatives, correspondence nominees or plan nominees.425 |
| Participant | A person who meets the NDIS access requirements.426 |
| Participant journey | The path of interactions a person who meets the NDIS access requirements takes to access NDIS-funded supports. |
| Participant pathway | The interactions that a participant experiences in relation to the NDIS. This includes learning about the NDIS, applying for the Scheme and planning.427 |
| Participant Service Guarantee (PSG) | The Participant Service Charter includes timeframes for the NDIA's processes – set out under the Participant Service Guarantee and legislated through the NDIS Act. The NDIA must make decisions about access, plan approvals, plan reviews and nominee changes within these timeframes. This gives participants, families and carers greater certainty about how long processes will take. Each quarter, the Agency reports against Participant Service Guarantee timeframes in the Quarterly Report.428 |
| Person with disability | A person who has any or all of the following: impairments, activity limitations (difficulties in carrying out usual age-appropriate activities), and participation restrictions (problems a person may have taking part in community, social and family life).429 |
| Personal Care In Schools | Disability-related supports provided by state and territory governments to students to assist them with routine activities in school. This assistance generally covers meals, toileting and personal hygiene, dressing, mobility, along with complex supports (i.e. medicine, health supports). |
| Plan inflation | In the NDIS context refers to the increase in plan values between participant plans, usually every 12 months. |
| Planning process | The process of developing a plan, including evidence gathering, planning meetings, the discussion of a participant's goals and aspirations and the statement of participant supports.430 |
| Positive rights-based | The culture and approach providers should have in place when delivering behaviour support and restrictive practices that is focused on improving the quality of life and protecting the rights of people with disability. |
| Preventative measures | Measures that proactively regulate providers and workers to reduce the risk of harm and promote quality (for example, provider registration and worker screening).431 |
| Provider of last resort | A provider who is responsible for delivering an essential support or service when the market fails and there is no other timely way to deliver these supports or services. The provider can be a government or non-government organisation. |
| Psychosocial disability | Arises from the interaction between a person with a long-term mental health condition (that may be episodic) and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.432 |
| Psychosocial supports | Supports for people with psychosocial disability to rebuild and maintain connections, manage daily activities, build social skills and participate in education and employment.433 |
| Quality | The extent to which supports meet or exceed a person’s needs and expectations.434 |
| Reasonable and necessary | The test for determining whether a support should be funded by the NDIS in a participant's plan.435 |
| Registered provider | A person or organisation that undergoes a process of registration to deliver supports under the current NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (or future National Disability Supports Commission).436 |
| Residential aged care | Aged care homes (sometimes known as nursing homes or residential aged care facilities) for older people who can no longer live at home and need ongoing help with everyday tasks or health care.437 |
| Restrictive practices | Practices or interventions that restrict the freedom of movement or rights of a person with disability.438 |
| Risk-proportionate regulation | A risk-based approach allows a regulator to properly assess the risks of non-compliance and respond in a proportionate way to the harm being managed.439 |
| Safeguards | Actions designed to protect the rights of people to be safe from the risk of harm, abuse and neglect, while maximising the choice and control they have over their lives.440 |
| Safety | Typically means being free from injury or danger. It does not matter if the injury or danger is intentional (on purpose) or unintentional (by accident).441 |
| Shared supports | Refers to shared living supports. The term is agnostic to the setting in which supports are delivered. Supports can be shared across a household living together under one roof, but they can also be shared amongst a resident group that have their own apartments in a single development or separate but co-located homes embedded within the community. |
| Social security | Social security refers to a system of social welfare benefits, payments or services available to people on the basis of particular socio-economic needs. |
| Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) | Housing with specialised design features available to participants with extreme functional impairment and/or with very high support needs. SDA funding can be included in a participant’s plan and is paid directly to SDA providers to cover building and maintenance costs. |
| Specialist School Transport | Disability-related transport supports provided by state and territory governments to students to safely transport students with disability to and from school. |
| Substitute decision-making | Processes and arrangements that involve someone making decisions on another person's behalf. Can include appointment of guardians, administrators and financial managers.442 |
| Substitution effects | In the context of the NDIS, this refers to the replacement of particular government funded disability services, supports or assistive technologies outside the NDIS with broadly equivalent NDIS funded disability services, supports or assistive technologies. |
| Supported decision-making | Processes and arrangements that involve supporting individuals to make decisions about their lives, rather than making decisions for them.443 |
| Supported Independent Living (SIL) | A type of living support for participants with a higher level of support need – that is, those who require 8 or more hours of active support and/or supervision per day to complete daily activities as well as some level of support for the remaining hours of the day, i.e. 24/7 support. Generally, only participants over the age of 18 are eligible for SIL and support is shared, although not always. |
| Supports | Within the disability community and the NDIS, it means ‘an activity or service that the NDIS provides funding for’. |
| Sustainability of the NDIS | Where the NDIS provides supports that are reasonable and necessary, demonstrably net-beneficial, and cost-effective. Governance arrangements provide clear accountabilities for managing lifecycle costs and financial risks. Scheme expenditure is predictable and provides benefits to participants, carers and the broader community, ensuring that Australians remain willing to contribute to it in an enduring manner. |
| Targeted foundational supports | Early intervention and low intensity care supports that are primarily for specific groups of people with disability outside the NDIS who are in most need of additional support. Some NDIS participants may prefer targeted foundational supports from supports available as part of their individualised budget. This includes things like home and community care supports (such as shopping and property maintenance) for people with chronic-health related conditions and other disabilities, aids and equipment, early supports for children with development concerns and psychosocial support services. |
| Taxi subsidy schemes | Financial assistance provided by state and territory governments to people with disability that subsidises their taxi travel needs. |
| National Disability Supports Quality and Safeguards Commission | The new National Disability Supports Quality and Safeguards Commission reflects the Review's recommendation to expand the coverage of the current NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission to regulate all Australian Government funded disability supports (see Recommendation 19). |
| Thin markets | A market where the supply or availability of supports is too low, or the demand for supports is too low or spread out for competition between multiple providers to occur. In the NDIS, thin markets most commonly occur in rural and remote areas, but can also occur in metropolitan areas, where there is a specific support need – such as for specialist or culturally informed services. |
| Tier 2 | The term Tier 2 originated from the 2011 Productivity Commission report into Disability Care and Support – which set out the design of the NDIS. Tier 2 referred to the types of supports people with, or affected, by disability may need to access. This included things like information, linkages and referrals. In 2015, all governments agreed to rename Tier 2 as Information, Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC).444 |
| Transitioned participants | Participants who were accessing defined Australian Government, state or territory specialist disability support programs in operation prior to the NDIS and entered the scheme through Bilateral Agreements between the Australian Government and individual states and territories. |
| Unauthorised restrictive practice | In the NDIS, this is where a restrictive practice is used by a provider or worker without receiving authorisation from the relevant state or territory authority, or not used in accordance with a behaviour support plan.445 |
| Unregistered provider | Under current arrangements, a provider that supports an NDIS participant, but is not registered as an NDIS provider.446 |
| Utilisation rate | Refers to the amount that a participant spends of their allocated NDIS plan budget, usually expressed as a percentage. |
| Western concept | Consistent with the social model of disability, the recognition of disability as a ‘western concept’ acknowledges that ‘disability’ as it has been traditionally understood and represented in Australian policy and systems is based on a western cultural ideals and values. |