01 January 2017
The WA NDIS (formerly called My Way) Trial in the Lower South West region (see map below) commenced on 1st July 2014. WA NDIS is due to expand to Upper South West on 1st July 2018.
SWAN CAN HELP! Please contact us on 0499 819 038 or email info@swanautism.org.au for independent information, support and advocacy about WA NDIS processes and planning.
WA NDIS (formerly called My Way) is a model of supporting people with disability to exercise more choice and control over their supports and services. This includes participating in the local community and building on natural supports such as friendships, neighbours and local community groups.WA NDIS is the Western Australian version of the federal National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). WA NDIS focuses on building strong partnerships between the government and the community sector and maintaining close connections with mainstream supports and services. View the WA NDIS Brochure.
Disability Services Commission have provided personal stories of people supported by WA NDIS on youtube. Thank you to those people who shared their stories.
Disability Services Commission have also provided a fact sheet on the WA NDIS trial in the Lower South West. You can view it here. See the WA NDIS Frequently Asked Questions.
The WA NDIS Trial is being held in the Lower South West region (please see map below). WA NDIS will rollout to Upper South West on 1st July 2018. To be eligilble, you must reside in this area and have a disability or a family member with a disability. If you or your child have a formal diagnosis of Autism, Asperger's Syndrome, PDDnos (Pervasive Developmental Disorder not otherwise specified), the person diagnosed is eligible for registration with Disability Services Commission (DSC). Disability Services Commission provide an online self-check quiz to assess your eligibility for the WA NDIS. You can access the online eligibility quiz here. If you live in the Lower South West Region and have any type of disability or care for someone with any type of disability (including psycho-social disability / mental illness), you can also contact your local Lower South West Disability Services Commission office here. You can contact your local Upper South West Disability Services Commission office here. To register with Disability Services Commission to access WA NDIS, you will need to provide:
Planning is central to WA NDIS. The planning process enables people with disability, their families and carers to consider the possibilities of how they might like their life to look, both now and into the future. Local Coordinators can assist you to develop your plan. They can provide advice about available opportunities and help you figure out how best to achieve the goals identified in your plan. You are central to this process and can choose to take full control of your own plan, or you may choose to have a disability service provider manage all or some of your supports and services. Disability Services Commission have produced a fact sheet describing the benefits of a developing a WA NDIS Plan. You can view the fact sheet here.
Each WA NDIS Plan is unique to the individual with disability and their family. Your WA NDIS Plan is about supporting you to achieve your individual goals. The process of developing your WA NDIS Plan will look something like this:
Disability Services Commission have developed a Guide to Planning in WA NDIS and a Fact Sheet: Individualised Planning. If you need information or support during this process, please contact SWAN. The steps you can expect are:
Everybody who is eligible for WA NDIS will be allocated a Local Coordinator (LC) by Disability Services Commission (DSC). Local Coordinators are part of a locally-based team and work with no more than 55 people at a time, so they can provide you with highly personalised, flexible and responsive support. A key part of the Local Coordinator role is to work together with you to build and maintain an effective and trustful relationship. This is important because your Local Coordinator will be your main point of contact throughout your WA NDIS journey. Disability Services Commission have developed a fact sheet describing the role of Local Coordinators. You can view the fact sheet here. If you have an issue with your Local Coordinator that cannot be resolved, or disagree over the inclusion of a goal or strategy in your WA NDIS Plan, please contact your your regional office and ask to speak with the Area Manager. The Area Managers supervise Local Coordinators, and can assist with resolving issues.
Reasonable and necessary supports relate to the disability of the individual and meet each of the following criteria:
a) The support will assist the individual to pursue the goals and vision set out in the plan
b) The support will assist the individual to undertake activities that facilitate their social and economic participation
c) The support represents value for money in that the costs of the support are reasonable, relative to both the benefits achieved and the cost of alternative support
d) The support will be, or is likely to be, effective and beneficial for the individual, having regard to current good practice
e) The funding or provision of the support takes account of what it is reasonable to expect families, carers, informal networks and the community to provide
f) The support is most appropriately funded or provided through WA NDIS, and is not more appropriately funded or provided through other service systems:
(i) as part of a universal service obligation (for example, accessible public transport), or
(ii) in accordance with reasonable adjustments required under a law dealing with discrimination on the basis of disability.
In deciding the supports to be funded under the plan, consideration will need to be given to:
A support will not be funded through WA NDIS if:
a) it is likely to cause harm to the individual or pose a risk to others; or
b) it is not related to the person's disability; or
c) it duplicates other supports provided to the person; or
d) it relates to day-to-day living costs (for example, rent, groceries and utility fees) that are not attributable to a person's disability support needs; or
e) the provision of the support would be contrary to:
(i) a law of the Commonwealth; or
(ii) a law of the State or Territory in which the support would be provided; or
f) a support that consists of income replacement.
For more information about decisions regarding reasonable and necessary supports, see the WA NDIS Operational Policy on Funded Supports - Reasonable and Necessary.
service providers have registered with Disability Services Commission (called 'endorsed providers') to provide services to people with disabilities and their families in the lower south west region. Many have yet to start service provision in the region. You can search for DSC endorsed service providers and learn more here (click on the webpage link 'Lower South West service provider search' to download an Excel spreadsheet). You or the person you care for are not restricted to being supported by the service providers on this list. You may also choose a private therapy provider or community organisation to support part(s) or all of your WA NDIS Plan. You would need to self-manage or share manage the part of your WA NDIS Plan paying private (or non-endorsed) service providers. You can view the WA NDIS operational policy for managing funding here.
YES. Psychologist, Occupational Therapist, Speech Pathologist and Physiotherapist services may be included in WA NDIS Plans. If you are uncertain as to which therapy services you / your child needs, and/or how much of each type of therapy; include a component in your WA NDIS Plan for "Multi-disciplinary" or "Trans-disciplinary" therapy. This will enable you and your therapy provider(s) to work out therapy goals and priorities over the duration of the WA NDIS Plan, with the aim of providing the greatest possible therapeutic benefit to you / your child. Please refer to page 14 of the WA NDIS Pricing Schedule herefor further information about including therapy in your WA NDIS Plan. Therapy can be included in WA NDIS Plans throughout the lifespan. Disability Services Commission have produced A guide to selecting therapy and specialist services which will assist you in making this decision.
There is a pricing schedule for WA NDIS Plans, to guide the estimated costs of goals to be included. The pricing schedule provides pricing limits (bandings) for various strategies that may be included in WA NDIS Plans. The pricing limits for therapy are split into three categories, based on the level of support needed. Lower support needs will have a lower pricing limit, and for individuals with high support needs there is a higher pricing limit. Categories included in the pricing schedule are:
Other important documents with information on pricing and support clusters in WA NDIS:
Individual Plans developed in WA NDIS are reviewed at least once every 12 months to determine whether the plan supports assisted the person to achieve their plan goals. The review is undertaken with the person with disability and any other people they wish to include or otherwise identified person who may have relevant information. You can see the fact sheet on reviewing and appealing decisions here.
A plan review is triggered by one of the following:
1) In accordance with the review date as indicated in the individual's plan being:
2) As requested by the person or their representative or initiated by the Local Coordinator in response to:
You can view the WA NDIS Review of Plans operational policy here. To request a review or appeal a decision, you can contact your Local Coordinator, Area Manager, or fill out the Decision Review/Appeal Request Form and send it to Disability Services Commission.
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WA NDIS supports people with disability, their families and carers to maximise their level of choice and control. This includes the right to request a review of key decisions made by WA NDIS Coordinators. If the person is not happy with the outcome of the internal review process they have the right to request an appeal, overseen by an independent external panel. Disability Services Commission have developed a fact sheet detailing the complaints process for the WA NDIS trial. You can view the fact sheet here.
Alternately you can:
For further information on the WA NDIS visit:
For further information on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) visit:
To join the social media discussion on disability support in Western Australia visit:
To look at the comparison between the disability support system running in WA (WA NDIS) and the federal version running in the rest of the country (NDIS), visit:
You can also follow SWAN on Facebook or ask to join our closed Facebook group for individuals with autism and their families: