From Childhood to Adulthood: Does NDIS Funding Shift at 18?

Important information:

• The NDIS is for Australians aged 9–65. At 18, your young person moves from a childhood plan to a full adult participant.
• At 18, they become the legal decision-maker for their own NDIS plan; parents and carers are no longer automatically included. Families can stay involved through consent or a formal nominee arrangement. This needs to be set up in advance.
• Turning 18 is a good time to request a plan reassessment so funding reflects adult life goals: work, housing, study, independence.
• The NDIA will usually contact families around 3 months before the 18th birthday, but your preparation should start much earlier.

Having a loved one turn 18 means something different for every family. For families of National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants, it means a shift in how the scheme works: who's in charge of the plan, what supports are available, and what goals the funding is built around.

What changes when NDIS participants turn 18?

When a participant turns 18, they're encouraged to be responsible for managing their own NDIS plan if possible. After 18, the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), plan managers and most providers will be required to work directly with participants about their NDIS plan.

Families who need to help their young person manage their NDIS plan won't be involved from this point, unless consent has been given or a nominee arrangement has been set up.

NDIS consent explained

Young people can give consent for someone to receive their NDIS information and/or act on their behalf after they turn 18. For example:

• Accessing plan information.
• Helping to request plan changes.
• Administrative access, like updating personal details or bank account details.

To give someone consent to access and help with an NDIS plan, the participant will need to tell the NDIA they want this to happen. The agency accepts verbal consent or written consent. Participants can:

• Tell them directly by calling the NDIA or by telling their NDIS planner at the next meeting.
• Go online and give consent through the 'my NDIS' participant portal.
• Fill out a NDIA consent form saying who is allowed this access.

Note: Participants can update or withdraw this consent at any time.

NDIS nominees explained

A nominee is someone who can make decisions on a participant's behalf about their plan and NDIS supports. For participants, this can be someone you know already – or the NDIS can connect you with a volunteer nominee if you don't have a trusted person to help out.

There are two types of nominees:

Plan nominees

A plan nominee can make decisions about a participant's plan, like asking for changes and managing funding.

Correspondence nominees

Correspondence nominees have consent to ask for information about a participant, or to find out things on their behalf. They'll receive letters, emails, SMS and notices the NDIA sends to the participant.

What if someone can't give informed consent?

Some young people may not be able to understand what's being asked of them, or can't communicate a choice clearly. If this is the case with your loved one, you'll need to contact the NDIA or your LAC to set up the necessary access.

Note: This process can take time, so it's best not to leave it to the last minute. Start having these conversations with your LAC at least 12 months before their 18th birthday, so you're all ready to go.

What if you're already acting as their guardian, or have Power of Attorney?

This is separate from NDIS arrangements and is managed by state or territory tribunals. While guardianship can provide context for NDIS decisions, it doesn't automatically mean guardians have NDIS authority when your loved one turns 18.

Updating your NDIS plan for adult life

Many NDIS plans for young people are built around school-based goals and available family support. This means renewals may be timed around transitions, like leaving school or starting work for the first time – or a review can be requested at any time. If your young person is approaching this stage in life, it's worth thinking about the new kinds of support they will need ahead of time. This might include:

Employment Assistance

Under Capacity Building – Finding and Keeping a Job, you may have funding for "Employment Assistance including youth aged 15 to 25". Specific school leaver supports were previously called SLES, but now this has transitioned to encompass any working-age participant with an employment goal.

This can help with supports to:

• Supplement work experience
• Build essential foundation skills for working
• Transition from school to further education (university, TAFE) or training
• Develop a career plan
• Manage complex barriers to finding and keeping employment

This funding can't be used to pay for the normal costs of further education (such as school fees, course materials) or for support already funded by other systems (like the Vocational Education system).

Housing and independent living

There are three main home and living options under the NDIS:

• Supported independent living (SIL): This is for participants with significant daily support needs, and typically involves a shared accommodation situation where support workers are available on site.
• Individualised living options (ILO): This support is designed to be more flexible, allowing participants to live their own way – e.g. with family, a housemate, a host arrangement, or on their own. It's built around the person rather than the property.
• Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA): This is purpose-built housing for participants with very high support needs. It has very specific eligibility criteria and is focused on the housing itself rather than support workers (these are funded separately).

Related:

• What is Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA)?
• Core Supports Budget: NDIS Home and Living 101

Social and community participation supports

In many childhood plans, families naturally fill this role to help young people grow their confidence and build friendships. As young people transition into adulthood, it can be worth specifically requesting funded supports at the plan meeting.

There are two funding pathways:

• Core Supports – Assistance with Social, Economic and Community Participation: This is funding for a support worker to help participants join activities, access the community, and build social connections.
• Capacity Building Supports – Increased Social and Community Participation: Rather than a support worker to help right now, this support is designed to help build life skills for greater independence in the future.

Checklist: What to organise before turning 18

There are also some non-NDIS items that are practical to sort out for a soon-to-be legal adult, including:

• Setting up a personal email address
• Creating a myGov account to link Medicare, Centrelink and the NDIS portal
• Applying for an individual Medicare card (this can be done from age 15)
• Arranging suitable ID like a passport or proof-of-age card

For NDIS participants and their families, the main ones to focus on are setting up consent or nominee arrangements before turning 18 – and discussing with your LAC or NDIS planner whether a reassessment is needed, and when this should take place.

How NDSP can help NDIS participants and their families

We work with participants and families across Australia to help manage the financial aspects of their NDIS plans. If your young person is turning 18 but still needs your help to navigate their plan, not to worry! With their consent, you can stay involved in plan management conversations with us going forward.

NDSP handles invoice processing, budget tracking, compliance checks and financial admin – so you and your family can focus time and energy on this next stage of life. Our Nappa portal gives real-time budget visibility at any time, on any device, or you can call us on 1800 63 63 77 (Monday to Friday, 8:30AM to 5:30PM ACT) with any questions.

Why not contact our friendly team today to learn more about NDSP's speed, support and simplicity, and how it can help your NDIS journey run smoother.