NDIS Terms Made Simple

Local Area Coordinator

An NDIA-funded worker who helps participants with lower support needs to implement their NDIS plan and connect with community services.

Support Coordinator

A funded support worker who helps participants understand and use their NDIS plan, connect with providers, and build independence.

Specialist Support Coordinator

A higher-level support coordinator for participants with complex needs who require specialist assistance to navigate their plan.

Plan Manager

A registered NDIS provider who manages the financial and administrative side of a participant's plan — paying invoices, tracking budgets, and reporting.

National Disability Insurance Agency

The government agency that runs the NDIS, makes funding decisions, and manages participant plans.

Occupational Therapist

An allied health professional who assesses how a disability affects daily living and recommends supports, equipment, or home modifications.

Capacity Building

A funding category in NDIS plans designed to help participants build skills and independence over time, rather than ongoing support.

Capacity Building — Daily Activities

Funding for supports that help participants develop skills for everyday tasks such as cooking, personal care, or using public transport.

Core Supports

The most flexible NDIS funding category, covering everyday supports like personal care, community access, consumables, and assistance with daily life.

Assistive Technology

Equipment or devices that help a participant with their disability — from wheelchairs and hearing aids to communication devices and home automation.

Home Modifications

Structural changes to a participant's home funded by the NDIS to improve safety and accessibility, such as ramps, grab rails, or widened doorways.

Consumables

Everyday items funded under Core Supports that a participant needs because of their disability, such as continence products or low-cost assistive technology.

NDIS Provider and Participant Community Engagement

The NDIA's new IT system that replaced the old portal, used by participants, providers, and plan managers to manage plans and payments.

Provider Digital Access

The government's online identity verification system used by NDIS providers and plan managers to access NDIA systems.

Supported Independent Living

Funding for support workers to assist participants who live in shared or individual accommodation with daily tasks and personal care.

Specialist Disability Accommodation

Funding for the cost of purpose-built or modified housing for participants with very high support needs or an extreme functional impairment.

Individualised Living Option

A flexible living arrangement where a participant chooses how and with whom they live, with supports tailored to their individual goals.

Medium Term Accommodation

Short-term funded accommodation (up to 90 days) while a participant waits for their long-term housing to be arranged.

Short Term Accommodation

Respite or short-stay accommodation funded by the NDIS, often used to give carers a break or for participants to try new living arrangements.

Positive Behaviour Support

A person-centred approach to understanding and reducing behaviours of concern, funded under Capacity Building in NDIS plans.

Behaviour Support Plan

A written plan developed by a behaviour support practitioner that outlines strategies to support a participant and reduce restrictive practices.

Restrictive Practice

Any practice that restricts the rights or freedom of movement of a person with disability. Use must be authorised and reported to the NDIA.