The National Disability Insurance Scheme’s (NDIS) latest Quarterly Report has marked a major milestone under the Australian Government, with the world-first insurance scheme now transforming the lives of more than 500,000 Australians living with significant and permanent disability.

Key NDIS quarterly report statistics

There are now more than 502,413 participants receiving varying levels of support. In the last quarter, 20,384 new participants joined the NDIS. Of those:

• 38% were children and there are now 77,287 NDIS participants aged under 7 in the scheme.
• 25.1% of new participants had a developmental delay, compared to 23.7% in the previous quarter.
• 11.9% of participants who received a plan in the quarter had a psychosocial disability. 
• 9.1% identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, compared with 8.8% in the previous quarter.
• 9.6% identified as being from a culturally and linguistically diverse community.

More than 50% of all NDIS participants are now using a plan manager to manage their NDIS funding.  The proportion of plans managed by the NDIA itself has fallen to just 17% indicating that the majority of participants prefer having better choice and control over their providers.  53% use a plan manager and 30% are self-managed.

Positive results for participants

Despite the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 on participation in the community, many positive outcomes are being realised by participants.  The longer a participant receives support from the NDIS, the better their social and employment outcomes.

Social and community participation has increased by almost 10% this quarter for participants who are older than 15 and have been on the NDIS for at least two years.  72% of parents said the NDIS had given their child more independence compared to 61% at their first review.  83% of adult participants said the NDIS had improved their daily living activities at their most recent plan review, an increase from 71% at their first review.

Pandemic support for participants and providers

Key support measures this quarter included:

• A continued push for vaccination and boosters
• Daily payments of $1,200 per day for participants living in shared SIL who need to self-isolate
• Allowing participants to use their core funding to pay for tablets and other technology so they can continue accessing their supports remotely
• Flexible use of funding to buy PPE
• Participants can now buy Rapid Antigen Tests with their core funding

Provider payments

The NDIS market continues to grow, with $6.7 billion in payments up from $6.4 billion in the previous quarter.  This financial year, NDIS participant supports are forecast to reach $29.2 billion. 77% of total payments were for core supports, 20% were for capacity building supports, and 3% were for capital supports.  The amount spent on supports has increased by 64% over the past two years.

You can download and read the full Quarterly Report here.