7 January 2025
NDIS Update: Impairment Notices - What you Need to Know
Key Points
- From 1 January 2025, all new NDIS participants will receive an impairment notice from the NDIA.
- Existing participants will get an impairment notice during plan reviews or when transitioning to a new plan.
- An impairment notice confirms a permanent disability or significant impairment that meets NDIS disability or early intervention criteria.
- There are six NDIS impairment categories as shown below.
Since 1 January 2025
As of 1 January 2025, individuals newly entering the NDIS will be provided with an impairment notice by the NDIA. This document verifies the presence of a permanent disability or significant impairment and outlines how the impairments meet NDIS disability or early intervention criteria.
Existing NDIS participants will receive their impairment notice during plan transitions or the next review. If you don’t receive one immediately in January, there’s no cause for concern.
What’s Included in the Impairment Notice?
Your impairment notice will outline:
- Whether you qualify under the disability or early intervention pathways.
- The impairment categories you meet.
Supports purchased with NDIS funds must align with the listed impairments and adhere to the updated NDIS support definitions.
Why This Change?
The move from diagnosis-based assessments to impairment-based notices recognizes that individuals with the same diagnosis can have vastly different needs.
Impairment Categories
Impairment notices prioritize eligible impairments rather than diagnoses. The six categories are:
- Intellectual
- Cognitive
- Neurological
- Sensory
- Physical
- Psychosocial
Your notice might include one or more categories. For instance, you could have both physical and intellectual impairments, each requiring tailored supports.
Impairments and Your NDIS Plan
The impairments listed in your notice will influence funding decisions, with the NDIS referring to your impairment notice when determining support funding.
Requesting a Variation
If you believe your impairment notice is incorrect, you can request changes, such as adding or removing impairments.
Accessing Participant Information
For existing participants, the timeline for receiving impairment notices remains unclear. If you are reassessing or changing your plan, you’ll need to demonstrate how your supports align with recognized impairments—even if you haven’t received your notice yet.
You can submit a Participant Information Access request to the NDIA to access:
- Your Access Request Form (ARF)
- Evidence of Disability (EOD)
- Supporting Evidence Form (SEF)
- Access Decision and the reasons behind it.
While this isn’t the formal impairment notice, it provides insight into the NDIA’s access criteria and can be a useful resource while awaiting your official notice.
What’s Next?
We’ll continue to provide updates as more information about impairment notices and their implementation becomes available.
Here to Help
At Disability Pathway Solutions, we are committed to guiding you through these updates. Our team offers timely, accurate information to support you during this transition. Visit our
NDIS Changes page for the latest news on NDIS reforms.
Please send us any questions on this issue or any others that you may have by opening the Contact Us Now button below.
