Make Your NDIS Evidence More Effective: 10 Tips for Big Impact
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When it comes to your NDIS application or asking for more support in your plan, what matters most is the evidence you provide.
It's the evidence that really counts - it can either help you succeed or hold you back. That's why it's so important to present your best case.
In this article, we're going to share 10 factors to keep in mind that will make your NDIS evidence more effective. We'll cover what to include and how to present it, giving you the tools to tackle the process with confidence, or to help your support team back you in the best possible way.
For a refresher, here’s a link to the NDIS disability requirements for accessing the scheme - this is arguably the most crucial stage that your evidence will need to shine. But, keeping these tips in mind for each reassessment meeting, or request for different services and supports, is going to help inch you closer to better outcomes, and reduce the likelihood of needing to request a review of the decision.
Now, let's get started and discover how to make your NDIS evidence stand out.
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1. Make it recent
Keeping your NDIS evidence recent is really important because it gives the clearest picture of what you need right now. This means making sure your assessments and reports are up-to-date, showing exactly where you're at today. It's like giving the NDIS a snapshot of your current situation - it tells your story effectively, showcasing the challenges you face and the support you require.
By staying on top of updates from your doctors and therapists, and noting any changes in your life, you're making sure the NDIS sees exactly what you need at this moment. So, remember to keep your evidence fresh and recent to make the strongest case for the support you need to access.
2. Highlight permanency and significance
Having a disability that is permanent and that significantly impacts your daily life, are two of the biggest eligibility criteria for the NDIS, so you need to make sure your evidence addresses this.
To do this, you need to prove that your disability isn't just something temporary, but it's going to be with you for a long time. You also need to explain how your disability impacts your daily life in different ways (we'll talk more about this later). You can do this by sharing medical records, reports from doctors, or notes from healthcare professionals that explain how your condition is long-term and how it affects you.
3. Use the most appropriate professional
Picking the right expert for your type of disability is really important to make sure your evidence for the NDIS is strong. Different disabilities need different kinds of specialists who know a lot about how to deal with them.
For example, if you have a physical disability affecting your mobility, a physiotherapist may be the best choice to provide evidence. On the other hand, if your disability is related to speech or communication, a speech pathologist would be more suitable.
Choosing the right professional for your disability helps make sure your evidence shows exactly how your condition affects you. This makes your case stronger for getting support from the NDIS, and it makes it more likely your application will be successful.
4. Relationships matter
It's not just the type of professional you choose, but also how long you've been seeing them that matters. It's really important to have a good, long relationship with a healthcare professional when you're collecting evidence for your NDIS application.
Try to stick with a doctor or therapist you've been seeing for more than six months. This gives them enough time to really understand your condition, how it's changing, and how it affects your daily life. Keeping up regular appointments with the same healthcare provider means they'll have a good grasp of your needs and can write accurate reports about your disability over time.
This long-term relationship doesn't just make your evidence more credible, it also shows that your disability is consistent and long-lasting, which can improve your chances of getting support from the NDIS.
5. Detail your diagnosis
Giving lots of details about your diagnosis is super important for making your NDIS evidence stronger when you're applying. If you can, include specific scores or scales that show how serious your disability is, like the DSM-V, WHODAS, or acuity ratings for sight or hearing. These scores give clear measurements of your condition, which makes your evidence more convincing.
If you're applying for the NDIS and your condition is on List A or List B, this part of your evidence is really key. The NDIA views that your condition probably already meets other disability criteria, so they're mainly interested in your diagnosis. So, focus on explaining that in detail.
The NDIS provides a list of who they consider the most appropriate health professional for a number of different conditions, as well as their preferred diagnostic evidence type. To make your evidence count, make sure you’ve got something from this list!
6. Chart your history until today
It's important to track your history right up to today. Describe any treatments you've had before and what happened as a result. This shows how your condition has changed over time and how well treatments have worked. Include details about any medications, therapies, or surgeries you've tried, and how they affected you. You don't need to rewrite all your evidence here, but making a simple list of the major things that happened can help tell the story in a cohesive way.
By sharing your treatment history and outcomes, you give a clear picture of your journey with your disability, showing the ups and downs you've faced. This makes your NDIS evidence stronger by showing how your disability has lasted over time and how it affects your life.
7. Look to the future
Thinking about what might happen in the future with your treatment is an important part of your NDIS evidence. It helps show that your condition is going to stick around and gives the NDIS a sense of whether they should help you or if your treatment should be handled by the health department, for example.
Talk about any possible treatments that might come up and whether they could help you. This includes looking at different treatment options and whether they're right for you. Think about things like how well the treatment works, if there are any side effects, and if it lines up with what you want. If there aren't any treatments on the horizon for you, make sure to mention that too.
By looking ahead, you show that you're taking steps to manage your disability and that you still need support. Talking about future treatments also shows the NDIS that you're trying to improve your daily life and that maybe their support could help with that.
8. Focus on your life impacts
It is so important to make sure your evidence explains in detail how your disability impairments affect your everyday life - because really, that is what the NDIS is there to support you with. There are six main life areas your evidence should focus on:
Communication: This covers expressing needs and understanding others through speech, writing, or sign language, appropriate for one's age.
Social interaction: This involves making friends, participating in community activities, managing emotions, and adhering to social norms.
Learning: Learning includes acquiring, remembering, and applying knowledge and skills in various situations.
Mobility: This refers to moving around the home, leaving the house, and performing tasks requiring limb use.
Self-care: Self-care involves personal hygiene, grooming, feeding, bathing, dressing, and overall health management.
Self-management: Self-management includes organising tasks, making decisions, problem-solving, and managing finances and daily life independently.
Focusing your NDIS evidence on these areas is really important to show that you have a "substantially reduced functional capacity," which is a key requirement for NDIS eligibility.
Give concrete examples, like how it's hard for you to move around your home, or how you struggle to explain yourself when you're out shopping alone. Talking about these real-life problems shows how your disability makes it tough to do everyday things. This makes your case stronger when you're asking for NDIS support or showing why you need more help.
9. Address your social and economic participation
When you're asking for a specific support or service to be included in your plan, make sure to explain how it will help you join in more social or work activities, or what the NDIS refers to as “social and economic participation”. Social activities are things like hanging out with friends, going to school, or even seeing the doctor. Work stuff is about getting and keeping a job, which might mean learning new things, studying, or doing volunteer work.
The NDIS wants to know how the support you're asking for will help you do these things better. They'll pay for supports that help you do more of these activities by getting rid of any obstacles in your way. So, when you're asking for support, focus on how it will help you be more social or get more involved in work stuff.
10. Present with precision
Making sure your NDIS evidence is easy to understand and follows the right way of doing things is super important for your application. That means putting your evidence together in a clear and organised way, focusing on the most important info that backs up your case.
Use headings, bullet points, and short summaries to make your evidence simple to read and find what's important. Don't use fancy words or complicated terms - just keep it straightforward and easy to grasp. Your healthcare team should know the best way to write reports, but you can always share this NDIS webpage with them to make sure they know what the NDIS is looking for.
When your evidence is clear and well-put-together, it helps the NDIS understand what you need and decide on the right support for you. This makes it more likely that your application will be successful.
Good evidence tells your story
It's important to remember why good evidence matters. Each part of your story, from explaining how your disability affects you every day to discussing your future needs, helps paint a clear picture of your situation. Good evidence shows why you need support and how it will make a difference in your life. By presenting your case clearly and simply, you improve your chances of getting the help you need from the NDIS.
Your voice matters, and by sharing your story, you join others in advocating for better support. Join the Kinora community to continue sharing your story, and supporting thousands of others in theirs. We are a community of solutions, full of resources to help all NDIS participants and families make their journey a little easier.
