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Five experts share their views on NDIS age limits

Currently, when someone turns 65 they are not eligible to apply for NDIS support, even if they had disability before then. We asked experts if that should change.

Published on the 03 Nov 2023 by Lucy Beaumont, Elizabeth Kendall, Helen Dickinson, Henry Cutler, Kathy Boschen, Mark Brown
A forthcoming NDIS review will look at various aspects of the program, including eligibility. Image: Getty Images/Runstudio
A forthcoming NDIS review will look at various aspects of the program, including eligibility. Image: Getty Images/Runstudio

​The question of whether there should be an age limit to joining the National Disability Scheme (NDIS) has been debated since its inception a decade ago.

It is being asked again as we wait for the NDIS Review to release its final report. The report is expected to explore eligibility, sustainability and how costs should be split between the scheme and other government departments to provide an ecosystem of supports for people with disability.

Currently, once someone turns 65 they are no longer eligible to apply for NDIS support, even if they had disability before then. (NDIS support can extend beyond 65 for people who are already participants in the scheme.) Some people and groups say this is discriminatory.

So, should people who had disability before they turned 65 be allowed to become NDIS participants after 65? We asked five experts.

Four out of five said yes

Disclosure statements: Elizabeth Kendall does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment; Helen Dickinson receives funding from the Australian Research Council, National Health and Medical Research Council and Children and Young People with Disability Australia; Henry Cutler currently sits on the Investment Effectiveness Program Academic Advisory Panel for the National Disability Insurance Agency; Kathy Boschen was formerly a senior compliance officer for the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, an advisor for the NDIA Administrative Appeals Tribunal Team, and an NDIA subject matter expert on mental health access; Mark Brown is an Honorary Research Fellow at La Trobe University and a Senior Research Fellow at the Summer Foundation. He is also an NDIS participant.

The Conversation

Lucy Beaumont, Health + Disability Editor, The Conversation

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.