Glossary

NDIS terms in plain language

75 terms explained simply. Each one has its own page you can link to.

General information only

This is general information, not advice. NDIS rules change, so check ndis.gov.au or talk to the NDIA, your planner or an independent advocate before you decide.

Goodo is independent

Goodo is an independent service. It is not affiliated with, run by or endorsed by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) or the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.

A

Access request: The first step to joining the NDIS. A person applies to the NDIA and provides evidence of their disability and that they meet the age, residency and other access requirements.
Administrative Review Tribunal(ART): The independent body that can review certain NDIA decisions after an internal review. It replaced the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in October 2024.
Advocacy: Independent support to help a person understand their rights, speak up and get fair treatment. Disability advocacy organisations can help with NDIS decisions, reviews and complaints.
AHPRA(Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency): The national body that registers many health professions, including psychologists, physiotherapists and occupational therapists, and keeps a public register.
Allied health: Health professionals such as occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech pathologists and psychologists who provide therapy and assessments, often under Capacity Building supports.
Assistive technology(AT): Equipment or devices that help a person do things, such as wheelchairs, communication devices and daily living aids. Some items need quotes or assessments before they can be funded.
Auslan: Australian Sign Language, the language of the Deaf community in Australia. Goodo events list Auslan availability in their access information.

B

Badge (Goodo): A label on a Goodo profile that says what Goodo checked and when. A badge is not a recommendation, quality rating or guarantee. Tap a badge in the app to see exactly what it covers.

C

Capacity Building supports: Funding to build skills and independence over time. It covers things such as therapy, support coordination, employment help and learning daily living skills.
Capital supports: Funding for higher-cost items and one-off supports such as assistive technology, home modifications and Specialist Disability Accommodation.
Choice and control: The principle that participants decide what supports they want, who delivers them and how. It is a founding idea of the NDIS.
Complaint: A way to raise a problem with a provider, the NDIA or the NDIS Commission. The NDIS Commission handles complaints about NDIS providers and workers.
Conflict of interest: When a person or organisation could benefit by steering a participant towards particular supports. Plan managers and support coordinators must be especially careful. Goodo does not take referral fees and does not allow vouching in return for referrals.
Core supports: Funding for everyday help, such as personal care, household tasks, transport and community participation. Core is usually the most flexible part of a plan budget.

E

Early Childhood Partner: An NDIA partner organisation that helps young children with developmental delay or disability and their families to access early supports and, where eligible, the NDIS.
Easy Read: A way of presenting information with short sentences, plain words and pictures so more people can understand it. Goodo is building Easy Read versions of its key documents.

H

Home modifications: Changes to a participant's home to make it accessible and safe, such as ramps, rails or bathroom changes. Larger work usually needs assessments and quotes.

I

Individualised Living Options(ILO): A flexible way of funding supports so a person can choose where and with whom they live, rather than fitting into a fixed housing model.
Informal supports: Unpaid help from family, friends and community. Carers are often the most important informal support, and their situation is considered when plans are made.
Information, Linkages and Capacity Building(ILC): Grant-funded programs that connect people with disability, families and carers to information and community supports, whether or not they are NDIS participants.
Internal review(Review of a decision): A request that the NDIA look again at a decision it made, such as a plan decision or a refusal to fund a support. There are time limits, so check the NDIA's current guidance.

L

Local Area Coordinator(LAC): A person working for an NDIA partner in the community who helps people understand and access the NDIS, build plans and connect with local and mainstream supports.

M

Mainstream supports: Services that other government systems are responsible for, such as health, education and transport. The NDIS generally does not fund things that mainstream services should provide.

N

NDIA(National Disability Insurance Agency): The government agency that runs the NDIS. It decides who can access the scheme, approves plans and funding, and publishes the pricing rules. Goodo is not the NDIA and is not endorsed by it.
NDIA-managed(Agency-managed): When the NDIA pays providers directly from the participant's plan. Participants who are NDIA-managed must generally use NDIS-registered providers.
NDIS(National Disability Insurance Scheme): The National Disability Insurance Scheme is the Australian Government scheme that funds disability supports for eligible people under 65. It is run by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).
NDIS Code of Conduct: A set of rules that applies to all NDIS providers and workers, registered or not. It includes acting with respect, honesty and integrity, protecting privacy, and taking steps to prevent harm.
NDIS plan(Plan): A written agreement that sets out a participant's goals and the funding approved for their supports. Plans run for a set period and are reassessed before they end.
NDIS Practice Standards: The quality standards that registered providers are audited against, covering rights, governance, service delivery and the safety of supports.
NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits(Price guide): The NDIA document that sets the maximum prices providers can charge for supports. Check the NDIA's current version, because it changes.
NDIS Provider Register: The public list kept by the NDIS Commission of registered providers, their status and the registration groups they hold. Goodo matches organisations against it.
NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission(NDIS Commission): The independent regulator for NDIS providers and workers. It registers providers, handles complaints and reportable incidents, oversees restrictive practices, and enforces the NDIS Code of Conduct.
NDIS Worker Orientation Module(Quality, Safety and You): Free online training from the NDIS Commission for workers. Completing it earns a certificate that does not expire.
NDIS Worker Screening Check: A national check, run by state and territory screening units, on whether a person poses a risk to people with disability. It is required for workers in risk-assessed roles in registered providers. A clearance is generally valid for five years.
Nominee: A person formally appointed by the NDIA to act or make decisions for a participant, either as a plan nominee or a child's representative. A nominee is different from an informal carer or family member who helps without a formal appointment.

O

Occupational therapist(OT): An allied health professional who helps people do everyday activities. In the NDIS, OTs often assess for assistive technology and home modifications and write functional capacity reports.

P

PACE: The NDIA's newer IT system for participants and providers, which is replacing older systems and portals. Check the NDIA website for current rollout details.
Participant: A person with disability who has been found eligible for the NDIS and has (or is waiting for) a plan.
Plan budget: The funding in a participant's plan, usually grouped into Core, Capacity Building and Capital supports. The plan shows how each part can be used and how it is managed.
Plan management: A Capacity Building support where a plan manager pays providers' invoices from the participant's plan, tracks the budget and keeps financial records.
Plan management types(Self-managed, plan-managed, NDIA-managed): A participant can have their plan funds managed by themselves (self-managed), by a registered plan manager (plan-managed), by the NDIA (NDIA-managed) or by a mix of these. The choice affects which providers they can use.
Plan manager: A provider that handles the financial side of a plan-managed participant's plan: paying invoices, tracking spending and reporting to the participant.
Plan reassessment: The NDIA's process of looking at a participant's plan again, either when the plan is due to end or when circumstances change. It is sometimes still called a plan review.
Planning meeting: A conversation, with the NDIA or a partner such as a Local Area Coordinator, about a participant's goals, supports and what funding is needed in the next plan.
Positive behaviour support(PBS): An approach to understanding why behaviours of concern happen and building supports that improve quality of life and reduce the need for restrictive practices.
Provider of Last Resort(POLR): A safeguard where a provider is required to step in to deliver essential supports when a participant is at risk of having no supports because of a market failure or provider exit.

Q

Quote: A written estimate from a provider for a support, often required for assistive technology and home modifications before the NDIA approves funding.

R

Reasonable and necessary: The test the NDIA applies when deciding whether to fund a support. Broadly, the support must relate to the person's disability, represent value for money, be likely to be effective and not duplicate other supports. Check the NDIA's current guidance for the full criteria.
Registered provider: A provider approved by the NDIS Commission to deliver certain supports, which must meet the NDIS Practice Standards and Code of Conduct and is listed on the NDIS Provider Register.
Registration group: A category of supports a provider is approved to deliver, such as Plan Management (0127) or support coordination (0106). Each group has a four-digit code.
Reportable incident: A serious incident, such as a death, serious injury, abuse or neglect, unlawful sexual or physical contact, or unauthorised restrictive practice, that registered providers must report to the NDIS Commission.
Restrictive practices: Actions that limit a person's rights or freedom of movement, such as seclusion, restraint or chemical restraint. Their use by NDIS providers is tightly regulated by the NDIS Commission.

S

School Leaver Employment Supports(SLES): Capacity Building funding for young people finishing school that helps them move into work through skills, experience and workplace support.
Self-managed: When a participant (or their nominee) manages their own plan funds, choosing providers, paying invoices and keeping records. Self-managed participants can use registered and unregistered providers.
Service agreement: A written agreement between a participant and a provider that sets out what supports will be delivered, when, at what cost and how to change or end the arrangement.
Service booking: A way for a participant or provider to set aside plan funds for a specific support and provider in the NDIS portal, so the provider can claim.
Short notice cancellation: Rules about when a provider can charge for a support that a participant cancels late. The rules sit in the NDIS pricing arrangements, and the service agreement should explain them.
Short term accommodation(STA, respite): Funded short stays away from home that give a participant a break from their usual living arrangement, and their carers a rest.
Specialist Disability Accommodation(SDA): Housing designed for people with extreme functional impairment or very high support needs. SDA funding pays for the dwelling, not the supports delivered in it.
Specialist support coordination: A higher level of support coordination for participants with more complex needs or situations where there are barriers to getting supports in place.
Support coordination: A Capacity Building support that helps a participant understand their plan, choose and connect with providers, and build the skills to coordinate their own supports.
Support coordinator: A person or organisation that delivers support coordination. They help participants use their plan, find providers and resolve issues. They must manage conflicts of interest carefully.
Support item(Line item): A numbered item in the NDIS Support Catalogue that identifies a type of support. Providers use line item numbers on invoices and claims.
Support worker: A person who provides hands-on help to participants, such as personal care, community access or household tasks. Also called a disability support worker or carer.
Supported decision-making: Helping a person make their own decisions by giving information, time and support, rather than someone else deciding for them.
Supported Independent Living(SIL): Help with daily tasks for participants who live in shared or individual homes, funded as part of the plan. SIL pays for the support, not the housing itself.

U

Unregistered provider: A provider that is not registered with the NDIS Commission. Unregistered providers can generally only be used by self-managed and plan-managed participants. They must still follow the NDIS Code of Conduct.

V

Verified allied health professional (Goodo badge): A Goodo badge showing identity was checked and the person's registration was matched on the AHPRA public register. Not every allied health profession is registered with AHPRA.
Verified carer or nominee (Goodo badge): A Goodo badge showing that Goodo checked the person's identity, their declared relationship to a participant, and either evidence of the participant's plan or a vouch from a verified plan manager or support coordinator. It is not an endorsement.
Verified plan manager (Goodo badge): A Goodo badge for plan managers whose organisation holds registration group 0127 (Plan Management) on the NDIS Provider Register, with identity and employer authorisation checked.
Verified registered provider (Goodo badge): A Goodo badge showing that the person's identity was checked, their organisation matched an Approved entry on the NDIS Provider Register, and the organisation confirmed the person works there.
Verified support coordinator (Goodo badge): A Goodo badge for support coordinators. Registered coordinators show a match to registration group 0106; unregistered coordinators show an active ABN, worker screening clearance, orientation module and insurance, all checked by Goodo.
Verified support worker (Goodo badge): A Goodo badge showing identity was checked, along with an active ABN or employer authorisation, an NDIS Worker Screening Check clearance and the NDIS Worker Orientation Module.
Vouching (Goodo): When a verified plan manager or support coordinator confirms in the app that they know someone as a participant, nominee or carer through their work. A vouch lasts 12 months, can be withdrawn, and must never be given in return for anything.

W

Working With Children Check(WWCC): A state or territory check for people who work with children. It is separate from the NDIS Worker Screening Check and has different names in different states.