Does the NDIS Cover Psychology for Autism?

Yes, the NDIS can fund psychology for people living with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) – provided these services are considered reasonable and necessary, are directly disability related, and support your NDIS goals (like building your functional capacity or independence). However, as with any NDIS funding, there are certain criteria to be met first.

 

 

What psychology supports will the NDIS fund?

The NDIS may fund psychology services to increase your capacity, independence or daily living skills – but not as a clinical treatment. Clinical psychology and other services for general mental wellbeing are part of the mainstream health system, therefore aren’t considered disability-specific supports that should be funded by the NDIS.

For people living with ASD, psychology may be funded as a therapeutic support if it can help you work towards your plan goals – so you will need to ensure you can link it to those.

For example, psychology could help you reach certain goals by supporting or managing:

• Emotional regulation and coping skills
• Social understanding and relationships
• Behaviours of concern (sometimes in tandem with PBS)
• Life transitions, like moving from school to work or other environments

 

Related: Does NDIS Funding cover Autism Support?

What goals would this align with?

Your goals are unique to what you want to achieve, and can be as specific or broad as you want – one of your goals might be to find and keep employment, and another could be to play sport with your local club. Think about what living a happy and good life would look like for you, and what would need to change to achieve your vision.

Your NDIS supports are designed to help you achieve these goals when your disability would otherwise make it difficult or unsafe. If the NDIA is satisfied that psychology sessions would help build your functional capacity in these areas, they may approve the funding for your NDIS plan.

This would then sit in relevant support categories such as:

• Capacity Building: Improved Daily Living (this is the most common place as it covers therapeutic supports)
• Capacity Building: Improved Relationships (if relationships and / or PBS are the main focus)

 

What won’t the NDIS fund?

The NDIS won’t cover costs that everyone must pay, or those under another program – such as general services under the Medicare scheme, or private services not directly related to your disability needs.

When it comes to psychology services for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder, here’s a mini-checklist:

• Is ASD the primary disability in your access evidence?
• Do your goals mention functional outcomes (like daily living, participation in work, social or community contexts, emotional regulation, or communication?)
• Do you have a psychologist report linking sessions to achieving your goals, rather than being general mental health treatment?

 

To meet the criteria, you want to be able to answer “yes” to the above. If you answered “no”, it’s unlikely the NDIS will fund it.

Quick psychology report checklist

If you’re working with a registered psychologist so you can provide a report as supplementary evidence to the NDIS, check their reporting includes:

1. How ASD impacts your ability to live the life you want at home, at school, at work, or in the community.
2. What the therapy will help with (building skills, greater independence, emotional regulation).
3. How often you will need this therapy support, how long for, and why.
4. Clear links between the therapy, your goals, and measurable improvements in your functional capacity.

 

What if your psychology funding gets reduced or removed?

Clearer guidelines on what the NDIS will and won’t fund have made the line between supports related to a participant’s disability, and those that are more general, much more defined. This means the NDIS is looking closer at what supports you are funded for, why, and whether they’re actually NDIS supports.

In the shuffle, some participants have had funding for psychology has been removed or reduced – which can be very confusing or frustrating. However, this is usually because:

1. The therapy is for a mental health condition, not a psychosocial disability.
2. The therapy is better suited to be funded by Medicare or a state / territory health system.

 

If you have previously had funding for psychology therapy supports, and this changed at your last review, you can appeal this decision or request another review. It doesn’t always mean psychology is off the table forever – the NDIA may just need stronger evidence that this is a disability-related support for you.

What else is available if the NDIS won’t fund psychology?

If this happens, there may be other more appropriate supports you can access in the meantime – or you may be able to access support through other pathways like Medicare, school supports, and state or territory services. While these supports may not replace NDIS-funded psychology, they can help fill gaps while you review your options.

For kids under 9, more suitable supports may be available through the Early Childhood Approach or the incoming Thriving Kids program. You can contact your local NDIS Early Childhood Partner for more information about supports available.

NDSP: Making Plan Management one less thing to worry about

If you or your loved one are an NDIS participant, you have enough to think about without adding your plan’s financial admin. NDSP is a registered NDIS provider, specialising in expert plan management services – we take care of your plan’s financial administration, so you can focus on making the most of your plan funding.

Our national network takes care of:

• Paying your providers prompty
• Tracking your NDIS budget (which you can see live, any time in our Nappa portal)
• Coordinating service agreements with your support providers
• Handling your financial admin and record-keeping

 

If you’re new to the NDIS or looking for an alternative plan management provider, why not contact NDSP today – our friendly team would love to hear from you.