How to get NDIS Support if you have a Psychosocial Disability

Psychosocial disability can have a serious, permanent impact on a person’s daily living – in which case they may qualify for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

What is psychosocial disability?

Understanding how the NDIS supports people living with a psychosocial disability, begins with understanding the difference between ‘psychosocial disability’ and ‘mental health condition’. These are used interchangeably in some places, but they do mean different things.

What is a mental health condition?

This is a psychological condition which can impact your state of mind, capacity and mental function if it’s not properly managed. It might be temporary, like situational anxiety about something that’s happening in your life right now. For some people it’s ongoing (chronic), meaning they will need to manage this over their lifetime.

Essentially, ‘mental health condition’, ‘mental health issues’ or ‘mental illness’ are umbrella terms rather than a specific descriptor. These may refer to diagnosed conditions such as:

• Bipolar disorder
• Schizophrenia
• Anxiety disorders
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
• Depression

However, diagnosis is not always necessary or easy. Many mental health conditions are episodic, which means they can impact someone to greater or lesser extent at different times.

Psychosocial disability explained

Psychosocial disability is determined by impact rather than a mental health-related diagnosis. You won’t automatically be considered to have a psychosocial disability if you are diagnosed with any of the above unless the situation is severe, long-lasting, and has a significant functional impact on your everyday life. 

If someone’s poor mental health means they are having challenges with:

• Finding and keeping a job
• Maintaining social connections and relationships
• Keeping up with household tasks, personal tasks
• Maintaining physical health
• Being in certain types of environments

Then they might be considered to be living with a psychosocial disability. The point at which a mental health condition can cause psychosocial disability can be different for everyone, and not everyone who has a mental illness will also live with a psychosocial disability. 

Does NDIS support psychosocial disability?

Yes, you can qualify for NDIS funding for psychosocial disability support if you are eligible. To apply for this, the impact of your mental health condition needs to meet NDIS disability criteria:

• Your mental health condition causes difficulties in your everyday life
• These difficulties mean you’re likely to need lifelong support for social and economic participation
• You have a reduced functional capacity because of your mental health condition
• You meet the residency requirements (you’re an Australian citizen, permanent visa holder or special category visa holder)
• You’re under 65 years old when you apply

You will also need to include any supplementary evidence in your NDIS application, so the NDIA has everything it needs to make a decision about whether you are eligible for funding.

Related: NDIS Eligibility: A Complete Guide on How to Apply for Funding

Using NDIS funding for psychosocial disability

As with all NDIS plans, you’ll need to be clear with your goals. These will ultimately determine what supports you can purchase using your NDIS funding.

Common supports that may help someone manage the impact of psychosocial disability include:

• Various capacity building supports to help build skills, resilience, and support increased independence 
• Psychosocial coaching to help you regain more control of your life, and to manage various and complex daily challenges

Because psychosocial disability is defined by changes to your functional capacity, many of the supports you can access through the NDIS will aim to help you manage or reduce impact (capacity building supports). You may also be able to access relevant core supports, such as a support worker to help you stay on top of your personal care.

In terms of psychosocial disability, NDIS supports are generally non-clinical; though they can be used in tandem with other mental health system supports to help your recovery and build your independence.

For example: NDIS may fund support from allied health professionals, like a psychologist, in direct relation to managing the impact of your psychosocial disability. However, you would not be able to use NDIS funding to pay for general psychological treatment, inpatient care, or other mainstream mental health supports that are the responsibility of other systems (like Medicare).

Do I need a diagnosis to qualify for psychosocial disability support?

You don’t necessarily need to provide a mental health diagnosis to access the NDIS, but you will need to provide evidence that you have a mental health condition that is significantly impacting your life. The NDIA will accept evidence in whatever way you choose to send it. Useful info includes:

• Past or current treatment or interventions (including planned treatment)
• Assessment forms completed by your clinician or current support provider
• Statements about how your mental health condition affects you on a day-to-day basis

The most weighty evidence comes from someone appropriately qualified, like a mental health professional who can complete a functional assessment.

Your evidence should also link the what (area of your life affected) to the how (extent of impact). The NDIA will look at this evidence in terms of what you can or can’t do in six (6) life skill areas:

1. Social interaction: Are you experiencing difficulty in social interactions? Can you keep up relationships with family, peers, or at work?
2. Self-management: Are you able to manage your finances, keep housing, and meet your responsibilities? Is your motivation, interest or ability to do this affected?
3. Self-care: Are you able to manage your physical wellbeing and personal care, such as grooming, medication, diet and exercise?
4. Learning: Is your planning, memory, concentration or ability to learn new information impacted by your mental health condition?
5. Communication: Do you have difficulty initiating or holding conversations, letting people know what you need, or following instructions or directions?
6. Mobility: Do you find it difficult to leave the house, or do you experience any mobility difficulties as a side-effect of any treatment?

Don’t worry about the length of this list – you only need to prove “substantially reduced functional capacity” in one of the six ‘life skills’ areas, though of course you should provide evidence to support all of your needs.

What if I’m not eligible for NDIS supports?

Even if you don’t meet eligibility criteria for NDIS funding, the NDIA can still assist you by helping you connect with relevant support services in your community or mainstream providers. This kind of support will come from your Local Area Coordinator (LAC).

If you believe your application has been wrongly rejected by the NDIS, you have the right to ask for the reasoning, an internal review, or an external review through the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). This can take a while – the AAT will only be able to start its review once the NDIS has finished – so it’s best to make the most of community, mainstream, and informal supports (your friends and family) as well.

Related: What are informal supports under the NDIS?

NDSP makes plan management one less thing to worry about

If you’re a NDIS participant, you have more important things to spend time and energy on than the financial management of your plan – like your personal recovery, relationships, and building the life you want to live.

That’s where NDSP comes in. We take the stress of financial admin off your plate, and help you make the most of your plan through expert management.

Related: The Myth of 1:1 Support in Plan Management

With our national network and friendly, responsive support team, NDSP handles budget tracking, provider invoicing, ensures prompt provider payment, keeps impeccable financial records, and ties up all the admin of financial management – plus, you can access a live view of your plan budgets on any device, at any time, with our user-friendly Nappa portal. 

We make plan management one less thing to worry about. Why not contact NDSP today to find out more about our approach.