National Disability and Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
Hearing Professionals are fully registered for NDIS and have been leading hearing service in Melbourne for over 20 years, providing effective and innovative hearing solutions to all clients including those with complex needs.
With the introduction of the NDIS, more people will have access to government funded hearing help.
The NDIS can support people with a significant and permanent hearing loss who need assistance with every day activities including work, family and social obligations.
Anyone with a hearing loss, irrespective of age, that meet the eligibility criteria, can have access to funding for that hearing loss, via the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Funding is available for people with hearing loss for items like hearing aids, hearing rehabilitation, assistive listening devices and FM systems.
Here are the steps to accessing the NDIS:
- Check that you meet the initial eligibility criteria (see below) for the NDIS. If you are eligible contact the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) for an Access Request Form on 1800 800 110.
- Obtain evidence of your hearing loss. You will need a hearing test from your audiologist at Hearing Professionals.
- Apply for NDIS access using the Access Request Form.
- Make your plan. If access is approved an NDIS planner will contact you to help establish your first personalized plan.
- Apply for access to the Office of Hearing Services (OHS) Program using the OHS Application for NDIS Participants and ensuring you include the required documentation.
- Make an appointment with your audiologist once you have your plan approved and access to the OHS granted.
Depending on your plan, payment for your hearing aids and ALDs are made by a combination of the Office of Hearing Services and the National Disability Insurance Scheme. If you self-manage your plan you may need to pay for some items upfront and get reimbursed from the NDIS afterwards. You will discuss these details with your planner when you create your initial plan.
While not every Australian will be covered, even with the National Disability Insurance Scheme, hearing health support is now available to a greater number in the population. If you, or someone you know have struggled with hearing loss now is the time to seek hearing help.
There are two parts to eligibility. First there is general eligibility. For this you must have Australian citizenship or permanent residency and be under the age of 65. Your disability must also be likely to be permanent and significant, that is; requiring support from a person or equipment to do everyday things for yourself. It is also the intention that to receive funding through NDIS, that support provided now will reduce your support needs in the future.
There is also a component of the NDIS targeted at early intervention. Early intervention requirements apply to children under 7 years of age.
The second part to eligibility, pertaining to hearing loss, relates to the severity of the hearing loss.
Currently there is no set specific limit for hearing loss but generally, if your hearing test determines that you have a hearing loss of greater than 65dBHL 4 frequency average in the better ear, you may be eligible. This is considered a severe hearing loss and you would need hearing aids to understand normal speech or rely on speech reading cues. Get your hearing tested from a qualified audiologist at Hearing Professionals to ensure your hearing loss is diagnosed correctly.
- Access requirements
- Fact sheets