The Tier 2 tipping point: access to support for working-age Australians without individual NDIS funding

How are Australians with disability who do not have individual funding from the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) finding and using the support and services they need to participate in society and the economy?

At a glance

There are 1.8 million people with disability aged 18–64 – around 12 per cent of Australia’s working age population – who are not NDIS participants. This study found a significant gap between the promoted availability and accessibility of support and services to this group, and people’s experiences of attempting to find and use them.

Dive deeper

This joint research project involved BSL, Baptcare and the Melbourne Disability Institute.

The researchers collected data in Victoria, South Australia or Tasmania through:

• a high-level desktop scan of the service landscape
• two online surveys – one for people with disability aged 18–64 years living in Victoria, Tasmania or South Australia who are not NDIS participants, and one for families and carers of people with disability with the same criteria
• focus groups with representatives from service providers, peak bodies, advocacy organisations and Disabled Peoples Organisations (DPOs).

Although the data does not represent all stakeholders in the landscape of services and support, the study offers valuable insights into financial, logistical and personal challenges faced by people with disability in their day-to-day lives.

Key findings

• There is a significant gap between the promoted availability and accessibility of support and services to people with disability who are not NDIS participants, and people’s experiences of attempting to find and use them.
• Being in or out of the NDIS has a considerable financial and personal impact on people with disability and their families. Support promised under ‘Tier 2’ in the original design of the NDIS has not been delivered.
• For the most part, the knowledge, experiences, needs and priorities of people with disability outside the NDIS, their families, carers and advocates, and those interacting with them in the community, are not being captured in government data informing disability policy and practice.
• Our research reveals complex, disconnected and incomplete markets of services and supports being navigated by people with disability and their families and carers; a service ecosystem riddled with inconsistent costs, eligibility criteria, information, priorities and availability of services; and unsustainable reliance on informal support networks and personal resources among people with disability without NDIS funding.