Support you can get in Australia

Some of what your family needs is already paid for by the government. Most parents are never told. Here is what exists, who it is for, and the first step.

This page covers what the federal government runs, and in Australia that is most of the disability system: the NDIS, and the carer payments through Services Australia. School is the exception. Education is run by your state or territory, so the one school entry here is the part that comes from federal law and applies wherever your child goes.

We do not run any of these programmes and we cannot get you a place on one. Who qualifies and what is available does change, so each one below shows when we last checked it and links to the official page.

Getting recognised

Applying to the NDIS

Also called NDIS access request

What it gives you: The National Disability Insurance Agency deciding your child can join the NDIS. This decision is the gate: what the scheme funds for your child follows from it.
Who it is for: Your child needs to be under 65 on the day you apply, which is never the issue for a child. They need to be an Australian citizen, hold a permanent residency visa, or hold a Protected Special Category visa, which covers some New Zealand citizens. Australia needs to be their home and where they spend most of their time. Then they need to meet either the disability requirements or the early intervention requirements. If your child is under 9, the early childhood approach is the way in, and it is a separate entry below.
What it costs: Applying is not something you pay for. The NDIS pages set out no fee.
How to start: Start with an NDIS partner. Use the office finder on the NDIS site, or call 1800 800 110 and they will connect you to one. The partner explains what evidence is needed and can help you complete the application, or you can fill out an access request form yourself. You can bring anyone you are comfortable with to every meeting — a family member, a friend, an advocate.
What to take with you: Three identity documents between them showing your name, address, date of birth and a photo. One birth or arrival document, such as a full birth certificate, passport or Australian Citizenship Certificate. Evidence from your child’s treating health professional. If you give consent, the Agency can check age and residence against your Centrelink record instead, which saves you finding some of this.
Who runs it: National Disability Insurance Agency, under the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013

Read the official page

Checked 11 September 2026.

Getting therapy and early support

The early childhood approach

What it gives you: Support for children under 9 with developmental delay or disability, through an early childhood partner — a local organisation with clinical staff. It works in the places your child already is: home, childcare, playgroup, preschool. And it works with you as well as with your child, because the people around a child shape their development most. One part of it is worth knowing before you rule yourself out: early connections can help you even if your child is not eligible for the NDIS.
Who it is for: Children younger than 9. The approach covers children under 6 with developmental concerns or delay, and children under 9 with disability. From 9 onwards a child works with a local area coordinator instead of an early childhood partner.
What it costs: The NDIS pages do not set out a fee for connecting with an early childhood partner.
How to start: Contact an early childhood partner, or call the NDIS on 1800 800 110. You do not need to be eligible for the NDIS to get help through early connections, so this is worth doing while you are still working out whether to apply.
Who runs it: National Disability Insurance Agency

Read the official page

Checked 11 September 2026.

Money and equipment

Carer Allowance

What it gives you: A fortnightly payment of $162.60 for you, for giving daily care to a child who needs it. It is a set rate and it is not part of your taxable income. If your child is under 16 you are also sent a Health Care Card for them, which helps with the cost of their medicine and health care.
Who it is for: Your child needs ongoing daily care for at least 12 months, or to have a terminal medical condition, and you need to meet residence rules. There is no assets test. There is an income test, but a high one: your and your partner’s combined adjusted taxable income must be under $250,000 a financial year, before tax. There is no income test on your child. If you share your child’s care with someone who is not your partner and they also claim, you may each get a part payment based on the share of care you provide.
What it costs: Free. It is a payment to you, not something you pay for.
How to start: Claim through Services Australia. If you think you might qualify for Carer Payment as well, you can submit one combined claim for both rather than applying twice.
Who runs it: Services Australia

Read the official page

Checked 11 September 2026.

Carer Payment

What it gives you: Income support if caring for your child stops you working. This is the one most often confused with Carer Allowance, and the difference matters: Carer Allowance is a small fixed supplement paid on top of whatever else you have, while Carer Payment is meant to replace an income. What you get depends on your circumstances, with different rates for single and partnered people. We are not printing a figure, because the official page does not give one.
Who it is for: You need to provide constant care to someone who needs it for at least six months, or who is at the end of their life. The official page defines constant care as a large amount of time daily, roughly equal to a normal working day, enough that it stops you working full time. You and your child both need to be Australian residents, and — this is the sharpest difference from Carer Allowance — you both need to pass an income and assets test. You can still get Carer Payment while doing paid work or self-employment of up to 100 hours in a four-week period.
What it costs: Free to claim.
How to start: You can claim at any time, but payment usually runs only from the date you lodge, so lodging sooner is worth more than lodging with everything perfect. Services Australia will ask about your child and the care they need, and will tell you what evidence to supply.
Who runs it: Services Australia

Read the official page

Checked 11 September 2026.

Child Disability Assistance Payment

What it gives you: Up to $1,000 a year for each child who qualifies you for Carer Allowance.
Who it is for: You need to be getting Carer Allowance for a child younger than 16, for a period that includes 1 July.
What it costs: Free. It is a payment to you.
How to start: Nothing to do. You do not claim this one — if you are eligible it is paid straight into your bank account.
Who runs it: Services Australia

Read the official page

Checked 11 September 2026.

School

Disability Standards for Education

Also called DSE

What it gives you: The right for your child to access and take part in education on the same basis as students without disability. The Standards set out what education and training providers have to do under the Disability Discrimination Act. This is an obligation on the school, not a service you apply for. Since August 2026 the Standards also cover early childhood education and care services.
Who it is for: Children and students with disability. This comes from federal discrimination law rather than a state education department, so it applies to education providers across Australia — which is why it is here at all, when almost everything else about school in Australia is run by your state or territory.
What it costs: Nothing. This is an obligation your child’s education provider already has.
How to start: Start by telling your child’s school or service what your child needs, because meeting it is their obligation. The government publishes resources for caregivers explaining these rights, including in Easy Read, Auslan and other languages. If the provider will not act, the route is a disability discrimination complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission — that is the next entry, under “If you’re told no”.
Who runs it: Department of Education, under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992

Read the official page

Checked 11 September 2026.

If you're told no

Disability discrimination complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission

What it gives you: A way to complain when your child has been treated unfairly because of their disability, and to have the Commission look into it and try to resolve it.
Who it is for: The Commission says you can make a complaint no matter where you live in Australia. If you are not sure whether your situation is something they can take on, ring the National Information Service on 1300 656 419 or email infoservice@humanrights.gov.au before you fill anything in — and if they cannot help, they will try to refer you to someone who can. That call is worth making first, because it costs you one phone call instead of a form.
What it costs: Free. You do not need a lawyer to make a complaint, though you can get legal or advocacy support if you want it, and there are free legal services you can ask for advice.
How to start: Download the complaint form from the Commission and return it by email or post. Written complaints only — they cannot take one over the phone, and they do not accept information sent as links or drop boxes. Keep it to one document of no more than 20 pages with no attachments. If you are complaining on behalf of your child, fill in an Authority to Act form as well. One thing to plan around: the Commission’s own page says it is currently experiencing a significant delay in actioning complaints.
Who runs it: Australian Human Rights Commission, under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992

Read the official page

Checked 11 September 2026.