How NDIS Funding Can Support Alternative Education

If your child has disengaged from mainstream schooling and has an NDIS plan, you might be wondering: “Can I use NDIS funding to support my child's education?”

The short answer is: Yes — but it's complicated.

The NDIS doesn't fund education directly (that's the responsibility of the education system), but it can fund disability-related supports that enable your child to access and participate in education.

What the NDIS Will and Won't Fund

NDIS Support Categories That Can Help

• Capacity Building — Improved Daily Living Skills: Executive functioning coaching, social skills training, self-regulation strategies
• Capacity Building — Improved Life Choices: Educational pathway planning, transition planning, decision-making support
• Core Supports — Assistance with Daily Activities: Support workers to help during online learning, mentoring, community access
• Capacity Building — Improved Relationships: Psychology, occupational therapy, speech therapy
• Assistive Technology: Computers, specialised software, sensory equipment, communication devices

How to Get Education Supports in Your NDIS Plan

1. Gather evidence — Demonstrate supports are related to your child's disability and not the responsibility of another system
2. Be specific in your planning meeting — Instead of “my child needs tutoring,” say “my child needs occupational therapy to develop executive functioning skills so they can organise and complete schoolwork independently”
3. Use the right language — Frame supports in terms of capacity building and disability-related needs
4. Work with allied health professionals — Ask therapists and doctors to write detailed reports clearly linking recommendations to your child's disability

Common Challenges and How to Respond

“That's the education system's responsibility”
→ “Yes, the education system is responsible for curriculum delivery. However, my child's disability creates barriers to accessing that curriculum. These NDIS supports address the disability-related barriers, not the curriculum itself.”

“We don't fund homeschooling”
→ “I'm not asking the NDIS to fund homeschooling. I'm asking for disability-related supports that will help my child build capacity to participate in education, regardless of the setting.”