The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) helps everyday Australians develop skills, increase independence, participate socially and economically in the community, and exercise choice and control over how they want to live.
To assist, it funds what are known as reasonable and necessary supports – services and supports that help people with disability live an ordinary life.
But before the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) signs off on funding requests, it needs evidence – and that’s where letters of recommendation can really help.
Want to know more? We turned to an expert for advice.
Letters of recommendation – sometimes known as letters of support – are documents designed to give NDIA decision-makers the information they need to help them understand the impact of a person’s disability on their life.
Along with other documentation – like medical and allied health reports – they’re often used by people applying to join the NDIS so they can explain how they meet the Scheme’s access requirements and provide evidence of the supports they need.
Letters of recommendation written by allied health professionals, NDIS providers, and some medical professionals can also help existing participants in the Scheme when they ask the NDIA to fund things like Assistive Technology (AT), supports in their home, or support workers to help them get out and about in the community.
If there’s a support or service a participant believes they need, providing a letter of recommendation to the Agency before their plan reassessment date, or as part of a request for a plan variation, is best practice – but they can be submitted at any time.
If the NDIA doesn’t ask for a letter of recommendation, it’s still worth providing one, especially if you think extra evidence is needed to support a funding request or strengthen the case for a participant to use the available funding in their plan to pay for additional supports.
If a participant wants to purchase mid or high-cost AT, having a letter of recommendation ready before their plan’s created, reassessed or varied can streamline the process to have funding included in their plan. And if they want to purchase high risk, low-cost AT – or ask for funding for a support that isn’t approved by the NDIA or doesn’t quite fit the Agency’s reasonable and necessary criteria – a letter of recommendation from a provider can sometimes help to argue the case.
The NDIA won’t fund supports that are provided by mainstream services, like Medicare, so take a look at this page on the NDIS website and this NDIS checklist if you’re wondering where to turn for funding.
Linda Grant – one of our Community Engagement & Partnerships Managers, and a former support coordinator and NDIA delegate – says a letter of recommendation needs to address the participant’s disability and why they need the requested support.
She says it’s important to explain how the support aligns with the person’s goals, what the expected outcomes are if it’s provided, and why it should be funded by the NDIS.
Letters of recommendation should also provide an overview of any potential risks to the participant – and how they’ll be managed – as well as the risks of not providing requested supports.
Whether you’re a provider about to write one, or a participant who needs one, here’s Linda’s step-by-step guide to constructing an impactful letter of recommendation.
Make sure the provider’s role is clearly stated (e.g. physiotherapist, support worker etc) and explain their relationship with the participant, how long they’ve been supporting them, and how they know their needs.
It’s important to include clear examples of how a person’s disability affects the way they carry out tasks in different areas of their life – on both their best and their worst days.
Using the categories of daily life referred to by the NDIA, Linda recommends authors of letters of recommendation address the person’s:
Any significant functional impacts not covered in the above categories should also be addressed.
This part of a letter of recommendation should cover information about the level and type of support the participant needs, such as the:
If the person receives any informal supports (e.g. from family members, friends etc), Linda says details of those should be included too.
Letting the NDIA know how the supports will aid the participant in progressing towards their NDIS goals is important, and a letter of recommendation should provide an overview of any progress they’ve made and achievements they’ve recorded.
By doing that, the author will lay the groundwork for including information about how additional or different supports could help the person to further increase their independence and attain their goals.
A compelling letter of recommendation provides clear, evidence-based recommendations for supports that would be beneficial, and explains how they align with the participant’s NDIS goals and desired outcomes.
Addressing how the supports represent value for money is key. In addition to explaining how they’ll help the person to become more independent, the letter should outline how, by receiving the requested funding, the participant may reduce their reliance on other supports.
Letters of recommendation should always highlight the risks to the participant if the requested supports are not provided, and detail the impact of that on their wellbeing, independence and ability to participate fully in daily life.
If there’s further information that may help the NDIA to assess a funding request, include it. Think about things like the person’s history of living with and without supports, any changes in their support needs that have occurred over time, and the impact of the caring role on carers and informal supports.
For further information about the evidence the NDIA needs before it creates or changes an NDIS plan, click here.
This NDIS web page outlines how the NDIA makes decisions about reasonable and necessary supports, and this page contains a number of useful booklets and factsheets to assist participants.
