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Older Australians struggle to access NDIS - research

A new research report shows some groups, like people over 55, find it much harder than others to be deemed eligible and access a funding plan.

Published: 28 February 2025
DisabilityHealth & wellbeing
  • national
  • 28 February 2025
  • The Conversation

A joint study by researchers from the University of Melbourne, UNSW, and The Conversation news site, explored 485,676 individual NDIS applications between 2016 and 2022 to see if they were deemed eligible.

It then compared differences in eligibility rates between groups, considering:

  • age (applicants 55 or older versus those under 55)

  • gender (women and girls versus other applicants)

  • socioeconomic disadvantage (those from the poorest 30% of areas versus all other areas)

Older Australians with a physical disability had 235 fewer approvals per 1,000 applications than those with physical disability under 55.

Following recommendations from an independent review into the NDIS, the National Disability Insurance Agency is currently making changes to how it assesses eligibility.

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