NDIS, the insurance scheme for people with disabilities in Australia, has progressed by leaps and bounds to bring the disabled community to the forefront and making them equal stakeholders in the development of society. However, even with all the progress, we have made, people with disabilities resulting from mental conditions or more specifically, psycho-social disabilities are at a disadvantage when it comes to avail the complete benefit of the scheme and realizing their full potential. NDIS seeks to support those people whose social life is at significant detriment due to their psychological conditions, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Being a relatively new initiative by the NDIS Commission, many are still confused about the scope of mental health support NDIS can offer and whether they are eligible for the support.

Only non-clinical mental health supports are provided through NDIS and the gap between mainstream mental health services and NDIS causes difficulty for the participants. NDIS is not to be seen as a replacement of mainstream services instead, the commission’s conviction is that maximum benefit can be achieved by properly bringing together both the systems. To realise this for participants with mental health disabilities, NDIS has recently added the provision of a recovery coach to bridge the gap between the two. Mental health is a complex condition to assess and hence a lot of suitable candidates slip through the cracks. Intending to remedy this, NDIS has changed their working principle to focus on the functional disability caused by the mental condition rather than the diagnosis itself.

If you are a qualified participant for NDIS mental health support, it is important to find a service provider who will cater to your needs with compassion. If you are in Western Australia, Aastha can be that provider for you. A registered NDIS provider, Aastha’s services are available anywhere in Perth, Joondalup, Mirrabooka, Morley, Osborne Park, Victoria Park, Canningvale, Maddington, Armadale, Cockburn Central, Kwinana, Rockingham, and Mandurah.

For more information, contact Aastha Community Service in WA