NDIS Words Decoded: A Glossary for Families

The NDIS comes with its own language — a mix of acronyms, official phrases, and everyday words that have a slightly different meaning inside the scheme. For families across Mortlake, Croydon Park and the Inner West Sydney, this can be one of the most tiring parts: feeling like you need a dictionary just to follow a conversation.

So here it is — a friendly glossary that decodes the words you'll hear most. Keep it handy and dip in whenever a term trips you up.

The big ones

• NDIS — National Disability Insurance Scheme. The national program that funds support for people with a permanent and significant disability.
• NDIA — National Disability Insurance Agency. The agency that runs the scheme, decides who joins, and approves plans.
• Participant — a person who has been accepted into the NDIS.
• Plan — the document that sets out a participant's goals and the funded supports available to them.

People you'll meet

• LAC (Local Area Coordinator) — a person who helps you understand the NDIS, apply, and connect with supports in your area. Think of them as a friendly guide.
• Support Coordinator — someone funded in a plan to help a participant find and organise the right providers and services.
• Planner — the NDIA representative who helps create a participant's plan.
• Provider — an organisation or individual who delivers the supports in a plan.
• Support worker — the person who provides hands-on, day-to-day support, from daily living and personal care to getting out into the community.
• Advocate — someone who speaks up alongside or on behalf of a person with disability to protect their rights and interests.
• Nominee — a person formally appointed to make decisions or act on a participant's behalf.

Money and management words

• Reasonable and necessary — the test the NDIA uses to decide what to fund. A support must relate to the disability, represent good value, and help the person pursue their goals.
• Plan management — how the money in a plan is looked after and paid out.
• Self-managed — when a participant (or family) manages the funding and pays providers directly.
• Plan-managed — when a plan manager handles the money and pays invoices on the participant's behalf.
• NDIA-managed — when the agency itself pays providers directly.
• Stated support — funding allocated for a specific, named support that must be used as described.
• Core, Capacity Building, Capital — the three main budget categories in a plan (see below). For a closer look at how the money works, see our guide to your NDIS plan budget.

The three budget types

• Core supports — everyday assistance, such as help with daily living and getting out into the community. This budget is usually the most flexible.
• Capacity Building supports — funding to build skills and independence, like therapies or training that help a person do more for themselves over time.
• Capital supports — funding for bigger items, such as equipment or home modifications, where they relate to the disability.

Plan and process words

• Access request — the formal request asking the NDIA to consider whether someone can join the NDIS. (See our walk-through of the NDIS access request.)
• Planning meeting — the conversation where a participant's goals and supports are discussed before a plan is created. We've written up what to expect at your first planning meeting too.
• Goals — what the participant wants to work towards, from cooking a meal to catching public transport to finding work.
• Plan review — a check-in on how a plan is going and whether it still fits the person's needs.
• Reassessment — a fuller look at a plan, often leading to a new plan for the next period.
• Section 100 review / review of a decision — the formal process for asking the NDIA to reconsider a decision you disagree with.

Everyday terms with NDIS meanings

• Supports — the services, equipment, or help funded by a plan.
• Mainstream services — everyday community services like health, education, and housing that sit outside the NDIS but work alongside it.
• Informal supports — the unpaid help that comes from family, friends, and community.
• Person-centred — an approach that puts the person, their choices, and their goals at the heart of everything.

You don't need to memorise any of this

Here's the most reassuring thing: nobody expects you to learn all of this at once. These words will become familiar naturally, the way any new language does — through use, over time. And a caring provider will always pause to explain a term rather than talk over your head.

If a phrase ever leaves you nodding politely while quietly lost, just ask. There's no such thing as a silly question when it's your family's support on the line.

We speak plain English

At Adom Grace Care, we work with people with disability and their families across the Inner West Sydney — from Mortlake to Croydon Park — and we make a point of explaining things clearly, without the jargon.

If a term has you stumped or you'd just like to talk things through, please contact us. You can also explore our NDIS support services to see how we support people day to day. We're always happy to translate the NDIS into plain English.