Foundational Supports

Governments are working together to design and deliver additional supports in the community. These additional supports are called Foundational Supports.

These are specific supports that would be available outside the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) to help people with disability, and their families and carers.

The NDIS has transformed the lives of many people with disability, and it is here to stay. The NDIS provides supports to eligible people with disability.

Many people with disability are not on the NDIS. Some of these people, who are not on the NDIS, may need more help than what is offered through mainstream or community services, like early childhood education, schools and community mental health.

This is where additional Foundational Supports can assist.

We want supports that work, and meet the needs of people with disability. To do this, we need your help.

Commonwealth and state and territory governments are working on this together. Importantly, people with disability and mental health concerns will be at the centre of this work. So will their families and carers, and the wider community.

Consultations

The Department is running an introductory webinar. This webinar is an opportunity to find out more about:

• the different types of Foundational Supports
• upcoming opportunities to contribute to the national public consultations on Foundational Supports.

You do not need to do anything to prepare for this webinar. During this webinar, we will also provide information on other opportunities to have your say on Foundational Supports.

The webinar will include Auslan interpreters and live captioning.

The webinar will take place at 12pm (AEST) on 20 September 2024.

You can sign up via Humanitix.

What’s next

More information on consultation dates and events will be available soon. This is the first stage of ongoing engagement.

To receive updates on upcoming consultations, subscribe to the Foundational Supports newsletter. Click the link below button to sign-up.

You can unsubscribe at any time by emailing foundational.supports@dss.gov.au.

Your personal information is protected by law, including under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act). For more information see our Privacy Policy.

To have your say about Foundational Supports, you will be able to complete an online survey, attend in-person and virtual consultation sessions, and contribute to an online ideas wall.

There will be a number of discussion papers available in accessible formats. This includes Easy Read and Auslan summaries. Other accessible formats can be provided on request.

You can access the discussion papers as they become available by clicking on the button for the topic you are interested in. Find the button on the right-hand side of this page. More topics will be added soon.

You can also email your feedback about Foundational Supports, or request help to make a submission, to foundationalsupports@thesocialdeck.com.

Who we want to hear from:

• people with disability, whether they are on the NDIS or not
• people who might need extra support but don’t identify as having a disability
• families, carers, kin and advocates for people with disability
• other stakeholders, like service providers. This includes across disability, health, mental health, early childhood, schools and other areas.

Governments will use the feedback we receive from the community to make decisions about how Foundational Supports could work.