National Disability Insurance Scheme / Disability Employment Services Pathways Pilot - Frequently Asked Questions

To be eligible for the Pilot you must:

• be working aged (between 15 to 65 years of age); and
• have an active NDIS plan with an employment goal or would like to work; and
• be voluntarily seeking access to work; and
• be able to work between 8 to 30 hours per week (as determined though an Employment Services Assessment (ESAt)); and
• not be subject to any mutual obligation requirements (either receiving income support payments that do not have mutual obligation requirements or not be in receipt of income support payments).

You may also be eligible for the Pilot if you are an NDIS participant working in a Supported Employment Service, formerly known as an Australian Disability Enterprise (ADE), with 8 to 30 hours assessed future work capacity.

You can provide the following to confirm you are an NDIS participant:

• a copy of the cover letter of your current NDIS plan (preferred), or
• a copy of the letter advising you are eligible for NDIS supports (‘access met’ letter). 

You can access a copy of your cover letter for your NDIS plan from the NDIS portal. If you need help to locate or print out a copy of your cover letter, please contact your LAC partner.

The Pilot is operating in ACT, Greater Darwin and Outer-East Melbourne.

An ESAt is an assessment used to identify a person’s vocational and non-vocational needs for finding and maintaining employment, work capacity and ongoing support needs. The ESAt recommends the most appropriate employment services assistance for you and can identify services that may help you address your support needs.

A qualified health or allied health professional from Services Australia will undertake the assessment. The assessment will help to understand:

• your barriers to work
• your capacity to work due to disability, illness or injury
• what type of employment services provider is best for you
• your future work capacity with intervention.

If you are assessed as being able to work less than 8 hours a week with support and/or intervention, you will not be eligible for DES and therefore not able to participate in the Pilot. However, you will continue to be supported by LACs to seek employment, including open employment, with the benefit of having an assessed work capacity and barriers identified. 

No.

An ESAt does not trigger a DSP reassessment. The ESAt will provide eligibility for the DES program by identifying barriers to employment. The ESAt does not trigger a medical review therefore does not affect DSP eligibility. Please note that DSP medical reviews can happen from time to time. 

Yes. NDIS participants already connected to a DES provider may participate in the Pilot if they meet the eligibility for the pilot and receive services in a Pilot region.

Talk to your DES provider about connecting with your Local Area Coordinator (LAC). 

Yes. Speak to your LAC partner about your interest in working and being part of the Pilot. They can help you understand the current supports in your plan and connect you with a DES provider.

You may only need support from a DES provider to achieve your employment goal.

You may want to discuss updating your plan to include a new employment goal.

If you are thinking about working for the first time and need more help than a DES can provide to build your skill and readiness for work, you can talk to your LAC about what help you might need.

Yes, as long as your LAC partner is located in a Pilot region. You do not have to be receiving any Centrelink payments to participate in the Pilot.

NDIS participants who don’t live in a Pilot region can still seek support from a DES provider to find employment. The services and supports you are eligible to receive are the same as those in the Pilot regions.

If you would like to explore work opportunities or understand how to start your employment journey, speak with your LAC provider or visit www.jobaccess.gov.au(Opens in a new tab/window) to find a DES provider near you.

Yes. As long as the NDIS participant is not already connected to the CDP program, they may connect to a DES provider and participate in the Pilot.

Yes. If you work in supported employment and would like to get a job in open employment, you may be eligible to receive assistance from a DES provider.

You don’t have to give up your ADE job to receive DES assistance. Once you find a job, a DES provider can continue to support you in your job as long as required following usual approval processes.

Alternatively, the participant may be able to use their NDIS Supports in Employment funding depending on the level of workplace support required.

A decision as to which provider delivers on-the-job support should be discussed with the participant and confirmed with the employer.

Yes.

Yes. You can remain on the post-school transition to work programs and register with a DES provider, provided you are in the last 6 months of the program.

Once a job seeker commences with DES as an eligible school leaver, they cannot commence in a state/territory post-school employment or transition to work program unless they exit DES. They will be ineligible to access DES until they have exited the state/territory government post-school employment or transition to work program, or if the program is concurrent, until they are in their final 6 months of the program.

Yes. You can initiate contact with a DES provider yourself and complete the steps to register with DES without assistance from your LAC partner. To ensure that you receive the best level of support available through DES and NDIS services you may be asked whether you have regular contact with your LAC partner, and whether you would be interested in including your LAC partner in the employment process.

The services and supports you receive through the Pilot are the same as those already available through DES. The Pilot focuses on how LACs, DES providers and NDIS employment support providers work together to support an NDIS participant to achieve an employment goal, and how LAC partners and DES providers monitor and report participant outcomes.

Your LAC can connect you to services in your local area to help you prepare for work and find and keep a job. If you express interest in the Pilot, your LAC can help you connect to a DES provider and work to coordinate NDIS and DES services.

The Disability Employment Services program, often referred to as DES, is the Australian Government’s employment service that helps people with disability find work and keep a job.

Through DES, eligible people with disability, injury or health condition can receive help to prepare for, find and keep a job. Help can include career advice, employment preparation, resume development and training. You can also get help with searching for a job and ongoing support at work (if you need it), including accessing funding for necessary workplace modifications.

A DES provider specialises in supporting people with disability find and keep a job. They can help you write a resume, apply for jobs, build your interview skills, and help adjust to your new work environment. DES providers also maintain relationships with local employers who want to employ people with disability. They are focused on those who are ready to work to connect to the right employer.

Your LAC partner assists you in implementing your NDIS plan by connecting you to NDIS and other services in your local area. This can include employment related services to help you prepare for work and support you in the workplace.

The services offered by your DES provider and the NDIS will work together to help you prepare for, find and keep a job.

If you choose to participate in the Pilot, you (or someone you nominate) will meet with your LAC partner, DES provider and NDIS employment support provider to discuss the best services available to support your needs.

Your LAC partner and DES provider will continue to support you throughout your employment journey to make sure you get the right supports at the right time.

Yes. As part of the registration process for DES, you may be referred for an Employment Services Assessment (ESAt). The ESAt is conducted by Services Australia.

The assessment includes questions about yourself, your disability and things like study or other commitments. This information is used to assess what supports you might need, including the level of support to find and keep a job. The assessment will also consider other things that might affect the hours you are able to work, for example managing your health.

This information is used by your DES provider to customise the supports to best meet your needs and situation to help you find work. It is helpful for you to provide as much detail about the barriers you face with your disability to receive the most appropriate level of support.

No, you don’t need to have funded supports in your plan. You might only need support from a DES to achieve your employment goal. If you are thinking about working for the first time and need more help than a DES can provide to build your skill and readiness for work, you can talk to your LAC about what help you might need.

No. Participating in the Pilot, or DES in general, will not impact your NDIS plan or your NDIS supports. If you have NDIS funding for employment supports, the Pilot’s aim is to integrate the supports that are available through your NDIS plan with those that are available from a DES provider to make sure all services are tailored to your needs.

Participating in the Pilot, and connecting to a DES provider, will not impact your DSP. For further information Working while you’re getting Disability Support Pension - Disability Support Pension - Services Australia(Opens in a new tab/window).

No. You can contact your LAC partner at any time to discuss the Pilot.

You can speak to your LAC or planner at any time about your employment goals and the supports you may need to help you build skills to find and keep a job.

No, you can continue your volunteer work. If you choose to participate in the Pilot, you can discuss your volunteering activities with your DES provider.

Even though you do not feel confident to start work now, you may consider participating in the Pilot to help you build your confidence.

The purpose of the Pilot is to support you to build your confidence to start work. This may be achieved through supports and services delivered through either NDIS or DES to build your capability and capacity to start work.

You do not need to apply for jobs until you and your DES provider agree you are ready.

The Department of Social Services (the Department) and the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) engaged with Disability Representative Organisations (DROs) and Disability Peak Organisations (Peaks) during the design of the Pilot. If your organisation was part of the co-design process, you will have been invited to join the Pilot Advisory Group (PAG).

Update: It has been decided that the PAG will not meet as a group. Advice from DROs on issues requiring their insights will be sought as they arise through the Pilot lifecycle.

Information about the Pilot is available at the NDIS website(Opens in a new tab/window)

If you require further information, email ndisdespilot@dss.gov.au.

Yes. While the Pilot is operating in a limited number of LAC regions, if a LAC, the NDIS participant, and a DES provider would like to use this approach to coordinating employment services, then they are free to do so by agreement.

Those using Pilot processes outside of selected regions are not required to register their participant. This means the pilot will not be surveying individuals or actively seeking feedback from providers about their experiences.