Australia has approximately 4.4 million people with disability — about 18% of the population. The introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has transformed disability funding in Australia, providing individualised support packages for eligible people. Yet significant gaps remain: people who don't qualify for the NDIS, advocacy and systemic reform, community inclusion, employment, and innovation all require philanthropic investment that the NDIS doesn't cover.
The NDIS
The National Disability Insurance Scheme, introduced from 2013, funds individualised support packages for Australians under 65 with a permanent and significant disability. The NDIS represents a fundamental shift — from block funding to organisations, to person-centred planning and individual funding packages.
The NDIS funds:
- Daily living supports (personal care, household tasks)
- Therapies and health supports
- Equipment and assistive technology
- Home modifications
- Community participation
The NDIS does NOT fund:
- Advocacy (though there is separate advocacy funding)
- Systemic change and reform
- Prevention and early intervention for many conditions
- Support for people who don't meet NDIS eligibility criteria
Disability advocacy funding
Separate to the NDIS, the Commonwealth funds disability advocacy through the National Disability Advocacy Program (NDAP) and state advocacy programmes. Advocacy organisations support individuals navigating the system and advocate for systemic change.
State services
Some states fund disability services separately — for people not eligible for the NDIS, for older people, and in specific areas not covered by the NDIS.
People with Disability Australia (PWDA): National consumer organisation; systemic advocacy run by and for people with disability.
Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO): Peak body for disability organisations.
Disability Advocacy Network Australia (DANA): Peak body for disability advocacy organisations.
Summer Foundation: Develops housing and support solutions for young people with disability.
Touched by Olivia: Creates inclusive playspaces; disability advocacy.
Cerebral Palsy Alliance: Research, therapy, advocacy; significant research funding role.
Spinal Cord Injuries Australia: Support, advocacy, research.
Deaf Australia: Advocacy for Deaf community.
Vision Australia: Services and advocacy for people with blindness and low vision.
First Peoples Disability Network Australia: Advocacy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability.
The NDIS covers a significant proportion of disability support costs for eligible people. Philanthropy now plays a complementary rather than substitutive role. The most valuable philanthropic investment in disability is where the NDIS does not go:
Disability-led advocacy
The disability community has long operated under the principle "nothing about us without us." Disability advocacy organisations — particularly those run by and for people with disability — advocate for policy change, individual rights, and systemic reform. Grants for advocacy organisations support the work that government cannot fund itself.
Employment inclusion
Employment rates for Australians with disability remain significantly below those of people without disability. Grants supporting inclusive employment programmes — employer engagement, supported employment, workplace adjustments, disability employment services innovation — help close this gap. Social enterprises that employ people with disability are also valuable.
Housing solutions
Many Australians with disability face severe housing challenges — inaccessible properties, unsuitable rentals, homelessness. The Summer Foundation and similar organisations work on housing solutions for people with disability, particularly young people with acquired brain injury or complex needs who end up in aged care facilities. Capital grants for accessible housing development fill gaps the NDIS cannot.
Assistive technology innovation
Assistive technology — communication devices, mobility aids, sensory support — transforms the lives of people with disability. But innovation in AT is expensive and risky. Grants for AT research and development, and for access to AT beyond what the NDIS funds, expand what's possible.
First Nations Australians with disability
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability experience compound marginalisation. The First Peoples Disability Network advocates for culturally appropriate services, Indigenous disability leadership, and recognition of the specific needs of First Nations people with disability. This community requires specific philanthropic attention.
Inclusive arts and culture
Arts participation for people with disability — and representation of disability in arts and culture — builds both individual wellbeing and social inclusion. Grants for accessible arts programmes, disability arts organisations, and inclusive arts education contribute to genuine participation.
Research into disability and inclusion
Research that generates new knowledge about disability — causes, interventions, inclusion strategies, technology — informs both policy and practice. Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Foundation, Spinal Research, and university disability research centres all need philanthropic support.
NDIS navigation and advocacy
The NDIS is complex, and many participants struggle to access their entitlements. Grants for NDIS navigation support — particularly for marginalised populations including people from CALD backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and those with complex needs — help ensure the NDIS delivers on its promise.
Centre disability leadership: People with disability should lead disability organisations, design programmes, and participate meaningfully in grantmaking decisions. Funders should ask who is leading the organisations they fund.
Intersectionality matters: Many Australians with disability also experience other forms of marginalisation — race, poverty, gender, sexuality. Effective disability grants address these intersections.
The NDIS doesn't cover everything: Funders sometimes assume the NDIS has solved disability funding. The gaps — in advocacy, housing, community inclusion, innovation, and support for those outside eligibility — are substantial.
Think systemic as well as individual: Individual support packages help individuals; systemic advocacy and reform helps everyone with disability. A portfolio approach — some grants for direct service, some for advocacy and reform — is more powerful.
Tahua's grants management platform supports disability funders and disability organisations in Australia — with the grant tracking, outcome measurement, and reporting tools that help funders invest effectively in genuine disability inclusion.