Professor Bruce Taylor and his team aim to evaluate the impact of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) among Australians living with MS. They will do this in five projects:
They will determine how many people with MS have NDIS plans and if there are common characteristics among the people who have plans (e.g. if it is more common for men to have a plan compared to women).
Among those who have a plan, they will explore what the average monetary value of an NDIS plan is and if there are common characteristics among those with higher value plans (e.g. if it is more common for people with more severe disability to have a higher value plan).
Among those with an NDIS plan, the team will evaluate the impact of becoming a NDIS participant on quality of life and workforce participation.
They will explore the experience of applying for and administering an NDIS plan for people living with MS indepth and identify barriers and facilitators to access.
The team will explore the experience of preparing or contributing to an NDIS application among local area coordinators and healthcare providers (e.g. GPs, neurologists, MS nurses) to identify strengths and weaknesses in the application process.
Professor Taylor and his team will then share what they have learnt through a free online course about accessing the NDIS for people living with MS.
Professor Taylor and his team have completed the main data collection and analysis for this project. More than 1,500 people with MS took part in an Australian MS Longitudinal Study survey regarding their experiences with NDIS. Additionally, the team completed 32 interviews with people with MS, carers, and health professionals who help prepare NDIS plans and applications.
The findings show that the NDIS can be life-changing for people with MS. It does not appear to be biased in terms of who receives support, in that access to a plan was mainly linked to a person’s level of disability, rather than where they lived, their education level, gender, or socioeconomic background. Among people with severe disability who were eligible, more than 90% had an NDIS plan.
However, the study also found that applying for or renewing an NDIS plan can be difficult and stressful. People with MS reported that invisible symptoms such as pain, fatigue and thinking or memory problems were not always well understood. Some also felt that NDIS staff had limited knowledge of MS, particularly during plan reviews.
Based on their findings, the team is now preparing four research papers for publication. Publication of the findings will support advocacy to improve the experience of people with MS when applying for an NDIS plan.
Updated 31 March 2026Â
$244,123
2023
3 years
Current project
