What is Section 34 of the NDIS Act? What It Means for Your Supports
Section 34 of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 is the law that decides whether a support gets funded. Every time the NDIA looks at your plan and decides yes or no on a support, they're applying Section 34. It's the legal filter everything passes through.
If you've ever had a support rejected and wondered why, the answer almost always comes back to this section.
What Does Section 34 Actually Say?
Section 34 sets out the criteria a support must meet to be considered reasonable and necessary. The NDIA can't fund something unless it passes these tests.
A support must:
- Relate to your disability
- Not include day-to-day living costs that aren't related to your disability support needs
- Represent value for money
- Be likely to be effective and beneficial for you
- Take into account what's reasonable to expect families, carers, and the community to provide
- Be consistent with relevant laws
Every word in that list matters. The NDIA uses each point as a checklist. Your support fails even one? It can be declined.
Why Does This Section Affect So Many People?
Because it's broad enough to cover almost any decision. The NDIA can reject a support by pointing to value for money, or by saying it's something a family would normally provide, or by questioning whether the evidence supports it being effective.
One of my clients tried to get funding for personal training as part of her plan. She had a progressive neurological condition and her physio had written a letter supporting exercise as part of her management. The NDIA knocked it back.
Why? They said it didn't meet the value for money test and questioned whether it was directly related to her disability needs rather than general health. We went back with more specific functional evidence and it was approved on review.
That experience taught me something: Section 34 isn't a wall. It's a gate. You need the right key.
What Does "Reasonable and Necessary" Really Mean?
This phrase does a lot of work. It sounds simple but the NDIA interprets it strictly.
Reasonable means it makes sense given your situation, your goals, and what evidence supports. It also means the cost is fair.
Necessary means it's genuinely required to help you pursue your goals or live as independently as possible. Something that would just be nice to have doesn't qualify.
In my experience, the biggest mistake people make is assuming that if their doctor recommends something, the NDIA will fund it. That's not how it works. Medical recommendation helps, but the NDIA also weighs whether that support is necessary given your specific functional impairment and whether it represents the best use of scheme money.
What Most Articles Get Wrong About Section 34
Most explanations stop at listing the criteria. Here's what they miss.
First: Section 34 isn't just about what you need. It's about what the NDIS is designed to fund versus what other systems should cover. Health supports, for example, often get knocked back not because they're unnecessary but because the NDIA considers them the responsibility of the health system. This boundary between NDIS funding and other funding systems is crucial.
Second: The criteria interact. A support can be effective and still fail value for money. It can be related to your disability and still be declined if the NDIA decides a family member could reasonably provide it. You need to address all criteria, not just the obvious ones.
Third: Most people don't know that Section 34 also gives the NDIA discretion. Even when something technically meets the criteria, the NDIA can still weigh it against broader scheme sustainability. That discretion is rarely discussed but it shows up in decisions.
Is Exercise and Personal Training Covered Under Section 34?
It can be. The question is whether you can demonstrate it meets the criteria.
When I work with NDIS participants, the supports that get approved are the ones tied directly to a functional goal. Not "I want to get fitter." More like
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