Assessment and evidence · not an NDIS service
Autism assessment for the NDIS
An assessment written so it answers the question the NDIA is actually asking. Which is not "does this person have autism" — it is "what is the impairment, is it permanent, and what does it stop them doing".
First, the thing that costs people money. The NDIS does not fund diagnostic assessment. Diagnosing a condition sits with the health system, not with the scheme. If a provider suggests your plan or your funding will cover the cost of getting diagnosed, read that very carefully. We are an assessment service, not an NDIS provider, and this page is about evidence rather than supports.
What the NDIA actually asks for
The NDIA publishes its own list of what it accepts as evidence of disability, and it is worth reading directly rather than through anyone's summary — ours included. It is linked at the bottom of this page.
For autism specifically, the NDIA says you can gather evidence from your health professionals, including any member of a multidisciplinary team, such as a paediatrician, psychologist, psychiatrist, occupational therapist or speech therapist. It names the DSM-5 as the diagnostic reference and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales as an example of an adaptive functioning measure.
Two things follow from that, and they are the two things people most often get wrong.
A diagnosis on its own is not enough
The evidence has to describe impairment and its effect on everyday functioning. A report that establishes the diagnosis beautifully and says nothing structured about function is doing half the job.
Adaptive functioning is measured, not asserted
"Struggles with daily tasks" is an opinion. A standardised adaptive measure with scores is evidence. The difference matters to a delegate reading a hundred of these.
Diagnosis, level, and why the level alone is not the test
You will find a lot of writing online that treats an autism level as a pass mark for the NDIS — level 2 gets you in, level 1 does not. Be careful with that framing, for two reasons.
The first is that the NDIA's current published evidence guidance for autism does not talk about levels at all. It talks about diagnosis, impairment, permanence and functional capacity.
The second is legislative. The NDIA states that for all applications received on or after 3 October 2024 it uses the current version of the legislation to make an access decision. A good deal of the level-based folklore online predates that, and some of it predates it by years.
The practical read: a level 2 or 3 diagnosis with well-documented functional impact is a stronger position than a level 1 diagnosis, and always was. But the level is a shorthand for support needs, not a substitute for evidencing them. A report that leans on the label and skips the function is weak regardless of which number is on it.
We cannot promise you access, and nobody honest can. The NDIA decides. What we can do is write to the standard it asks for and tell you, before you spend anything, where we think you are likely to land. Sometimes that answer is "this is unlikely to succeed and here is why" — and we would rather say it first.
What a report written for NDIS access has to contain
A report written to explain yourself to yourself and a report written for an access request are not the same document. If you tell us at the start which one you need, you do not pay twice.
The diagnosis, and how it was reached. Against DSM-5 criteria, with the reasoning shown rather than asserted, including what else was considered and ruled out.
Permanence. Autism is lifelong, but the report has to say so and explain the basis, including developmental history.
Functional impact, by domain. Communication, social interaction, learning, mobility, self-care and self-management — described concretely, with examples, and supported by standardised measures where they apply.
Adaptive functioning scores where an adaptive measure has been administered, presented so a non-clinician can see what they mean.
What support is needed and why, in terms of everyday function rather than clinical shorthand.
Who wrote it, with full name, profession and registration number, so it can be verified.
If you already have a diagnosis
A lot of people arrive here having been assessed somewhere else, with a report that establishes autism and says almost nothing about function — because it was written for a different purpose, often years earlier and often in childhood.
You may not need reassessing. Sometimes the gap can be closed with a functional report that builds on the existing diagnosis rather than starting over, which is faster and costs less. Sometimes the original report is too thin or too old to build on and reassessment is the honest answer.
Send us what you have and we will tell you which of those it is before you commit to anything.
If you have been refused
A refusal is usually about evidence rather than about you. The most common gaps we see are a report that establishes diagnosis without structured functional evidence, no adaptive measure, nothing addressing permanence, or evidence that is simply old.
The NDIA publishes its own process for what happens next, including review rights, and that is the authoritative source rather than us. What we can contribute is the clinical evidence, written to the standard it asks for.
We are not lawyers, we are not advocates, and we are not affiliated with the NDIA. If what you need is help navigating a review rather than a clinical report, say so and we will tell you honestly that we are the wrong service.
What it costs
An adult autism assessment is $1,650 including the written report. Assessing ADHD at the same time is $1,950 rather than $3,300, because the developmental history only has to be taken once.
Where cognitive and adaptive testing is needed — which is common when intellectual disability is part of the picture — that is a separate piece of work starting at $1,450, quoted individually because the measures vary. Part of cognitive testing cannot be done over video, and we explain exactly why on that page rather than improvising.
To say it once more because it matters: the NDIS does not pay for this. Diagnostic assessment sits with the health system.
Common questions
Does the NDIS pay for an autism assessment?
No. The NDIS does not fund diagnostic assessment — diagnosing a condition sits with the health system. A plan may fund supports after access is granted, but not the assessment that establishes the diagnosis in the first place.
Who can do an autism assessment for the NDIS?
The NDIA's published guidance for autism says evidence can come from your health professionals, including any member of a multidisciplinary team, such as a paediatrician, psychologist, psychiatrist, occupational therapist or speech therapist. Our assessments are conducted by registered psychologists, and you are given the clinician's name and registration number before your first session so you can check the AHPRA register yourself.
Does autism level 2 automatically qualify for the NDIS?
No, and be careful with anything that says otherwise. The NDIA's current published evidence guidance for autism does not frame access around levels — it asks about diagnosis, permanence, impairment and functional capacity. It also states that applications received on or after 3 October 2024 are decided under the current legislation. A level 2 diagnosis with well-documented functional impact is a stronger position than one without, but the level is not the test.
What evidence does the NDIA accept?
It accepts forms completed by treating health professionals, and existing reports, assessments or letters. For autism it references the DSM-5 for diagnosis and names the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales as an example of an adaptive functioning measure. Its own page is linked at the bottom of this one and is worth reading directly.
How recent does the report need to be?
There is no single number that applies to everyone, and it depends on what the report is being used for and how much has changed. Old childhood reports are the most common problem we see, usually because they establish diagnosis but contain nothing about current adult functioning. Send us what you have and we will tell you whether it can be built on.
Can you guarantee I will get access?
No, and anyone who does is telling you what you want to hear. The NDIA makes the decision. We write to the standard it asks for and we tell you beforehand where we think you are likely to land.
Where this information comes from
We would rather you checked us than took our word for it. Every link below is the original source, not a summary of one.
- NDIS: examples of disability evidenceThe NDIA's own list of what evidence it accepts and which professions it accepts it from.
- NDIS: how to applyThe application process, in the NDIA's words rather than ours.
- National Guideline for the Assessment and Diagnosis of Autism in AustraliaAutism CRC. The recommendations were approved by the CEO of the NHMRC on 8 December 2023.
- Services Australia: medical evidence for the Disability Support PensionWhat Centrelink requires, from Centrelink.
- AHPRA Register of PractitionersCheck any clinician's registration, including ours, before you book anything.
Links to external sites are provided for reference. We do not control them and they may change. Last checked 21 September 2026.
Tell us what the report has to do.
It is the first thing we ask, not the last. It changes what goes in the report and sometimes whether an assessment is worth doing at all.