The National Assistance Card
The National Assistance Card is a personalised card to assist people with disability and health conditions in the community.
The National Assistance Card can be used in everyday or emergency situations where a cardholder needs assistance or support.
Who is the Card for?
The Card is available to all people in Australia living with brain injury.
In Tasmania the Card is being trialled with the autistic community.
The National Assistance Card Service hope that, in the future, the National Assistance Card will be available to all people in Australia with disability and health conditions.
For more information on who the card is for, please visit our "Eligibility and Who The Card Is For?" page.
The National Assistance Card can:
- help cardholders communicate their unique areas of difficulty and the assistance they may need
- give cardholders greater independence
- assist cardholders to feel more confident in everyday social situations
- provide peace of mind for families and carers
- enhance community understanding of disability and health conditions
- support positive community interaction with cardholders.
Every National Assistance Card is personalised.
The Card includes a cardholder's:
- first and last name
- photo
- date of birth
- nominated contact person's name and phone number
(a cardholder can choose if this person is contacted).
Also printed on the Card:
- up to five areas of difficulty chosen by the cardholder
(for example: communication, fatigue, memory, processing information) - a QR Code providing access to additional written information (written or personalised video) that the cardholder has chosen to include
- the Police Assistance Line phone number.
A QR code is a ‘Quick Response’ code that, when scanned with a mobile phone, allows the user to quickly access information online.
Cardholders have the option of adding additional information to their QR code about the impacts of the their disability or health condition and/or how people in the community can assist them.
The QR code information can be written or it can be via a video that a person makes of themselves, or of a nominated person talking on their behalf.
Important
- The National Assistance Card explains a cardholder's unique areas of difficulty. It does not make a cardholder exempt from the law.
- The National Assistance Card is a community service. It is not an official identity card or legal document.