Eligibility and Cost

The National Assistance Card is available to Autistic people and people with brain injury of any age across Australia.
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Eligibility and cost

Who can apply

The Card is currently available to Autistic people and people with brain injury of all ages across Australia.

If you’re interested in the Card but not currently eligible, we still want to hear from you. Please fill out this Expression of Interest form. This will help us apply for funding to make the Card available to more people.

We hope that, in the future, the National Assistance Card will be available to all people in Australia with disability and health conditions.

Important things to know about brain injury

  • Brain injury is defined as any damage or injury to the brain, occurring after birth, resulting in ongoing impairments. (The definition also includes Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder which is brain damage caused by alcohol exposure before birth).
  • Common causes of brain injury include motor vehicle crashes, assaults, sporting accidents, stroke, lack of oxygen to the brain, brain tumours and degenerative neurological conditions (e.g., dementia, Parkinson's disease).
  • The ongoing impairments a person may have could be physical, cognitive, emotional and/or behavioural.
  • Many of the effects of brain injury are not visible; this doesn’t make the impacts any less real.
  • The effects of brain injury are different for each person.

Important things to know about autism

  • Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition that occurs when the brain develops differently.
  • Autism affects the way people sense, communicate, behave and interact with the world.
  • While there are some common autistic traits, people experience autism in different ways.
  • A person’s autistic traits might be obvious to others, only show up in tough situations, or not be noticeable at all.

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Cost of the Card

  • A new Card costs $44
  • A replacement card costs $22 (only required if Card is lost or printed information needs updating).
  • The cost helps cover production and awareness resources.
  • You can pay using a credit/debit card or PayPal in the online application portal.
  • Some organisations may pay for your Card or reimburse the cost. For example: NDIS, compensation insurers, or service providers. After you pay, you’ll get a confirmation email with a receipt you can use to ask your provider for reimbursement.
  • Note: The National Assistance Card is not always recognised as an approved NDIS support. Please check with your NDIS service provider before applying.
  • If you can’t pay due to social or financial hardship, please select ‘Unable to pay’ in the application.

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Apply for the National Assistance Card

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