NDIS Reasonable and Necessary Explained: How to Justify a Self-Managed Claim Under Section 34

If you self-manage or plan-manage your NDIS funding, you carry more of the responsibility for showing that each purchase is reasonable and necessary. There is no bulk approval sitting behind you. When the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) reviews a claim, it looks at whether the support met the tests in section 34 of the NDIS Act. A clear justification statement, kept with your records, is how you show your working.

This guide explains what "reasonable and necessary" means in plain English, what the section 34 criteria are after the October 2024 law change, how to write a justification letter that maps to those criteria, and how to keep audit-ready records. It is general information, not legal advice, and it does not guarantee any claim will be approved. Always confirm claimability against the current guidance at ndis.gov.au before you buy.

What does "reasonable and necessary" mean under the NDIS?

"Reasonable and necessary" is the standard the NDIA applies before it will fund a support. It is set out in section 34 of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (Cth), read together with the NDIS rules and the NDIA's operational guidance. The idea is that a support has to genuinely relate to your disability and your goals, work, represent good value, and be the kind of thing the NDIS is meant to fund, rather than an everyday cost that applies to everyone.

The NDIA publishes a Reasonable and necessary supports guideline that sets out how it interprets these tests, and a plain-language "Would we fund it" catalogue with worked examples. Both are worth reading for the specific support you are claiming.

What changed in the NDIS in October 2024?

This matters, because a lot of older advice online is now out of date. The National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No. 1) Act 2024 commenced on 3 October 2024 and changed section 34 itself. Two changes stand out:

• A new paragraph (aa) was added, tying the support to needs that arise from the impairment that made you eligible for the scheme.
• The old paragraph (f), which asked whether a support was "most appropriately funded" through the NDIS rather than other systems, was replaced with a much shorter test: the support must be an NDIS support for the participant.

From that date, NDIS funds can only be spent on things that are "NDIS supports." There is a list of what counts as an NDIS support and a list of what NDIS funding cannot be used for. These lists are currently set by transitional rules while a final version is co-designed, so they can change. There is also a substitution process that can, in specific circumstances, let you replace an approved support with something that gives you better value. You can read the NDIA's summary of the changes on the changes to NDIS legislation page.

What are the section 34 reasonable and necessary criteria in 2026?

After the amendment, section 34(1) requires the NDIA to be satisfied of all of the following in relation to each funded support. The wording below is taken from Compilation No. 25 of the Act (registered 6 May 2026), the current compilation at the time of writing.

(aa) Addresses needs arising from your impairment

"the support is necessary to address needs of the participant arising from an impairment in relation to which the participant meets the disability requirements (see section 24) or the early intervention requirements (see section 25)"

In plain terms: the need the support meets has to come from your disability, not from something unrelated. Your letter should make that link explicit.

(a) Assists you to pursue your goals

"the support will assist the participant to pursue the goals, objectives and aspirations included in the participant's statement of goals and aspirations"

Quote the relevant goal from your current plan word for word, and show how the support helps you pursue it.

(b) Facilitates social and economic participation

"the support will assist the participant to undertake activities, so as to facilitate the participant's social and economic participation"

Explain the activities the support opens up: getting to appointments, joining a group, studying, working, or taking part in the community.

(c) Represents value for money

"the support represents value for money in that the costs of the support are reasonable, relative to both the benefits achieved and the cost of alternative support"

Value for money is a comparison, not just a low price. If a quote or a lower-cost option was considered, say so. Weigh the cost against the benefit and against the cost of alternatives, including paid support hours that would otherwise be needed.

(d) Effective and beneficial, having regard to current good practice

"the support will be, or is likely to be, effective and beneficial for the participant, having regard to current good practice"

Describe plainly what the participant cannot do now and how the support changes that. Delegates are administrative decision-makers, not clinicians, so clear function beats jargon. If you hold a report from an allied health professional, you can refer to it and keep it with your records. Do not name assessment tools you do not have.

(e) Takes account of reasonable informal supports

"the funding or provision of the support takes account of what it is reasonable to expect families, carers, informal networks and the community to provide"

Show that this is a need family, friends, and the community cannot reasonably be expected to meet on their own.

(f) Is an NDIS support for the participant

"the support is an NDIS support for the participant"

This is the rewritten test. The support has to be on the right side of the NDIS supports lists: related to your disability, not a general day-to-day living cost, and not something the health or education systems are responsible for. Because the lists can change, check your specific item against the current guidance at ndis.gov.au before claiming.

Does section 34 apply to my plan? Old framework versus new framework plans

There is an important structural point to understand. In the current Act, the section 34 reasonable and necessary criteria sit under the rules for what the Act calls "old framework plans" (they are applied through section 32M and section 33). These are the plans most participants currently hold. The scheme is gradually moving people onto "new framework plans," which instead work through a "reasonable and necessary budget" set out in sections 32B to 32L, including a needs assessment and, for some supports, a stated (fixed) amount.

In practice, both frameworks still ask the same underlying question, whether a support is reasonable and necessary and genuinely related to your disability, so a clear justification statement remains useful either way. But if you have been told you are on a new framework plan with a reasonable and necessary budget, check your own plan and the current guidance at ndis.gov.au, because some of the requirements differ. If you are not sure which framework your plan uses, ask your planner, your plan manager, or the NDIA.

How do you write an NDIS justification letter?

A justification statement is not a legal form. It is a short, structured record that walks through the section 34 tests using your own facts. Professional support letters tend to share a common structure, and you can borrow it as general good practice:

• Who is preparing it, and a baseline. Name your actual role (participant, parent or guardian, plan nominee, or support coordinator). A short baseline, describing what the participant could do before or without the support, makes the need concrete.
• The functional domains affected. Map the limitation to the functional areas it touches: mobility, communication, social interaction, learning, self-care, and self-management.
• A direct link to a plan goal. Quote the goal verbatim from the approved plan.
• A deficit-based, plain-English rationale. State what cannot be done now and how the support changes it. Only mention a clinical report if you genuinely hold one.
• A realistic risk statement. Describe the honest consequence if the support is not funded: loss of independence, a safety risk, regression, or more reliance on paid or family support. An exaggerated risk hurts your credibility.

The most common reason a claim falls apart is that the item, the goal, and the limitation do not line up. If your goal is about communication but the item is a mobility aid, and nothing in your explanation bridges the two, that gap will show. Our free NDIS justification letter tool checks for exactly this kind of mismatch before it drafts anything, and it will tell you what to fix rather than produce a letter that does not hang together.

What is low-cost assistive technology, and the $1,500 rule?

The NDIA describes low-cost assistive technology as everyday items that cost less than $1,500 each and can usually be bought off the shelf. Assistive technology sits in tiers: low cost is under $1,500, mid cost is roughly $1,500 to $15,000, and high cost is over $15,000.

For a low-cost item, if you have funds in your Core Consumables budget, you do not need to check with the NDIA first or send a quote before you buy. You do still need to make sure it relates to your disability, is reasonable and necessary, and is fit for purpose, and you should keep your proof of purchase. Higher-cost or higher-risk assistive technology has more requirements, including advice from an appropriate professional.

How does budget flexibility work: Core versus Capacity Building?

Your plan budget is not one undifferentiated pool.

• Core Supports funding is generally flexible. You can usually move it across the Core categories, unless a particular support is "stated" (fixed) in your plan.
• Capacity Building funding is not flexible across categories. It must be spent within its approved Capacity Building category.

How flexibly funds can be spent is also being changed by the newer plan framework and computer system, so treat this as a general rule and check what your own plan says.

What records do you need to keep, and for how long?

If you self-manage, the NDIA asks you to keep your records for at least five years. That means invoices, receipts, service agreements, bank records, and any justification statement you have prepared, so you can show the funding was spent in line with your plan if you are asked. Records can be kept in hard copy or digitally. If you are plan-managed, your plan manager keeps the invoices, but holding your own copies is still sensible.

How JustifyMyClaim helps

JustifyMyClaim turns your own answers into a formal justification statement in the standard NDIS supporting-letter format. It cross-checks your item, goal, and limitation against the section 34 criteria before drafting, blocks claims that do not hang together, and produces a letter you can download as a PDF and keep with your records. It is an independent administrative tool: it is not affiliated with the NDIA, it does not store your claim details, and it cannot guarantee an outcome. You can start your letter here.

Frequently asked questions