NDIS age limit: what happens at 65, and how aged care works

The NDIS age limit is 65: you must be younger than 65 on the day the NDIA receives your complete application. If you’re already an NDIS participant, turning 65 doesn’t end your plan, and you can choose to stay in the NDIS or move to aged care. You can’t have both at once. You’ll leave the NDIS if, for the first time after 65, you move permanently into residential aged care or start permanent aged care at home, such as Support at Home.

This is general information, not legal, medical or financial advice, and it doesn’t consider your situation. Perth Disability Connect is an independent directory, not an NDIS or aged care provider, and we’re not part of the NDIS or the aged care system. Rules change, so check the linked source before you rely on them. Rules are current as at 29 September 2026.

Whether you’re approaching 65 with an NDIS plan or helping a parent who is already over 65, this guide covers the age rule and the 2 situations that end NDIS participation. It also covers how Support at Home works and where to get an aged care assessment in Perth.

What is the NDIS age limit?

The NDIS age limit applies to applying, not to staying. The NDIA says “Anyone who applies for the NDIS must be younger than 65 on the day they apply” (NDIA, What are the age requirements). That means your application “needs to be complete, in the format we ask for and received by us before you turn 65” (NDIA, How to check your eligibility). The rule is in section 22 of the NDIS Act.

• If you’re 65 or older and not already a participant, you can’t apply. The NDIA points you to aged care instead.
• If you’re turning 65 soon and want to apply, the NDIA asks you to contact it “so we can help you apply on time”. Our guide to how to apply for the NDIS covers the steps.
• The rule is about your age on the day you apply, not whether your disability is related to ageing.

New NDIS laws passed in August 2026 will change how eligibility is decided, but the NDIA says “Eligibility changes will not occur until 1 January 2028” (NDIA).

What happens to your NDIS at 65?

Nothing happens to your NDIS plan automatically when you turn 65. The NDIA says you can stay if you joined before 65: “You can stay on the NDIS once you turn 65, as long as you became a participant before your 65th birthday” (NDIA, Guide to residential aged care), and “Nothing changes if you choose to continue as an NDIS participant.”

You can choose aged care instead, but you can’t have both: “You can’t use NDIS and aged care supports at the same time” (NDIA). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants can choose to access aged care from 50.

Having an aged care assessment doesn’t end your NDIS plan by itself. In the NDIA’s own example, a participant over 65 can keep getting NDIS supports “until she permanently gets aged care home care services or moves into residential aged care permanently” (NDIA, Leaving the NDIS guideline).

When you have to leave the NDIS after 65

2 situations end NDIS participation after 65, and both are one-way. The NDIS Act says participation ends when a person starts accessing ongoing funded aged care services on a permanent basis, and this first happens after they turn 65 (section 29).

Situation after you turn 65	What happens to your NDIS
You move permanently into residential aged care for the first time	You leave the NDIS on the day you move in. There’s no internal review.
You start receiving permanent aged care services at home for the first time	You leave the NDIS
You were already living in residential aged care before 65	You can stay in the NDIS after 65
You leave the NDIS for any reason once you’re 65 or older	You can’t rejoin, because you’d have to be younger than 65 on the day you reapply

The NDIA says “You’ll leave the NDIS on the same day you move into the residential aged care facility” (NDIA, Guide to leaving the NDIS). If either change happens, you need to tell the NDIA on 1800 800 110. The 90-day cooling-off period that applies when you choose to leave doesn’t apply here.

When we checked on 29 September 2026, the NDIA’s age requirements page only said “You’ll have to leave the NDIS if you move into residential aged care after turning 65.” The home care trigger, and the words “permanently” and “for the first time”, are in the NDIS Act and the NDIA’s August 2026 Leaving the NDIS guideline. Don’t rely on the age page alone.

NDIS or aged care: the key differences

The NDIA describes the NDIS and aged care as “2 separate government systems that work differently” (NDIA, Guide to residential aged care).

	NDIS	Aged care (Support at Home)
Who it’s for	People with permanent and significant disability who joined before 65	Mainly people 65 and over (50 and over for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people)
How you get in	Apply to the NDIA before you turn 65	An aged care assessment through My Aged Care
How the money flows	Funding goes to your plan, to buy the supports in it	The government pays providers, and Services Australia holds your budget
What you pay	The NDIA says NDIS assistance “is not means tested”	You contribute to some services, based on the service type and your income and assets
Who to call	NDIA, 1800 800 110	My Aged Care, 1800 200 422

On funding, the NDIA says “The aged care system pays providers directly.” The means-testing line comes from an NDIA fact sheet dated March 2020.

What is the Support at Home program?

Support at Home is the federal aged care program for help at home, and it sits outside the NDIS. It started on 1 November 2025, replacing the Home Care Packages Program and the Short-Term Restorative Care Programme (My Aged Care, Support at Home). It started on the same day as the new Aged Care Act 2024, which includes a Statement of Rights for older people.

The Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) wasn’t replaced. On 21 August 2026 the Department announced CHSP funding is extended “for another 2 years to 30 June 2029” (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing).

How Support at Home works, as at September 2026 (My Aged Care, costs and contributions):

• 8 ongoing classifications set your quarterly budget, based on your assessed needs. 10% of each quarterly budget goes to care management.
• 3 short-term pathways. The Restorative Care Pathway gives up to 16 weeks of allied health and nursing. The End-of-Life Pathway is for people with 3 months or less to live. The Assistive Technology and Home Modifications scheme pays upfront for equipment, or for changes that make your home safer.
• You pay no contribution for clinical supports such as nursing and physiotherapy.
• For independence and everyday living services, full pensioners contribute 5% and 17.5% of the price. Self-funded retirees without a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card contribute 50% and 80%. Part pensioners pay somewhere in between.
• From 1 October 2026 there’s no contribution for approved personal care. My Aged Care says you “won’t be refunded for any payments you made for personal care services delivered before 1 October 2026.”
• If you were receiving or approved for a Home Care Package on or before 12 September 2024, “you are no worse off under Support at Home”.

Providers set their own prices and must publish them, and you can compare them with My Aged Care’s Find a provider tool. Budget amounts are indexed each year, so check the current figures on My Aged Care.

How to get an aged care assessment in Perth

To get Support at Home, you need an aged care assessment, which is separate from the NDIS. Apply online through My Aged Care or call 1800 200 422 (Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm, Saturday 10am to 2pm). You can also book a face-to-face appointment with an Aged Care Specialist Officer at Services Australia on 1800 227 475 (My Aged Care, How to get assessed).

You don’t choose your assessor. Under the Single Assessment System, an assessment organisation calls you to arrange a time, and most assessments happen at home. If you’re approved, you may wait for funding: the Department says people “will then be allocated funding when it is available”. My Aged Care says “When your funding comes through, you can then choose a service provider that is right for you.”

Perth aged care assessments are done by 4 organisations. As listed by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing in June 2026, they are Access Care Network Australia (ACNA), APM (Serendipity), the Department of Health WA and Independent Living Assessment (iLA) (assessment organisations list). WA Health says aged care assessments are free.

If someone has no one to help them through this, a care finder can. As listed by My Aged Care in September 2026, the Perth North and Perth South care finders are Advocare, Chung Wah Association, People Who Care, Tuart Place and Umbrella Multicultural Community Care Services (My Aged Care, Help from a care finder). For free aged care advocacy, call the Aged Care Advocacy Line on 1800 700 600.

Younger people and residential aged care

For NDIS participants under 65, the NDIA says “We’re committed to making sure no NDIS participant under 65 years lives in residential aged care, unless there are exceptional circumstances or it is their will and preference” (NDIA, Guide to residential aged care). Under the Aged Care Act, government-funded aged care is mainly for people 65 and over. Exceptions include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 50 or over, and people 50 or over who are homeless or at risk of homelessness (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing).

If you’re under 65 and already in residential aged care, your NDIS supports continue while you look at other options. The NDIS can’t pay some aged care costs, including “the daily care fee for meals, cleaning and heating”. If you or someone you know is young and at risk of moving into aged care, the NDIA asks you to contact it as early as possible.

Staying in the NDIS or moving to aged care

If you’re an NDIS participant over 65, the choice to move is yours, and it can’t be undone. The NDIA suggests you “explore My Aged Care before you turn 65”, and says you can ask for an aged care assessment “when your ageing needs outweigh your disability needs”. Before you decide, it helps to ask:

1. Which supports in my NDIS plan would I lose, and would Support at Home fund them?
2. What would I contribute under Support at Home, based on my income and assets?
3. Would I keep my current providers, and are they registered to deliver Support at Home?
4. Am I likely to need residential aged care, which would end my NDIS plan anyway?

Talk it through with your my NDIS contact or support coordinator, who can help make sure your current needs are included in your aged care assessment. Our guide to support coordinators in Perth and our free and low-cost disability advocacy guide list places to start.

The age rule decides who can join the NDIS, not who has to leave it. If you’re already in, staying is the default, and only permanent aged care, started after 65, closes the door.

FAQ

Q: What is the NDIS age limit? A: You must be younger than 65 on the day the NDIA receives your complete application. There’s no upper age limit for staying in the NDIS if you joined before 65.

Q: Does the NDIS stop at 65? A: No. If you became a participant before 65, you can stay in the NDIS after 65. You’ll only leave if, for the first time after 65, you move permanently into residential aged care or start receiving permanent aged care services at home.

Q: Can you get the NDIS if you’re over 65? A: Not as a new applicant. If you’re 65 or older and not already a participant, you can’t apply, and My Aged Care (1800 200 422) is the place to start.

Q: Can I have the NDIS and a Support at Home package at the same time? A: No. The NDIA says you can’t use NDIS and aged care supports at the same time. Starting permanent aged care services at home for the first time after 65 ends NDIS participation.

Q: Did Support at Home replace Home Care Packages? A: Yes. Support at Home started on 1 November 2025, replacing Home Care Packages and Short-Term Restorative Care. The Commonwealth Home Support Program continues and is funded to 30 June 2029.

Q: Is Perth Disability Connect part of the NDIS or My Aged Care? A: No. We’re an independent directory that scores providers on their public Google reviews. We don’t give eligibility advice and we’re not part of the NDIS, the NDIA or the aged care system.