Technical Advisory Group for NDIS functional capacity

The Technical Advisory Group for NDIS functional capacity (TAG) will provide independent, expert advice to support reforms to National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) access and eligibility.

Role

The Technical Advisory Group (TAG) supports the Australian Government's commitment to securing the NDIS for future generations through reforms to access arrangements. The TAG has been established to provide expert advice on the development of a more consistent and evidence-based approach to assessing substantially reduced functional capacity for NDIS access.

The TAG will provide independent, evidence-based advice to support the development of a robust and consistent approach to assessing substantially reduced functional capacity for the purposes of NDIS access. 

The TAG will deliver its advice in 3 phases:

  • Development of an assessment framework and design principles for a structured and consistent foundation to implement a robust assessment of functional capacity for NDIS access. 
  • Advice on assessment model options, including assessment tools, evidence requirements and threshold options to inform NDIS access.
  • Advice to support implementation, testing and validation of the proposed assessment approach ahead of statutory NDIS rule development. 

Guiding principles 

The TAG’s advice will be guided by the following principles:

  • participant centred and based on functional capacity, not diagnosis
  • consistent with the objects and principles of the NDIS Act, including Australia’s human rights obligations 
  • informed by lived experience, including consideration of participants, families and carers
  • evidence based and clinically informed
  • equitable and non-discriminatory, including for episodic and psychosocial disability
  • proportionate and accessible, avoiding unnecessary administrative burden.

Scope

The TAG's work supports implementation of the 2026–27 Budget measure to strengthen NDIS access pathways, including the commitment to introduce standardised, evidence-based assessments of a person's functional capacity for determining access to the NDIS.

The advice of the TAG will support a shift towards a more proportionate access process, with standardised evidentiary requirements that reduce variability and minimise burden on prospective participants and their families.

It will guide the identification, design and integration of appropriate assessment approaches, tools and thresholds to ensure access decisions are equitable, consistent and aligned with the original intent of the Scheme. 

Advice from the TAG will inform government decision making on NDIS access reforms, including policy settings and statutory rules to be agreed by governments.

Members

The TAG will be co-convened by the Minister for Health, Disability and Ageing, the Hon Mark Butler MP, and Ms Suzanne Orr MLA, ACT Minister for Disability, Carers and Community Services.

The TAG membership comprises technical expertise and experience relevant to disability and functional assessment, including people with lived experience of disability, diversity and First Nations. 

NameRole/background
Professor Christine Imms (Co-chair)
  • Apex Chair in Neurodevelopment and Disability – joint appointment between the University of Melbourne and The Royal Children's Hospital 
  • Honorary Fellow Manager within the Neurodisability and Rehabilitation Group, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
  • Director, Healthy Trajectories Child and Youth Disability Research Hub  
Mary Wood (Co-chair) 
  • Deputy Secretary, Disability and Carers Group, Department of Health, Disability and Ageing 
Dr Lisa Chaffey 
  • Founder of Equipped for Action (occupational therapy and disability leadership practice) 
  • Member of NDIS Evidence Advisory Committee
Associate Professor Shane Clifton 
  • Associate Professor in Health Sciences at the University of Sydney 
  • Director of the Centre for Disability Research and Policy 
Associate Professor Anita D’Aprano
  • Principal Research Fellow, Indigenous Child Health, Department of Paediatrics, Melbourne Medical School 
  • Consultant Paediatrician, Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne
Associate Professor Jill Duncan OAM 
  • Associate Professor, School of Education, University of Newcastle
  • Current Member of the NDIS Evidence Advisory Committee
Professor Valsamma Eapen AO 
  •  Professor and Chair of Child Psychiatry, UNSW Sydney Clinical
  •  Academic Head at South-Western Sydney Local Health District
Professor Nick Glozier
  • Professor of Psychological Medicine, Central Clinical School, University of Sydney
  • Program Lead, ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course
  • Senior Staff Specialist, Complex Mood Disorder Clinic, Professor Marie Bashir Centre
Professor Richard Madden 
  • Professor of Health Statistics at the University of Sydney
  • Former Director of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) and former Deputy Australian Statistician
Associate Professor Michael McDowell 
  • Associate Professor, School of Medicine, The University of Queensland
  • Developmental Medicine Consulting
Professor Frank Oberklaid
  • Honorary Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Melbourne.
  • Co-group leader of Child Health Policy, Equity and Translation at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute
Professor Jennie Ponsford AO
  • Sir John Monash Distinguished Professor of Neuropsychology, Monash University.
  • Director, Monash Epworth Rehabilitation Research Centre
Professor Joel Townsend 
  • Professor of Practice (Access to Justice), Faculty of Law, Monash University
  • Director of Monash Law Clinics, at Monash University

Note: Additional members will include representatives from the National Disability Insurance Agency and state and territory governments. The Technical Advisory Group will be supported by a departmental secretariat, including support from Dr Nick Lennox, Senior Medical Advisor (Health and Disability) who provides expert clinical and policy advice, especially for people with intellectual disability.

Timelines

The TAG is expected to deliver staged advice through 2026, with further technical input to support detailed design and implementation work into 2027. 

Consultations

Consultation is a core part of the TAG’s work. 

Public consultation on key elements of the assessment framework and approach will occur during 2026. Learn more about public consultation on NDIS reforms here: Update on public consultation. 

Terms of reference

Terms of reference have been agreed by the Disability Reform Ministerial Council.

Read the full terms of reference.

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