Overseen by Peter Saltamaras, Co-Founder and COO of Lanara · Last reviewed 15 October 2026

Lanara provides psychology-informed NDIS support for adults living with an acquired brain injury (ABI) across Sydney. We support self-managed and plan-managed NDIS participants, as well as private clients.

Is acquired brain injury covered by the NDIS?

ABI can be covered by the NDIS, but a diagnosis alone is not enough. The NDIA decides, and it looks at your impairment rather than your diagnosis.

To meet the disability requirements, your impairment must be, or be likely to be, permanent. It must also substantially reduce your ability to do everyday activities, such as communicating, socialising, learning, moving around, looking after yourself or managing your life. The NDIA says it doesn’t matter what caused the impairment, including an injury, accident or health condition.

The NDIA’s Applying to the NDIS guideline gives traumatic brain injury and brain tumour as examples of conditions that affect cognitive function. Depending on its effects, an ABI may also be considered a neurological or physical impairment. If a mental health condition develops alongside it, a psychosocial disability may be considered too.

ABI as a whole is not on the NDIA’s List A of conditions likely to meet the disability requirements. List A does include a brain injury resulting in paraplegia, quadriplegia or tetraplegia. List B, conditions likely to result in a permanent impairment, includes brain stem stroke syndrome and cerebellar stroke syndrome. Most people with an ABI need evidence of how it affects their daily life.

Timing matters. The NDIA generally considers whether an impairment is permanent after known, available and appropriate treatment has been tried. Rehabilitation after an ABI can take time, so talk with your treating team about when to apply.

If your injury happened in a car accident or at work

The NDIS is designed to work alongside existing compensation arrangements, not replace them. If you are entitled to compensation for your injury, the NDIA’s compensation guideline says it may ask you to claim it. It may also reduce your NDIS funding or recover past amounts.

In NSW, icare’s Lifetime Care is a no-fault scheme for people severely injured in a NSW motor accident, including brain injury. It pays for reasonable and necessary treatment, rehabilitation and care. The Workers Care Program does something similar for severe workplace injuries with an accepted workers compensation claim. Check with your scheme and the NDIA before relying on either.

From January 2028, eligibility for new applicants will be decided using a new standardised assessment of functional capacity, under new NDIS laws.

How acquired brain injury can affect daily life

An ABI is damage to the brain that happens after birth. Healthdirect lists causes including head injury, stroke, a lack of oxygen, infection, tumours, and drugs, alcohol or poisons. It is different from an intellectual disability or a mental illness.

Every brain injury is different, and so is its effect on daily life:

  • Tiredness can arrive suddenly, so a morning outing may use up the whole day.
  • Memory and planning gaps make appointments, chores and meal times easy to miss.
  • Conversations can feel harder to follow or keep going.
  • Mood swings, irritability or a shorter fuse can strain relationships.
  • Someone who used to drive, work or organise the household may now need help, which can hit confidence and sense of identity hard.
  • Friends drift away, and getting out into the community feels daunting.

Synapse notes that brain injury is a known risk factor for mental illness, with depression and anxiety among the most common. Healthdirect says recovery can continue for years, and some effects may last.

How our support can help

Every Lanara support worker holds a university degree in psychology or a related discipline, and has completed mental health and trauma-informed training. That background helps with what often matters alongside a brain injury: confidence, mood, anxiety and adjusting to change. We match carefully and aim for the same support worker each time, because familiarity makes routines easier to keep.

We are not a rehabilitation service. Your occupational therapist or rehab team sets the goals, and we help carry them into everyday life, as they direct.

  • Psychosocial support: setting up calendars, lists and phone reminders, pacing the day to manage fatigue, and talking through the frustration that change can bring.
  • Social and community participation: reconnecting with a hobby, a group or friends, at a pace that leaves energy for the rest of the day.
  • Daily living assistance: planning a shop or writing a list, cooking, keeping on top of the home, and getting to appointments. All our support workers drive.

Personal care support is also available.

An example: Chris rebuilds his week

Example from our work. Names and details are changed to protect people’s privacy.

Chris is 52 and lives in Hurstville. Since a stroke two years ago, he tires quickly and forgets plans. He has stopped seeing friends, partly because finding words in conversation now takes him longer.

His occupational therapist set up a weekly planner and a pacing plan. His support worker comes on two mornings a week, when Chris has the most energy. Together they check the planner, set phone reminders and plan one outing.

At first the outing was a short walk to the library. Later, they visited a local men’s shed together. On tired weeks, they kept the session short and simply updated the planner.

A few months on, Chris keeps his planner up to date himself. He goes to the men’s shed most fortnights, and his worker is helping him plan the trip on his own.

Working alongside your treating team

Lanara is not a clinical service. We don’t provide therapy, rehabilitation or diagnosis, and our support workers are not psychologists, even though they hold psychology degrees.

We work alongside your GP, rehabilitation team, neuropsychologist, psychiatrist, psychologist, occupational therapist and support coordinator. With your consent, our team can share what your support worker sees day to day, such as how fatigue or memory is affecting routines.

If you take medication, a support worker can remind you and sit with you while you take it. They never handle or administer it.

Getting started

  1. Call us on 1300 152 627 or contact us online.
  2. We send you an intake form and a service agreement.
  3. We match you with a support worker. This usually takes between 3 days and 2 weeks.
  4. Your meet-and-greet is your first session. It lasts at least 2 hours and is paid like any other session.
  5. Regular sessions begin, ideally with the same worker each time.

We support adults across six areas of Sydney, including St George and Bayside. We support self-managed and plan-managed NDIS participants, as well as private clients. We can’t support NDIA-managed plans.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Is acquired brain injury covered by the NDIS?

A: It can be, if the NDIA decides your ABI has caused a permanent impairment that substantially reduces your ability to manage daily life. A diagnosis alone is not enough, and each application is assessed on its evidence.

Q: What’s the difference between ABI and traumatic brain injury?

A: ABI is the broad term for any brain damage that happens after birth. A traumatic brain injury is one type of ABI, caused by trauma or injury to the head. Stroke, infection and lack of oxygen are other causes.

Q: Can I use the NDIS if my brain injury was from a car accident?

A: Possibly, but compensation comes into it. If you were severely injured in a NSW motor accident, icare’s Lifetime Care scheme may cover your treatment and care. The NDIA may also ask you to claim compensation you’re entitled to. Check with icare and the NDIA first.

Q: Can a support worker help with memory and fatigue?

A: Yes, in practical ways. A support worker can help you use the reminders, lists and pacing plans your treating team recommends, and plan your week so energy lasts.

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 000. For urgent mental health advice, call the NSW Mental Health Line on 1800 011 511 (24 hours, 7 days) or Lifeline on 13 11 14.

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