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 schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder across Sydney. We support self-managed and plan-managed NDIS participants, as well as private clients.

Is schizophrenia covered by the NDIS?

Schizophrenia can be covered by the NDIS, but not because of the diagnosis alone. The NDIA decides, based on how a condition affects your everyday life. When a mental health condition causes long-term disability, the NDIS calls this psychosocial disability. Schizophrenia is usually considered under psychosocial disability.

The NDIA’s psychosocial disability access factsheet on impairment uses schizophrenia as its example. It explains that an access decision rests on the condition’s impact on your daily life, not on the schizophrenia diagnosis itself. It also states that no mental health diagnosis automatically meets, or fails to meet, the access criteria.

To meet the NDIS disability requirements, the NDIA needs evidence that your impairment is likely to be permanent. It must also substantially reduce your ability to do everyday activities. These areas include communicating, socialising, learning, moving around, looking after yourself and managing your life.

The NDIA recognises that the impact can go up and down or come in episodes, and that this can still count as permanent. It usually considers permanence after available and appropriate treatment has been tried.

The same factsheet says people who experience psychosis may be eligible if they meet the requirements. However, people in early episodes of psychosis may be better supported through another service system, such as an early psychosis program. Sharing your diagnosis is not essential, but the NDIA says it makes its decision easier.

From January 2028, eligibility for new applicants will be decided using a new standardised assessment of functional capacity. Our guide to understanding psychosocial disability covers eligibility and evidence in more detail.

How schizophrenia can affect daily life

Everyone’s experience of schizophrenia is different, and it can change over time. Many people have stretches where they feel well, and other periods when things are much harder. Some common day-to-day effects include:

  • Routines: sleep, meals and getting up at a regular time can slip.
  • Motivation and energy: starting tasks, even ones you care about, can feel very hard.
  • Self-care and the home: showering, laundry, shopping and cleaning can pile up.
  • Concentration: following conversations, forms or appointment letters can be tiring.
  • Social connection: people may pull back from friends and family, and SANE notes that isolation can make symptoms worse.
  • Getting out: public transport, crowds or new places can feel overwhelming.
  • Work and study: a first episode often happens in early adulthood, which can interrupt study or the start of a working life.

People living with schizophrenia can and do lead fulfilling lives. Recovery is personal, and good support starts from your strengths, not only the hard parts.

Schizoaffective disorder

Lanara supports adults living with schizoaffective disorder as well as schizophrenia. According to SANE, schizoaffective disorder combines features of schizophrenia, such as psychosis, with episodes of depression, mania or both.

Day to day, that can mean living with psychosis and mood changes at the same time. In the bipolar type, mood can shift over hours or days, which makes routines harder to hold. NDIS access works the same way as for schizophrenia: the NDIA looks at functional impact, not the diagnosis.

How our support can help

Our support is practical and non-clinical. Every Lanara support worker holds a university degree in psychology or a related discipline and has completed mental health and trauma-informed training. We match people carefully and aim for the same support worker each time, because trust and familiarity matter.

  • Psychosocial support: building a weekly routine, keeping track of letters and appointments, preparing for a GP or psychiatrist visit, and working towards goals you choose.
  • Social and community participation: company on a walk or at a café, trying a library group, gym or course, practising a bus trip, or reconnecting with a friend.
  • Daily living assistance: writing a shopping list, doing the groceries together, simple meal planning and keeping the home manageable.
  • Personal care support: where it helps, gentle prompts around getting ready for the day, always at your pace.

We do tasks alongside you, so the skills and confidence stay with you. If a worker in your home feels daunting, our article on feeling nervous about a support worker at home may help.

An example: Michael’s weekly chess club

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

Michael is 41 and lives alone in a unit in Canterbury. After a hospital stay last year, his days lost their shape. He was sleeping late, living on takeaway and rarely leaving home. He told us he missed playing chess, which he had loved at uni.

His support worker began with weekly visits. First, they made a simple meal plan and shopped together. Then they added a short walk to a nearby café.

After about two months, they found a chess group at a local library. On the first visit, Michael just watched. Now he plays most weeks, and they are practising the bus trip so he can go on his own. Some weeks are harder. On those days, the plan shrinks to a coffee and a chat, and that is fine.

Working alongside your treating team

Lanara is not a clinical service. We don’t diagnose or provide therapy, and our support workers are not psychologists. Treatment comes from your GP, psychiatrist, psychologist and mental health team.

We work alongside them, as well as your occupational therapist and support coordinator. With your consent, our team can share what your support worker notices day to day, such as changes in sleep, routine or mood. This can help your clinicians see the full picture and act early if things start to slip.

Our support workers can remind you to take your medication and sit with you while you take it. They never administer or handle medication.

Getting started

  1. Call us on 1300 152 627 or get in touch online.
  2. We send you an intake form and a service agreement.
  3. We match you with a support worker. This usually takes 3 days to 2 weeks.
  4. Your first session is a meet-and-greet. It runs for at least two hours and is paid like any other session.
  5. Regular sessions begin, at a rhythm that suits you.

We support adults across six areas of Sydney. We support self-managed and plan-managed NDIS participants, as well as private clients. We can’t support NDIA-managed plans. For a step-by-step overview, see your NDIS journey with Lanara.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Is schizophrenia covered by the NDIS?

A: It can be. The NDIA bases its decision on how schizophrenia affects your daily life, not on the diagnosis alone. You need evidence that your impairment is likely to be permanent and substantially reduces your ability to do everyday activities.

Q: Is schizophrenia a psychosocial disability?

A: Schizophrenia is a mental health condition. When it causes long-term disability that affects daily life, the NDIS calls this psychosocial disability. Not everyone with schizophrenia will have a psychosocial disability in the NDIS sense.

Q: Is schizoaffective disorder covered by the NDIS?

A: The same rules apply. The NDIA looks at the impact on your everyday functioning and whether it is likely to be permanent. Lanara supports adults living with schizoaffective disorder.

Q: Can I get NDIS support after a first episode of psychosis?

A: The NDIA says people experiencing early episodes of psychosis may be better supported through another service system. Your GP or treating team can help you find early psychosis services and talk through whether the NDIS fits later on.

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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