The National Injury Insurance Scheme (NIIS)

The National Injury Insurance Scheme (NIIS) was meant to be rolled out alongside the NDIS to provide lifetime care and support to people who acquired disability through catastrophic injury.

The NIIS was supposed to cover catastrophic injuries caused by:

• motor vehicle accidents
• workplace accidents
• medical accidents
• general accidents occurring in the home or in the community. i

So far, The NIIS has only been partially implemented in Queensland to cover people who acquire disability as a result of a motor vehicle accident. It does not provide coverage for people who acquire disability as a result of a workplace, medical or general accident and, to-date, the scheme is still not available outside Queensland.ii

Governments are yet to develop a plan to guide the full implementation of the NIIS across all states and territories. In the absence of an NIIS, many people who acquire disability through catastrophic injury are forced to turn to other service systems that do not meet their needs.