Seniors won’t be covered if an age ceiling of 65 is placed on the National Disability Insurance Scheme. What’s more, only 3% of people understand the limits of the NDIS.

A national survey of over one thousand people concluded that more than 80% of Australians think an age ceiling of 65 is unfair. However only 3% of respondents even knew there was one, believing that everyone was covered by the plan.

Chief executive Julie Heraghty of the Macular Disease Foundation Australia said the issue needed to be treated as a priority, one that MDFA has been raising with the government for over a year. The impact of the decision on aged care was obvious.

"The latest survey results reinforce the fact that virtually no one in the community is aware of the details of the exclusion from the NDIS if you acquire a disability at the age of 65 and over," she said. "We were alarmed to see that only 3 per cent of the population knew about the exclusion cut-off if you acquire a disability at the age of 65 and over.

"This very important issue is slipping under the community's radar and falling between a major gap in disability and aged care reform."