NDIS and Understanding Zoe

NDIS funding for apps: can your plan pay for Understanding Zoe?

Yes, when your plan covers it. Understanding Zoe is a registered NDIS provider. A subscription is billed as low cost assistive technology. Your plan manager can pay it when your plan names an app or communication technology. If it does not, the NDIA can approve it before you buy. This page gives you the words.

Start free trial Read the plan manager script

7 days free on iPhone and Android.

Published 4 September 2026.

An older woman and a young child sit close on a sofa. They are looking at a picture book together.

Registered NDIS provider

Registered NDIS provider
Group 0124, Communication and Information Equipment. In force to 13 July 2029.
1,091
Australian families in our 2025 study
A$119.99
A year, or A$14.99 a month
ISO/IEC 27001:2022
Understanding Zoe Pty Ltd, certified by Prescient Security, certificate 122887.

The short answer

Your plan can pay for an app that it names as a support.

Since 3 October 2024, NDIS funding can only buy NDIS supports. They must also be in line with your plan. So the question is whether the app is one of your supports. There are two ways it can be. Your plan names an app or communication technology as a support. Or the NDIA approves it in writing as a replacement support, before you buy. Once it is your support, a subscription under $1,500 is low cost assistive technology. You buy it from the Consumables part of your Core budget. No quote or assessment is needed. The rules are on the NDIS pages What are NDIS supports (opens in new tab) and What is a replacement support (opens in new tab). The threshold is on its low cost assistive technology page (opens in new tab).

Where an Understanding Zoe subscription sits in an NDIS plan.
Budget	What it is for	Understanding Zoe
Core, Consumables	Everyday items that relate to your disability, including low cost assistive technology under $1,500.	Here, as low cost assistive technology, once the app is one of your supports.
Capacity Building	Therapy and skill building, such as sessions with an occupational therapist or a psychologist.	Not here. The NDIS rules only allow a subscription under Consumables or Assistive Technology.
Capital, Assistive Technology	Equipment over $1,500 that needs an assessment and a quote.	Not needed. A subscription under $1,500 a year stays low cost, so it does not use this budget.

Core, Consumables

What it is for: Everyday items that relate to your disability, including low cost assistive technology under $1,500.
Understanding Zoe: Here, as low cost assistive technology, once the app is one of your supports.

Capacity Building

What it is for: Therapy and skill building, such as sessions with an occupational therapist or a psychologist.
Understanding Zoe: Not here. The NDIS rules only allow a subscription under Consumables or Assistive Technology.

Capital, Assistive Technology

What it is for: Equipment over $1,500 that needs an assessment and a quote.
Understanding Zoe: Not needed. A subscription under $1,500 a year stays low cost, so it does not use this budget.

Plans differ. If your plan has no Consumables funding, ask your plan manager or your NDIS contact what your options are.

Three ways a plan is managed

How to ask, by the way your plan is managed

Every NDIS plan is managed in one of three ways. Find yours, then follow that row.

What to do, and what we do, for each way an NDIS plan is managed.
How your plan is managed	What you do	What we do
Plan managed	Send your plan manager the message below. Then in the app, tap Other ways to subscribe, then Pay through your NDIS plan. Choose Plan-managed. Have the participant's NDIS number and your plan manager's email ready.	We send your plan manager the invoice within 1 business day, and copy you. It is for a year at A$119.99. EFT payment usually clears in 5 to 10 business days.
Self managed	In the app, tap Other ways to subscribe, then Pay through your NDIS plan. Choose Self-managed and fill in the participant's details.	We email you a secure card payment link and a tax invoice with our ABN. You claim the cost back from your plan.
NDIA managed	Email hello@understandingzoe.com and tell us your plan is agency managed.	There is no in-app option for this yet. We will work out the best way with you.

Plan managed

What you do: Send your plan manager the message below. Then in the app, tap Other ways to subscribe, then Pay through your NDIS plan. Choose Plan-managed. Have the participant's NDIS number and your plan manager's email ready.
What we do: We send your plan manager the invoice within 1 business day, and copy you. It is for a year at A$119.99. EFT payment usually clears in 5 to 10 business days.

Self managed

What you do: In the app, tap Other ways to subscribe, then Pay through your NDIS plan. Choose Self-managed and fill in the participant's details.
What we do: We email you a secure card payment link and a tax invoice with our ABN. You claim the cost back from your plan.

NDIA managed

What you do: Email hello@understandingzoe.com and tell us your plan is agency managed.
What we do: There is no in-app option for this yet. We will work out the best way with you.

Whichever row is yours, your plan or the NDIA decides whether it fits. Your plan manager pays when it does. We do not decide.

What to say to your plan manager

Copy this, fill in the square brackets, and send it. It asks the one question your plan manager can answer today, instead of assuming the answer.

The registration group, support item and price come from our provider record and the NDIS pricing schedule 2026-27 (opens in new tab). Checked on 3 September 2026. Your plan manager can find the full claiming detail on our page for plan managers.

Hi [name],

I would like to check whether my plan can pay for a subscription to Understanding Zoe. Understanding Zoe Pty Ltd is a registered NDIS provider, registration group 0124. The subscription is billed as low cost assistive technology, support item 03_222100911_0124_1_1, from Core, Consumables. It costs A$119.99 a year, and Understanding Zoe invoices you directly.

It keeps [my / my child's] reports, notes, medications, goals and appointments in one place. It shows over time which supports are helping. It relates to the goal in [my / our] plan about [goal].

Could you check whether [my / our] plan names an app or communication technology as a support? If it does, I will set it up in the app. Understanding Zoe will then send you the invoice. If not, what would the NDIA need to approve it as a replacement support? Happy to send anything you need.

Thanks,
[your name]

Start free trial

7 days free on iPhone and Android. Nothing to configure.

Stored in Australia. Encrypted.

Cancel before day 8 and you won't be charged.

What if my plan does not name an app?

Then ask the NDIA to approve it as a replacement support before you buy. An app for accessibility or communication is on the NDIA's list of replacement supports. It has to replace a support already in your plan. It must help you the same or more, and cost the same or less.

You do not need extra assessments or reports to apply. The approval lasts for your current plan. How to apply is on the NDIS page What is a replacement support (opens in new tab). You can subscribe yourself in the meantime and switch to your plan once it is approved.

Can it be claimed under Capacity Building instead?

No. The NDIS Pricing Arrangements are clear. A subscription can only be claimed under Consumables or Assistive Technology. Capacity Building is for therapy and skill building services. A claim coded to Capacity Building for Understanding Zoe has been rejected before. Ask for Core, Consumables. If your plan has no Consumables funding, ask your plan manager what your options are.

The rule is in the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits (opens in new tab), under Subscription services. Small subscriptions of up to $1,500 a year may be billed once a year, which is how we invoice.

What the subscription includes

One subscription, for you or for your child. People in your village, such as a partner, a grandparent or a therapist, do not need their own.

Pip remembers for you.
Pip is the app's AI. It keeps track of the reports, notes and appointments you add, and answers your questions in plain language.
Everything in one profile.
Reports, medications, appointments, goals and notes sit together, for your child or for yourself.
The Story tab shows what is helping.
Over time, your notes become insights about what works and what does not.
Your village, your rules.
Share what you choose with the people who support you. You decide who sees what.

Is Understanding Zoe NDIS registered?

Yes. Understanding Zoe Pty Ltd is a registered NDIS provider. The registration group is 0124, Communication and Information Equipment. It runs from 13 July 2026 to 13 July 2029. Registration means the NDIS Commission has verified us as a provider of disability supports. It does not mean every plan can claim a subscription. That depends on your plan.

You can check the registration on the NDIS Commission's register of providers (opens in new tab). Search for Understanding Zoe Pty Ltd.

Where is my data stored?

In Australia. Understanding Zoe stores your data in the Sydney region on Amazon Web Services. It is encrypted in transit and at rest. Understanding Zoe Pty Ltd is certified to ISO/IEC 27001:2022 by Prescient Security, certificate 122887. Some features use overseas providers, listed in our privacy policy. None of the AI providers we use train their models on your information.

The certification record is on our security page.

Trusted by Australian families

ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification mark issued by Prescient Security

Understanding Zoe is a registered NDIS provider. If your plan includes the right funding, a subscription can typically be claimed. Confirm with your plan manager.

Built here, for the systems you actually use: NDIS, school and your care team.

Common questions

NDIS funding for apps, answered

Do I need a quote or an assistive technology assessment for an app?

No. The NDIS treats items under $1,500 as low cost assistive technology. A low risk item needs no quote and no assessment. The approval question is different. It is whether the app is one of your supports. Your plan answers that, or the NDIA does through a replacement support.

What does Understanding Zoe cost?

A$14.99 a month or A$119.99 a year, in Australian dollars. There is a 7 day free trial with every feature included. Under the NDIS, a subscription is invoiced for a year at A$119.99. The NDIS Pricing Arrangements allow that for small subscriptions of up to $1,500 a year.

Can I claim if I am self managed?

Yes. In the app, tap Other ways to subscribe, then Pay through your NDIS plan. Choose Self-managed. We email you a secure card payment link and a tax invoice with our ABN. The invoice comes from Understanding Zoe Pty Ltd, not from an app store. Claim the cost back from your plan.

Can an adult claim it for themselves?

Yes. Understanding Zoe has a journey for neurodivergent adults using the app for themselves, and the NDIS rules are the same. If you are an adult participant with Consumables funding, you can ask in the same way a parent would. So can your plan manager.

What if my plan manager says no?

Ask what they would need. Usually it is one of two things. Either your plan names an app or communication technology as a support. Or the NDIA has approved it as a replacement support. You can apply for that, and raise it at your next plan review. Meanwhile you can subscribe yourself at A$14.99 a month or A$119.99 a year.

Who decides whether a claim is approved?

Your plan, or the NDIA. When your plan names an app or communication technology as a support, your plan manager can pay. When it does not, the NDIA decides on a replacement support application. Understanding Zoe being a registered provider means we can invoice your plan. It does not decide whether the claim fits.

Try Understanding Zoe free for 7 days

A$14.99 a month, or A$119.99 a year.