Australians who've helped fund the national disability insurance scheme will be repaid with a $1 billion economic boost from the development of new technologies.
That's the view of the chair of the agency in charge of delivering the $22 billion program.
Bruce Bonyhady believes that by the time all 460,000 people are rolled into the scheme in 2019, the NDIS will create a market for disability-focused technologies.
"This is an incredibly exciting time for people with disability, their families and their carers," he told AAP on Tuesday, channelling Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his innovation drive.
"We are creating a $1 billion market for technological innovation in disability services."
Speaking on the sidelines of the Disability in the 21st Century conference in Brisbane, Mr Bonyhady said the NDIS was born of an old-fashioned grassroots campaign which quickly gained ground with the web and social media.
Now the NDIS would repay the favour by "turbocharging" investment in technology.
And if local companies wanted a share of this market, they will need to be globally competitive.
"Part of that will naturally come from the fact that (the agency) doesn't specifically fund services but we give money to people to choose the services that best meet their needs - that will drive innovation," he said.
From apps to assistive technologies, companies like Apple, Microsoft and Google are jumping on the opportunities opened up by the NDIS.
The three-day conference will bring together representatives from the tech giants and people with disabilities to thrash out innovative ideas in a "co-design" environment.
Mr Bonyhady said many countries were watching Australia to see how the NDIS developed.
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