A sex worker who claims to receive about $60,000 in NDIS funding has provided a guide on how those with ‘invisible illnesses’ can access it too.
Estelle Lucas, 33, from Melbourne, who uses they/them pronouns, receives funding from the national disability scheme for a range of mental health conditions, including depression, ADHD, autism and premenstrual dysphoric disorder.
Premenstrual dysphoric disorder causes severe irritability, depression, or anxiety in women in the week or two before they get their periods.
Lucas shared a series of YouTube videos in December and January this year, giving other people who are ‘disabled or neurodivergent’ tips on what they need to say to successfully apply for NDIS funding.
‘For a psychosocial disability like I do, that’s $60,000 that you don’t have to work to survive because that’s what I used to pay for, like, help around the house and just to be a functioning human being,’ she said.
Just months after posting the video, Lucas claimed they were able to make up to $10,000 a week from sex work. Daily Mail Australia does not suggest she makes that amount every week.
The NDIS is not means tested and does not take into account your income or assets (such as your home or investments) when determining eligibility.
Estelle Lucas, 33, from Melbourne and who uses they/them pronouns, receives funding from the national disability scheme for a range of mental health conditions including depression , ADHD , autism and premenstrual dysphoric disorder
Lucas explained that it took them 15 years to discover they were disabled, having suffered mental health issues since they were a teenager.
In a three-part video series uploaded to their YouTube account, Lucas shared what kind of ‘buzzwords’ people needed to use to access the funding if they have a psychosocial disability.
The NDIS said it can fund those with psychosocial disabilities through improving their functional capacity to carry out everyday tasks, increasing independence and to help them participate in social, work and study life.
Psychosocial disabilities refer to disabilities that arise from mental health issues.
In their videos, Lucas took prospective applicants through a series of questions they would need to answer to prove their lives were significantly impaired.
The 33-year-old shared a guide on how those with ‘invisible illnesses’ can access funding from NDIS
‘The purpose of this video is to educate you on what the NDIS is to help you unpack maybe some of the internalised ableist rhetoric that is in your mind that makes you feel like you’re unworthy of accessing this service or that you don’t deserve it and also to sort of demystify the process.’
Lucas said they receive about $100 a week designated to travel expenses as they are at times unable to drive or use public transport.
They said they also used some of their NDIS funding to pay their brother to do some gardening around their home.
Lucas gave tips on what kind of information those applying for information would be questioned about and what they needed to say in response.
This included needing to meet criteria on topics such as selfcare, mobility, learning, socialising and communicating.
Those applying for NDIS funding who have psychosocial disabilities have to provide statements from doctors saying there are no treatment options.
Lucas said they receive about $100 a week designated to travel expenses as they are at times unable to drive or use public transport
Lucas shared a three-part video series to YouTube explaining their mental health conditions and why they were able to access NDIS
Lucas said they wrote their own support letter with the ‘right buzzwords’ for their doctors to review and sign ‘because I know my own history’.
The 33-year-old said their day-to-day living was impacted by their own ‘invisible illnesses’ and that there were often days they couldn’t get out of bed.
They said that often people associated a disability with something physical that you could see, but added there were many ‘invisible illnesses’ that were ‘just as devastatingly difficult to live with as say not being able to move your legs’.
Lucas has been accessing NDIS funding since 2022.
‘I didn’t see myself as a disabled person. I refused to be ill but at a great cost of my health as well,’ they said in a video.
‘When I go behind closed doors I fall apart, and it hurts to much and I’ve hurt myself in so many ways. It took me over 15 years to accept I was disabled.’
Lucas explained that they didn’t immediately seek support from NDIS as they ‘didn’t feel worthy’ and didn’t want to ‘steal’ from others who needed it.
They said they were making good money and didn’t think it was an option for them.
The sex worker said they fully qualified for NDIS funding as part of having a psychosocial disability
‘You don’t have to prove that you’re poor, you don’t have to prove that you’re worthy for this, you just have to prove that you’re disabled and that it impairs your day-to-day living,’ Lucas said.
‘I didn’t want to steal from people who deserved it more because they couldn’t work as opposed to me who could and was making a lot of money.
‘The thing that really sold NDIS to me was the fact that I thought what if I don’t want to work in this industry anymore and would I be forced to have sex with men even if I didn’t want to, and that made me feel very uncomfortable.
‘And then that’s what made me realise that I do deserve help.
‘These aren’t handouts like I fully qualify for this and I know there’s a lot of (sex) workers that fully qualify for the NDIS and just haven’t known how to start the process.’
Lucas runs a peer education platform for sex workers, called Bigger Sister Channel, which aims to help those in the industry access basic financial tools and resources.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Lucas for further comment.
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