NDIS Plan Management | Australia

What to expect from your first NDIS plan

What to expect from your first NDIS plan management in Australia

Experiencing disability can be disempowering. With the right support, funding, and goals, it doesn’t have to be.

In Australia, the NDIS provides funding to allow individuals to receive support and improve their quality of life. To work out how much should be allocated to each NDIS participant, each person has a personalised plan developed.

NDIS plans are designed to benefit participants to meet their own specific goals. They’re a critical first step in receiving NDIS funding.

What is an NDIS plan?

For participants, an NDIS plan outlines your goals alongside the supports that you’ll receive from the NDIS, community, and other government supports.

An NDIS plan is split into two main sections: goals and supports. The plan is created with a few questions in mind: “What do I want to achieve?”, “How will I achieve this goal?” and “How will I be supported?”

Your goals, alongside those answers, are the foundation elements in the plan.

A total budget is allocated to the plan, and that may be split into different categories. The three major categories are core supports, capacity building supports, and capital supports. Participants may have one or more of these categories within their plan.

The front page of your plan will contain contact details for your planner or NDIA contact. Their role is to answer questions, provide advice, and help you get the most out of your plan.

Why set goals?

Regardless of who you are, goal setting is very helpful and it can be a great way to ensure you’re getting the most out of life. It’s also a critical part of an NDIS plan to ensure funding is used in the ways that will serve you in the best way.

Setting goals can help improve quality of life, build skills, maintain positive relationships and work on the areas of your life that are important to you.

What’s included within my funding?

Where you can spend your funding depends on what is ‘reasonable and necessary’ to meet and pursue your goals. You may be given one or more of the following categories within your plan budget:

Core includes four categories of support:

  • Consumables
  • Daily activities
  • Assistance with social and community participation
  • Transport

Your core budget is flexible. This means that you can move funding around all of the categories in core. It’s so handy to be able to do this because it means that you have the freedom to make changes with your supports if you need to cover the duration of your plan.

Capacity Building includes several categories of support:

  • Support coordination
  • Improved living arrangements
  • Increased social and community participation
  • Finding and keeping a job
  • Improved relationships
  • Improved health and wellbeing
  • Improved learning
  • Improved life choices
  • Improved daily living

Capacity Building categories are quite prescriptive about what you can claim from them. Unlike core, the funds can’t be moved from one category to another. If you are allocated one of these categories, your plan will identify the supports that are likely to be claimed from that category.

Capital includes:

  • Assistive Technology
  • Home modifications and Specialist Disability Accommodation

Capital categories are very specific about how to use allocated funds. Often they will require quotes to be provided to the NDIA so that funds can be made available to pay for the supports you engage in that area.

We’re here to help

At myAutonomy, we believe all participants should be able to thrive and meet their individual goals. We know that your first plan can be daunting to navigate, but we can help clarify what is and isn’t included, all while helping you reach your goals.

It’s our goal to help you use your funding flexibly in the ways that serve you best.

Have a question? We’re on hand to offer assistance. Contact us on 1300 60 33 89 or at [email protected] and we can help.