Managing your National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) funding can feel a bit tricky sometimes – especially when you’re trying to make sure you use it wisely. And although unspent funds don’t automatically translate into funding cuts in your next plan, it’s generally a good idea to spend what you have in pursuit of your goals, so you can show the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) your hard-fought-for budget has been put to good use.
There are a few more things to think about these days, and after changes were made to the NDIS Act in late 2024, how you spend your funding is one of them.
New rules about what you can and can’t use your budget for have tightened things up for everyone, and the categories of funding aren’t as flexible as they used to be. On top of that, we’re hearing more about stated supports, rejected claims, and budgets being slashed, and NDIS participants and providers are grappling with the latest round of pricing changes too.
One of the biggest NDIS upheavals in recent times has been the introduction of funding periods. When you receive a funding period plan, instead of getting your full budget up front, it will be split into smaller chunks that will made available over time.
That means you’ll need to plan carefully – how and when you spend really matters – so thinking ahead will be vital.
And while all of this means it’s less likely you’ll reach to the end of your plan period with a big chunk of funding left over, if that sounds like a possibility for you, there are a few useful things to know.
If you have funding remaining in the flexible part of your Core Supports budget, there are a few handy ways you might be able to use it (if the spending aligns with your NDIS plan).
Low cost, low risk assistive technology can sometimes be purchased (if it costs less than $1500), and consumables related to your disability (like continence aids) are also worth considering.
Capital Supports funding is a bit different. Designed to cover higher-cost items like specialised assistive technology, home modifications, and – in some instances – costs associated with Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA), Capital Supports funding is fixed and prescriptive, meaning its allocated for specific supports and can only be utilised for that purpose. For instance, if funding has been set aside for something like a wheelchair, a bathroom modification, or SDA, it can only be used for those things.
If a capital support you want to claim isn’t written into your NDIS plan, you need to get in touch with your NDIA contact to find out if it’s aligned with your budget – and having a letter of recommendation from your provider about why the support is needed may help.
If you haven’t spent your Capital Supports funding and you’re nearing the end of your plan, it might be worth checking with your support coordinator or NDIA contact to decide the best way forward.
Capacity Building Supports are all about helping you to develop skills and build your independence – with funding allocated to things like therapy, social and community participation, support coordination, and more.
Although some categories of funding within Capacity Building Supports are set aside for specific purposes (like plan management or behaviour support), if you do find you have broader funding available, it might be a great time to book a few extra sessions with your providers. If there are waitlists to see providers in your area, telehealth could be a good option to keep things moving until you can see your provider of choice in person.
And here’s another idea: if your therapist has given you recommendations, you might be able to use a therapy assistant to help put those into action, especially if there’s a shorter wait time to access that kind of support.
It’s all about finding smart ways to use your funding, so you can keep working toward your goals.
Everyone’s circumstances are unique to them, but there are some common reasons why NDIS funding goes unspent. Do any of these apply to you?
If you’ve got funding left and you’re worried the Agency might reduce your budget in your next plan, it’s a good to talk with your NDIA contact to explain why. Provider reports and letters of recommendation can help too.
For higher cost items that take time to purchase – like specialised assistive technology and home modifications – it’s a good idea to get started early, so you can get quotes, place orders, book installations, attend fittings (e.g. for a wheelchair), or await deliveries. It’s also worth factoring in unexpected delays that may be caused by illness, staff shortages, product delays and more.
Having a support coordinator and a plan manager (like us) on your team can make a big difference! We help you understand your plan, stay on top of your funding, and make sure you’re spending it in ways that help you to get the best value from your NDIS plan.
With us, you stay in control while getting expert support to navigate the NDIS smoothly.
We also recommend using our client portal (web and app) to keep track of the funding you have, what you’ve spent it on, and how much you’ve got left.
We know that being a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participant can be life changing. After all, the NDIS has transformed the disability space in Australia.
But your journey through the Scheme – from checking whether you’re eligible to your eventual review – isn’t always straightforward.
At My Plan Manager, we’re here for you and all the twists and turns that might come your way. Because, just like no two people with disability are the same, nor will two people have identical NDIS experiences.
However, there are some common milestones, which is why we’ve mapped out some of the key points on your journey and signposted what to look out for on your way!
The NDIS has a big impact on participants’ lives, so it’s not surprising that the process of applying for, and being accepted into, the Scheme can be complex and time consuming.
But it doesn’t need to be overwhelming – and to help you on the way, we’ve broken the NDIS journey into five key milestones that you may encounter.
This is when you, your family members or support people will contact the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) and begin the process of applying for you to become a participant in the Scheme.
The NDIA has lists of disability diagnoses that are likely to be automatically accepted as needing NDIS support. Click here to learn more.
There are also lists of conditions that are likely to result in a person being permanently impaired, and thus also eligible for the Scheme. Here’s what they are.
Anyone can apply to join the NDIS, but you must have evidence of how your disability impacts on your functional capacity, which is your ability to live your day-to-day life. This could be the way your disability impacts you physically (e.g., if you have a wheelchair, mobility aid etc) or it might be a different impact entirely (e.g., if you have an intellectual disability that means you need support to live independently and complete everyday tasks, like cooking, shopping or leaving the house).
What you need to do to apply: Fill out an NDIS Access Request Form or phone the NDIA on 1800 800 110.
Extra information to supply: Do you have allied health professionals or other providers you’re already working with? Ask them to fill out Section 2 of the NDIS Access Request Form.
They may also be able to report on your functional capacity and this could be provided to the NDIA as an assessment, a letter or a report. It’s vital that evidence about your functional capacity is included in the information you supply to support your application, and everything you give to the NDIA should be factual and share what daily life is like for you.
What you need to do before and during your planning meeting: Once the NDIA has accepted your application, you’ll officially be a participant in the NDIS. You, your family members and/or supporters will meet with an NDIA planner or your Local Area Coordinator (LAC). Together, you’ll discuss what your life looks like now and what your hopes and dreams are for the future – and these plans will become your NDIS goals.
As the saying goes, a goal without a plan is just a wish – so make sure to really consider what it is you want to achieve, and the supports you’ll need to do that. Click here for advice on goal setting.
Your goals will be part of your plan (and your budget will be aligned to them) and they’ll become guiding lights for you and the professionals you work with, as they report how their expertise is supporting you to work towards achieving your goals.
Some goals will be a one-off, some will be long term and may be carried over a series of plans, and others might be about maintaining and protecting a skill you already have.
Extra information to supply: Your goals are hyper-personal and are there to guide you to live the life you want to live. Think big and get creative about the areas of your life you’d like to expand and celebrate.
You could consider:
Goals are at the heart of your NDIS plan and because they’re so important, it can sometimes feel overwhelming to design them. Kinora, My Plan Manager’s free online community for people with disability and their supporters, gets it. Here's eight prompts from Kinora for brainstorming the best goals for you.
And let’s be real – while your NDIS plan is based around your goals, there’s not a person on the planet that’s smashing their goals every single day, and neither should you! Life has peaks and troughs. So just remember to zoom out and look at the big picture now and then, to ensure your NDIS supports are still in alignment with your goals.
What to expect at your implementation meeting: Implementation meetings are held with your LAC within 28 days of your plan being completed. They’re not compulsory, but they come highly recommended for participants who are joining the Scheme for the first time.
This is your chance to ask questions about your plan, your funding, and how you can and can’t use it. And, if you have any concerns or worries about your plan, the implementation meeting is a good time to raise them.
During the meeting you’ll also learn how to find the best service providers to work alongside you and how to set up service agreements and bookings. You can find a list of NDIS registered providers here.
Remember – think beyond the disability sector when it comes to your supports. You
might be able to access extra supports, including community and mainstream supports, by thinking outside the box!
What you need to do: Assessments aren’t compulsory, but they’re highly recommended. Held every three months, they are a review designed to see how everything is tracking with your plan. You can do this yourself, or you might wish to review your plan with your LAC or an advocate, or even reach out to your providers.
Why assessments can be useful: A bit like the way a goal without a plan is just a wish, without regular reviews there is a danger you could find yourself going off course with your plan. Conducting a review four times a year helps to keep you on track. It’s a chance to look at:
What you need to do: Be prepared to hear from the NDIA about six weeks before the end of your plan is due. This way, you can make sure you’re prepared for your plan reassessment.
If you or your supporters haven’t had any contact with the NDIA it’s important to be proactive and contact the Agency on 1800 800 110.
Be prepared: This is a really important time to ensure your next plan includes everything you need to ensure you have the support you require. You might look at setting some new goals and at revising the ones you currently have.
It’s also time to request and collect detailed reports from your providers about the work you’ve been completing together and how it’s contributed to your goal progression. Reports should be personalised to you and your journey, and include sufficient detail to support your requests.
The NDIA has this information for providers about how to support you with reporting. It’s worth a read to know what the NDIA is looking for – and you might want to share the link with your providers.
Wherever you are on your NDIS journey, you have the opportunity for small wins, big wins and radical change. Dream big! Fill your team with the right people and the sky’s the limit.
Earlier, we mentioned Kinora, our online community for Australians with disability. Designed to help people with disability and their supporters to connect with peers, NDIS experts, disability sector professionals and service providers, Kinora has loads of free, accessible content to support participants in understanding the NDIS and how to best navigate the Scheme.
It’s a community filled with answers to commonly shared questions and concerns – and there’s strength in numbers, right? Check Kinora out today!
Alison Climo is relatively new to the disability sector, joining Sunnyhaven Disability Services in late 2022 after working in the aged care sector for 10 years. She shares with us what makes day programs a great option for adults with disability, how to handle challenges, and tips for finding the perfect day program for you.
We offer day programs for adults with disability across two locations in Sydney and we offer a great mix of things to do where clients get something fun and engaging to choose from every day.
Our choices are always flexible and, at the moment, we’re offering a mix of art and music therapy, sports and outdoor activities, cooking and nutrition, as well as having fun, like going to the movies.
Everyone arrives at the centre, excited to see which staff member they’ve been linked with. They look for their picture and see who their staff member is.
Then, we do morning tea, then it’s time for different activities. It could be swimming, going to see a movie, going to the park, music or art – it depends on what they want to do for the day.
We have a lovely outdoor area, so when everyone returns, often some people will go out and play soccer and hang around with friends, while other people might come in and do art, or just relax and chat.
We really try and create a home-away-from-home environment where people feel comfortable to be exactly who they are. That means people are free to choose to stay in the centre if they want to – today, we had people going out on buses, but one person didn’t want to go, and then we ended up having a few people staying back.
It means that, as an organisation, we need to be really flexible and responsive to people’s needs, but that’s our job and we’re glad to be able to do that.
I’d been working in aged care for close to a decade and I had always wanted to work in disability.
I was diagnosed with cancer two years ago and I took two years off work to fight it. Then this job opportunity came up and my friend said: ‘You need to go for it - get out of your comfort zone and give it a go.’, and I’m so glad that I did. I absolutely love it.
The best thing is knowing that you’re making a positive difference in someone’s life, it’s just incredible.
I love witnessing our clients grow and develop, especially the social side and the friendships, watching people establish a community and connections outside of their own family.
I would say finding the right staff can be challenging because it’s so important. You need to find the right staff to work with the clients to do the things that clients want to do.
It’s also about working to support client choices – I’ll allocate staff to certain clients but then the client will want to work with a different staff member or do a different activity. We need the right staff who understand our clients’ different behaviours and needs and how to best support them.
We work alongside people with physical and intellectual disability, so we have staff who need to have qualifications in supporting people with behaviour management plans, manual handling plans, and the list goes on.
Our commitment to flexibility does make our work challenging but it’s a great challenge to have.
For a new plan, speak to a planner or your local area coordinator, set some goals in place that you want to achieve, and perhaps speak to a plan manager or support coordinator for help in finding some programs to choose from. Then you can find day programs that might align with your goals and the program can help you achieve those goals.
Some goals that our clients have that align with what we offer in Sunnyhaven’s day programs include hydrotherapy and learning to use their own money – so, paying for things and getting receipts. Others want to learn to read and write, and we even had a client who wanted to lose weight and improve their health. She has been able to lose five kilograms in the past three months and she is so excited – so are we to see someone set a goal and achieve that goal! She’s achieved it through lots of hard work and willpower.
Look at the day program’s activities, see what they are doing, and see what mix of in-house versus outward activities they’re doing.
The way we’re careful with our clients’ budgets is to draw on the skills of our staff – for example, we have a staff member who’s really skilled at soccer, so we’re starting a soccer group. We’ll take our own goals, shirts and other equipment to a local park and start our own league.
We’ll match staff who enjoy fishing with clients who want to fish – that way, it’s a lower cost, rather than chartering a fishing boat every time! And we’ll engage staff who are passionate about cooking to lead our cooking and nutrition programs.
Having said that, we’ll bring in professionals when we need to as well, for example with music therapy.
Another way that day programs can help with stretching your plan funding is with increased participant to staff ratios. If it’s suitable for you, having two or three participants working with one staff member, rather than 1:1, can be a way to stretch your budget if it suits your needs and level of support.
When you say you work in day programs, I think a lot of people assume it’s all just fun times and easy work, but it’s not. It takes a lot of work and dedication to support someone with disability, get to know and understand what motivates them, and continuously work to find new and engaging activities that align with their goals.
That’s not to say we don’t have fun – we really do, and I love my work – but there’s a huge level of responsibility. We’re caring for people’s children, their family members, we’re responsible for their safety and their path to their goals.
We also work with clients at the high points and the low points of their lives, and that can be really hard. To do this job well you have to be empathetic and so it’s only natural that we feel sadness when they are sad, missing their family or grieving someone they love.
Give it a go, sometimes you have to push yourself and get outside of your comfort zone. You have your training to fall back on, but once you start working alongside clients, you’ll really understand the highs and lows of working in the sector – but you don’t know what you’re capable of until you try it.
I find that once staff are working in day programs they don’t want to leave! Our program is really personal, and we get to spend a lot of time with clients – we form our own little community. And, best of all, we get to witness our clients grow and develop in confidence and independence – it’s the most rewarding job in the world!
I’m a grandmother and I love spending time with my family, my children and grandkids. I’m also a bit of a nerd, I love playing video games a lot!
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is complex, so no matter where you are on your NDIS journey, you’re bound to have questions that you need reliable answers to. We know this because – as NDIS plan management experts – we receive questions from our clients every day.
On this page we’ve shared our answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about the NDIS, in case they’re on your mind too.
To make them easier to unpack, we’ve sorted them by these common topics:
Of course, if you have a burning question (or two or three!) that’s not answered here, help is on hand. You can visit the FAQ section of our website or call us on 1800 861 272 from 8am-5.30pm (SA time), Monday to Friday. You can also email our NDIS plan management experts at enquiries@myplanmanager.com.au.
Does plan management cost me anything?
No, it doesn’t! Being plan managed means there’s no out of pocket cost to you. That’s because plan management fees are paid from a specific type of funding within your NDIS plan.
It’s a benefit of the NDIS that participants can be supported by a plan manager without having to use the funds set out for their other supports, so if you’d like to engage a plan manager you just need to ask the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) to include funding for plan management in your plan.
Does My Plan Manager release funds directly to my providers and to me?
A lot of people think we hold cash and release funds directly to our clients and providers for items approved by the NDIS, but this isn’t true.
We follow a specific process to get invoices and reimbursements paid – a process that protects our clients, their providers, us and the Scheme. You can read more about that here.
What can I spend my NDIS funding on?
You must spend your funding on the supports set out in your NDIS plan. The NDIA usually describes supports flexibly, so you have more choice in how you use your funding.
For example, your plan may describe a support as '$5000 of therapy'. This means you can choose what type of therapy you buy with this funding. You could use $3000 for occupational therapy, and the remaining $2000 for physiotherapy, or you might spend the full amount on one support type.
Other funding in your plan may be fixed. For example, your plan may say you need to buy specific supports or use specific providers with your funding. If so, you must use your funding in the way it’s described in your plan.
Can NDIS funding pay for expenses like rent, medication, courses or a car?
The NDIS can’t fund day-to-day living costs that everyone has to pay – costs that aren’t caused by or resulting from disability support needs.
Vehicles aren’t typically disability-related supports because people need vehicles whether or not they have a disability, which is why the NDIS won’t fund cars (although it may fund modification of vehicles if that’s required).
Similarly, the NDIS won’t fund rent for the majority of participants. However, some NDIS participants may apply for Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) or Supported Independent Living (SIL) funding. An NDIA planner or Local Area Coordinator (LAC) will help you to establish whether you qualify for SDA or SIL or, in some cases, for both.
The NDIS won’t fund medicine which sits inside the Australian health system, but you may want to speak to your NDIA planner or LAC about approval of supports that are similar to those covered by the health system, but which are needed due to disability.
The NDIS will typically fund a requested support if it’s related to your disability needs and also meets the below funding criteria:
You can find out more about the NDIS reasonable and necessary criteria here.
Can NDIS funding be used in school?
The NDIS won’t fund school fees, textbooks or other curriculum-based items. However, it can fund extra support needed at school due to disability. These are supports that are not primarily related to your education and learning, and that are beyond what the school is responsible for. For more information, click here.
Do I have to tell a provider I'm paying with NDIS funding?
Not at all! You can negotiate and lock in a provider’s rates up front before telling them you’re an NDIS participant.
I’m having trouble finding service providers in my area. What can I do?
You can look further afield but be sure to consider provider travel fees. Providers can charge a participant’s NDIS budget for the cost of travel when they:
If a provider who comes to you – like a mobile physiotherapist – charges the maximum hourly rate under the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits, adding travel to that cost can quickly add up. You can try negotiating a reduction (or elimination) of travel charges to counter this.
If you live in a community where it’s difficult to access good, local providers at a fair price, the NDIS recently introduced Coordinated Funding Proposals (CFPs) to help participants attract specialist providers to underserviced communities. You can find more information about CFPs here.
Can I buy items and claim them from my NDIS funding afterwards?
Yes, you can purchase items out of pocket and submit an invoice or receipt for reimbursement. If you’re not sure if the NDIS will fund an item or a support you want to purchase, here are five questions to ask that may help you to find out.
I’m running out of funding. What do I do?
Call us. Our team has a detailed knowledge of the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits and can support you to use your funding flexibly when it’s running low.
You should also get in touch with your LAC or support coordinator as soon as you feel your funding is getting low.
How do I get things paid for?
Submitting an invoice or a reimbursement to My Plan Manager is easy.
Your providers can send their invoices directly to us (email or via our provider portal), you can email their invoices to us once you receive them, or you can submit an invoice or claim for reimbursement via our client portal and/or mobile app. You can download the app via the App Store or Google Play.
For those using email – to assist with prompt processing, please forward your invoices and receipts directly to our Accounts team via accounts@myplanmanager.com.au.
If you’re a My Plan Manager client, and you’re seeking reimbursement, please be sure to include ‘Reimbursement’ in the subject line of your email and make sure we have your up-to-date bank account details on file so we can pay you.
Providers wanting prompt payment should attach a compliant invoice as a PDF. Find out more about invoice payments here. Providers can also use our invoice template to assist with submitting a compliant invoice.
How do I maintain my assistive technology and what happens if it needs repairs?
Here’s everything you need to know about assistive technology repairs, directly from the NDIS.
How long do I need to keep invoices and receipts once I’ve submitted them for processing?
The requirements for keeping invoices and receipts vary depending on how you choose to manage your NDIS plan.
If you’re self managed, you need to keep records of invoices and receipts for five years to show you’ve paid for your supports and used your funding in line with your NDIS plan.
If you’re plan managed, your plan manager is responsible for keeping records on your behalf. As an added bonus, if you’re a My Plan Manager client and you use our client portal or mobile app, you can log in at any time and view any of your invoices.
If you’re Agency managed, the NDIA will store records on your behalf.
I think a provider has claimed from my NDIS plan when they weren’t supposed to. What can I do?
If you use the My Plan Manager client portal and/or mobile app, or you’ve opted to receive SMS notifications from us, you can see who's claiming from your plan and how much, and you can contact us to query invoices if they don’t look quite right.
If you haven’t elected to receive SMS notifications, you can switch them on at any time by calling us on 1800 861 272 from 8am-6pm (SA time), Monday to Friday.
If you suspect someone is doing the wrong thing with your NDIS funding you can report suspicious behaviour by calling the NDIS Fraud Reporting and Scams Helpline on 1800 650 717 or by emailing fraudreporting@ndis.gov.au.
Do I have to pay for my support worker’s meals?
No, you’re not responsible for covering the cost of your support worker’s meals – including when you dine out together. That’s because each person is responsible for their own food expenses, and the NDIS doesn’t cover your meals or theirs.
If a one-on-one visit with your support worker is going to extend through a regular meal time, you might like to speak with them in advance to let them know your dining preference. Doing this will give your support worker the opportunity to plan ahead by either packing a meal or bringing money to purchase one.
My support worker is going to support me to attend a concert. Do I need to pay for their ticket?
For events, the National Companion Card (if you have one) may cover the cost of a support worker’s ticket. The National Companion Card enables eligible people with disability who require support to participate at venues and activities without incurring the cost of a second ticket for their companion. Click here for more information.
What are the rules of provider travel?
Providers can charge a participant’s NDIS budget for the cost of travel when they:
When a provider charges the maximum hourly rate under the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits, adding travel to that cost can quickly add up. That’s why it’s good to consider local providers if and when you can. You can try negotiating a reduction (or elimination) of travel charges, or you might like to visit providers at their premises.
Are unregistered providers ‘riskier’ to use?
Registered providers are verified by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and bound by the NDIS Practice Standards, which means they’re heavily regulated, compliant with NDIA requirements, and providers of verified, quality services.
However, getting NDIS-registered takes time and is costly, which is often a hurdle for smaller businesses, so they choose not to register – even though they may provide a high quality service that suits their clients and is completely covered by the Scheme.
You have choice and control over your providers, and you can decide whether a registered or unregistered provider is going to best meet your needs. Remember that only plan managed and self managed NDIS participants can use unregistered providers!
How do I find the providers I need, including a good support coordinator?
On way you can find the providers you need is by searching the NDIS Provider Finder or by accessing the myplace portal.
You can also connect to trusted providers in Kinora, an online community created by My Plan Manager to help people with disability and their supporters to connect with peers, NDIS experts, disability sector professionals and service providers.
Other ways to find providers include searching free online directories such as Clickability, Disability Support Guide, Karista, and My Care Space, and seeking word of mouth recommendations from your networks.
We’ve created this checklist of what to know and ask to help you engage the right providers (and avoid those who aren’t the right fit).
Can I delete information from a provider’s report?
Redacting (deleting) information from a provider’s report isn’t allowed. That’s because the provider is the owner of the report, even though it’s about you, and even if you’ve paid for it.
If a provider has made a mistake in their report, you can ask them to correct it, and if you don’t agree with their assessment, be sure to ask what they can do to make the changes you need.
If they don’t agree to change the report, you can write your own statement that highlights your differing views and why you believe the assessment isn’t accurate. Then submit that statement with their report to the NDIA.
Can my relatives be NDIS support workers or support coordinators?
Generally, the NDIA will only fund family members to provide supports in exceptional circumstances, like when:
The NDIA will consider the circumstances of each case and any wishes expressed by the participant, and also take into account what it is reasonable to expect others to provide.
The NDIA will not fund a family member to provide personal care or community access supports unless all other options to identify a suitable provider of supports have been exhausted.
Do I need to put service agreements in place with my providers?
Not at all! Having service agreements with your providers is optional, but they are recommended.
When you provide us with signed service agreements, we can set aside funding for the supports you’ve agreed to receive, to give you confidence and certainty that funding is there each time you need it.
When I get a new plan, do current providers need me to sign a new service agreement?
Yes – if there’s a new program of support. A program of support is an agreement between you and a provider that shows the supports you’ll receive.
I’m not happy with the service delivered by one of my providers. Can I end our service agreement?
Yes, you can, but you may have to pay a cancellation fee if it’s stipulated in the service agreement. You may also need to give the provider some time to cancel their services, which is called a notice – or cancellation – period. We recommend checking the terms and conditions, especially for appointment cancellations and cessation of services, before you sign a service agreement.
Before looking to cancel a service agreement, you may want to talk with your current provider and ask them if they can change their supports to meet your needs and preferences.
The NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits sets out the conditions for providers to claim cancellation fees.
Do I have to sign a service agreement if I don’t agree with information in it? How enforceable is it?
You don’t have to sign a service agreement. But, if you want to sign it but you don’t agree with the information in it, you can talk with your provider about changing it.
Service agreements are covered by Australian Consumer Law and are enforceable by law if the promised services in it aren’t provided.
How do I pay for Short Term Accommodation (STA)?
The best and easiest way to use your NDIS funding for STA is with a specialist provider that provides all your accommodation, personal care, meals, and activities. However, you can claim these items separately for the period you’re staying in STA (so, you can source them from more than one provider) if they’re within the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits.
If STA isn’t stated in your NDIS plan, but you have enough funding available in your Core Supports budget to ensure your approved supports aren't affected by spending on STA, you may be able to use it.
Accommodation for support workers can also be covered under STA, but you can't claim accommodation for your informal supports.
For more information, we’ve unpacked everything you need to know about STA here.
Whose responsibility is it to find, or assist with finding, Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) housing?
If you need help finding SDA vacancies or would like to discuss if an SDA vacancy is suitable for you, talk to your NDIA planner, LAC or support coordinator. You should check that the dwelling meets your needs before committing to a service agreement.
The NDIS also has an SDA finder that can help you to search for accommodation vacancies that match your needs. If SDA has been included in your NDIS plan, the SDA building type and location will usually need to align with your plan.
I’m confused by what my NDIS plan means. Who can help?
You can contact your LAC or support coordinator, or speak to us.
Can I ask for a different NDIA planner if a planning meeting didn't go well?
No, but you can ask for a review if you’re unhappy about a decision the NDIA made when developing your plan. A review means that an NDIA staff member who wasn’t involved in the development of your plan will have a look to decide if the decision was right.
You can ask for a review for a range of reasons, including what supports are included in your plan, how much they’re funded for, and even how your funding is managed. The important thing to remember is that you need to request a review within three months of the date you received a copy of your plan.
If you’d like a new planner because you’re unhappy with the planner you have, you can lodge a complaint with the NDIA.
To gain more plan funding/keep my current funding, the NDIA has asked me to provide reports and assessments, which cost a lot of money. What can I do?
You can claim the cost of reports and assessments from your Improved Daily Living budget if you already have an NDIS plan.
I'm coming up for a plan reassessment – what do I need?
You may need to provide reports or assessments from some of your providers for your plan reassessment meeting. This is to show how your supports and services are helping you work towards your goals.
Reports and assessments can also make recommendations for supports and services you might need in the future. Your early childhood partner, LAC, support coordinator or NDIA planner will discuss this with you, or you may want to ask them yourself.
For more information and tips for preparing for a plan reassessment, click here.
My child is a participant in the NDIS and they’re turning 18. What do I need to do?
When a child turns 18, they legally become an adult and the NDIA encourages adults to be involved in making their own decisions. If they aren’t ready to, or can’t, a person appointed as a ‘nominee’ can act on their behalf or make some decisions for them. This can be part of a plan to transition towards independence.
If you think your child will need a nominee when they turn 18, contact the NDIA, or your child’s LAC or support coordinator well before their 18th birthday to discuss it.
For more information about appointing a nominee, click here.
If your circumstances have changed, you’ll need to let the NDIA know and you may want to ask for a plan reassessment. To let the NDIA know about a change of circumstances, you can:
The NDIA will respond within 21 days by doing one of the below:
The NDIA will contact you to explain its decision, which you can ask to have reviewed if you don’t agree. You can find more information here.
We’re here to help
If there’s a question we haven’t answered here, you can visit the FAQ section of our website or call us on 1800 861 272 from 8am-5.30pm (SA time), Monday to Friday.
Updated 14 February 2025
As a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) service provider, it’s clear you’re in the business of empowering people with disability. After all, you wouldn’t be in the industry otherwise.
So, as a service provider, how can you best be of service to your current and future clients at every stage of their NDIS journey?
It’s good to understand the NDIS journey, the way potential participants will traverse that journey, and how you and your business can be of assistance.
Kinora is My Plan Manager’s online community – a platform that connects people with disability with each other as well, as with providers. Kinora has loads of free, accessible content to support participants and their supporters, as well as providers, to understand the NDIS and how to best navigate it.
As a provider, you won’t want to miss this NDIS Basics for Providers webinar. Settle in for 60 minutes and get a thorough understanding of the NDIS and everything providers need to know.
The NDIS journey is one with many critical junctures, where participants will need extra support from their providers. We’ll explain what happens at each point, what participants need to do, and how you, as their trusted professional, can be of assistance.
1. Applying for the NDIS
This is when parents or carers of children with disability and adults with disability and/or their supporters will contact the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) and begin the process of applying to become participants in the Scheme.
The NDIA has lists of disability diagnoses which are likely to be automatically accepted as needing NDIS support. Here’s a list of conditions that are likely to meet the NDIA’s disability requirements.
There are also lists of conditions which are likely to result in a person being permanently impaired, thus they are also eligible for the Scheme. You can find out more here.
However, anyone can apply for the NDIS. They must have evidence of how their disability impacts on their functional capacity, which is their ability to live their day-to-day life.
What the applicant needs to do
Fill out an Access Request Form or phone the NDIA on 1800 800 110.
How providers can help
Are you already working with someone who plans to apply to the NDIS? Your evidence about your client’s functional capacity is crucial to the outcome of their access request. This could be supplied as a report, an assessment, or a letter. Professionals should also fill out Section 2 of the Access Request Form.
Important!
Your evidence must be factual and it should not shy away from conveying what life is like for your client on their worst day.
TIP: There are three options for NDIS participants to manage their plans. They can elect to be plan managed, to self manage, or to have the NDIA manage their plan (Agency managed).
Plan managed and self managed participants are free to choose from any providers. However, Agency managed participants are only able to use professionals who are registered NDIS providers. You can find out more about getting registered here.
2. Planning meeting
What the participant needs to do
Now the NDIA has accepted the access request, the person with disability is known as a participant in the NDIS. The participant and their supporters will meet with their NDIA Planner or Local Area Coordinator (LAC), and together they’ll discuss the participant’s current life, hopes, and plans for the future. They’ll also support the participant to set their goals.
How providers can help
If you’re already working with a participant, you can help them prepare for their planning meeting by reporting on what they’re already doing and providing a specific roadmap as to how your supports could assist them to achieve their goals. Remember to consider how you could expand your support to assist the participant:
Important!
Goals are some of the most important parts of a participant’s NDIS plan. It’s where providers can really provide support and advice to families. Need some prompts to help your client get started? Find eight prompts from Kinora on setting goals here.
3. Implementation meeting - for new participants
What the participant needs to do
Implementation meetings are not compulsory, but they come highly recommended for new participants who are joining the Scheme for the first time. Held within the first 28 days after a plan has been finalised, an implementation meeting will be scheduled by the participant’s LAC if they have one.
Participants can use this meeting to ask questions about their plan and how to use their funding, raise any concerns, find out what they can and can’t buy with their funds and – crucially, for you – receive advice about finding providers and setting up service agreements and service bookings.
Participants can also ask about extra supports they could access, like community or mainstream supports.
How providers can help
This is another opportunity for participants to know about you and your services as a provider. If you’re a registered NDIS provider, LACs and participants can find you on the NDIS Provider Finder.
Important!
Only providers who have registered with the NDIS Quality & Safeguards Commission will be listed on the Provider Finder. Registered providers are then authorised to use the logos ‘I/We Heart the NDIS’ and ‘I/We Support the NDIS’, along with the text ‘NDIS Registered Provider’. For more information, click here.
4. Assessment of the plan
What the participant needs to do
Again, this isn’t compulsory, but it’s highly recommended – a review every three months to see how everything is tracking with their plan. Participants may review this themselves, check in with their LAC or an advocate, or reach out to their providers.
How providers can help
Using quarterly reviews is a great way of checking in with participants and seeing how your working relationship is progressing. How have your supports or sessions been of assistance? Is your client still engaged with what you’ve been doing or is it time to introduce some variety – which could be new activities or even a new environment?
Quarterly reviews also allow you to speak with your client about their plan and their spending and what stage their plan is at – if it’s coming towards the end of their plan, now is the time to talk about report writing and supporting documentation that you can help with in the lead up to their plan reassessment.
Important!
Sometimes we can just drift along in our work with clients because everything seems to be on track and clients are satisfied. Of course, that’s great, and that doesn’t mean that every single session or day has to be a winner – after all, is every single person on the planet optimising every moment and smashing a goal every single day? Of course they’re not.
Participant journeys should have peaks and troughs like everyone else. But, as providers, we should always be keeping our clients’ goals front of mind and supporting the journey of progression, whether it’s paused or moving slowly forward.
5. End of the plan
What the participant needs to do
Participants should be prepared to hear from the NDIA about six weeks before the end date of their current plan, in readiness for a plan reassessment. If they haven’t had any contact, it’s important to be proactive and contact the NDIA on 1800 800 110.
How providers can help
This is where your reports about the work between the participant and you will be vital. Remember – NDIA Planners and LACs will not know what progression has occurred without personalised, detailed reporting from you. This will support your participant’s experience of working with you and how it’s supported their progression towards their goals. For more information about reporting for participant plan reassessments, click here.
Important!
The NDIA has provided specific advice about what allied health providers should include in reports for plan reassessments. The prompts will be helpful for many providers, and the Agency has included report writing tips too.
Of course, providers are there for support throughout a participant’s entire plan. You can make it easier for participants and their supports to find you and work with you by being a fair, respectful, and honest provider. That means:
Want to know more about becoming a provider of choice? Join Kinora as a service provider for free and become part of a community that’s working together to ensure participants and providers get great outcomes.
STA is accommodation at a different place to your usual home and is typically provided in a centre or group residence. You can access STA funding (in the right circumstances) for up to 14 days at a time, for a total of 28 days per year.
STA can be used to build your independence (e.g. develop new skills) or strengthen your informal supports by offering you and them respite – the opportunity to take a break, with the aim of maintaining your current living arrangements.
In this article we cover:
You can find more information about STA here.
Despite the name, STA isn’t just about the accommodation, it also involves the support you receive while staying there, including personal care, food and activities you and the STA provider agree to. The activities will vary from provider to provider, so it's important to check that out.
Examples of STA could be:
If you believe your disability means you require non-traditional STA (from a provider offering individual support), the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) will need evidence to support your request before funding can be approved (in writing).
Importantly, STA isn’t a ‘holiday’ – and that means you can’t use your NDIS funding for things like cruises, holiday packages, hotels, airfares, passports, visas, or excursions, activities, and experiences.
The NDIS may fund STA if it:
The NDIS doesn’t typically fund STA if it:
If STA isn’t stated in your NDIS plan, but you have enough funding available in your Core Supports budget to ensure your approved supports aren’t affected by spending on STA, you may be able to use it. There are standard rates for STA in the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits.
Again, the NDIS can fund up to 28 days of STA per calendar year, which can be used flexibly – but you can’t claim more than 14 days in a row. If you want to access more than that, you’ll need approval from the NDIA.
There are lots of specialised STA providers and the services and supports they offer can be very different, so it’s important you take your time to research what’s available and which STA providers meet your support needs.
If you have a plan manager, you can use non-registered STA providers, but often these options don’t deliver the value you’re after because they don’t include supports – meaning you’ll need to pay extra for those. Be sure you take this into account when you’re comparing prices.
The best and easiest way to use your NDIS funding for STA is with a specialist provider that provides all your accommodation, personal care, meals, and activities. However, you can claim these items separately for the period you’re staying in STA (so, you can source them from more than one provider) if they’re within the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits.
Accommodation for support workers can also be covered under STA, but you can't claim accommodation for your informal supports.
STA is not intended for holidays and accessing it with NDIS funding means it must relate to your disability. If you believe the support will help you to achieve your goals, it’s a good idea to have some supporting information that backs that up, just in case you need to show the NDIA why you spent your funds that way.
We’re here to help
If you’re not sure what’s funded under STA, or if you can access it, just ask us. You can email us at enquiries@myplanmanager.com.au or call us on 1800 861 272 from 8am-5.30pm (SA time), Monday to Friday.
Updated 14 February 2025
Depending on your disability, and its impact on your daily life, there’s an abundance of support you may be able to access through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), without dipping into your personal savings.
In the NDIS, Core Supports funding is designed to help you with daily activities. While participants typically use it to pay support workers to assist with everyday tasks like household chores or going to appointments, it has the flexibility to cover much more.
This means that, within your Core Supports budget, you can move money from one category to another (with some exceptions that you can find here). While you can’t move funding across your NDIS plan, within the Core Supports ‘bucket’ there’s a great deal of flexibility – if spending aligns with your disability, plan and goals. If you’re not quite sure, just ask your plan manager, support coordinator, NDIA planner or Local Area Coordinator (LAC).
Here’s six ways you might be able to spend your Core Supports funding. Read on – then give us a call to see if these might work for you!
Disability can create barriers to everyday tasks like cleaning the house, mowing the lawn, or fixing a broken cupboard, and the cost of hiring a cleaner, gardener or handyman can quickly add up.
The good news is, you can claim these supports out of Core Supports funding if your inability to complete the tasks alone is related to your disability, and if the supports meet the National Disability Insurance Agency’s (NDIA) reasonable and necessary criteria.
STA is accommodation at a different place to your usual home and is typically provided in a centre or group residence. You can access STA funding (in the right circumstances) for up to 14 days at a time, for a total of 28 days per year.
The cost of your STA – personal care, accommodation, food, and activities you and the provider agree to – may be able to be covered by your Core Supports budget, if you have enough funding in your plan to ensure your approved supports aren't affected by spending on STA.
Supports needs to be delivered by an STA provider, in a traditional STA setting, unless otherwise approved in writing by the NDIA.
STA can be used to build your independence (e.g. develop new skills) or strengthen your informal supports by offering you and them respite – the opportunity to take a break, with the aim of maintaining your current living arrangements.
If you believe your disability means you require non-traditional STA (from a provider offering individual support), the NDIA will need evidence to support your request before funding can be approved (in writing).
You can find more information about STA here and here.
If you have a support worker who assists you with cooking and serving your breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and they can’t come in for a while – or if you’re just looking to become a little more independent at home – you may be able to use your Core Supports funding to have meals prepared and delivered to your door.
If meal preparation isn’t specifically written into your NDIS plan, but it meets the NDIA’s reasonable and necessary criteria, it can be claimed from Core Supports funding for 90 days. After that time, you’ll need written approval from an NDIA planner to continue claiming meal preparation, or you might need to submit a change of circumstances or undergo a plan reassessment.
Last year, the NDIS made it easier for participants to access meal preparation support. Find out more here.
If meal preparation isn’t included in your plan but you’re keen to explore your options, give us a call on 1800 861 272 from 8am-5.30pm (SA time), Monday to Friday, and we’ll assist you.
Assistive technology is equipment or devices that help you do things you can’t do – or are limited in doing – because of your disability. Using assistive technology can help you to do those tasks more easily or more safely.
There are thousands of products on the market to make your daily life simpler, like adaptive cutlery, non-slip bathmats, laundry and washing line adaptors, and medication management devices. If assistive technology costs less than $1500, it can often be claimed through your Core Supports funding – but check first!
Like all NDIS supports, assistive technology must meet the NDIA’s reasonable and necessary criteria. If you’re not sure if the NDIS will fund a support you want to purchase, here are five questions to help you find out. You can also visit the NDIS website for further advice.
If they help you to participate in everyday activities, you may be able to use your Core Supports funding for a range of disability related health supports.
Specified by the NDIA within the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits, these supports – while medical in nature – may be funded when they directly relate to disability:
| Support type | What it is | Example/s |
| Dysphagia supports | Supports for participants who have trouble eating, drinking, or swallowing. | Meal management and planning, pumps, tubes, and antibacterial wipes. |
| Respiratory supports | Supports for participants who require support to assist them to breathe. | Coughing assistance machine. |
| Nutrition supports | Supports for participants who require support to enable them to eat. | Liquid nutrition products. |
| Diabetes management supports | Supports for participants who require assistance to manage their diabetes. | Funding for a support worker to be trained in the delivery of blood sugar testing. |
| Continence supports | Supports for participants who need assistance with continence. | Absorbent pads, nappies, wipes. |
| Wound and pressure care supports | Supports for participants who require assistance to manage wounds or ongoing loss of feeling in their body. | Dressings, barrier creams. |
| Podiatry supports | Supports for participants who need assistance to develop and implement a care plan to support their feet, ankles, and lower limbs. | Assistance by a podiatrist to fit custom orthotics. |
| Epilepsy supports | Supports for participants who require help to manage seizures. | Seizure monitoring devices. |
There are a range of supports that may relate to disability but are more appropriately funded by the health system. Some examples include end of life/palliative care, direct care supports accessed within a hospital, and emergency electrical generators.
You may have heard, or even experienced yourself, that the NDIS can sometimes be complex, time-consuming and difficult to understand. This can be true, but at My Plan Manager – your NDIS un-complicator – we’re focused on making the Scheme easier for our clients to navigate, so they can achieve the outcomes they’re after.
Time and again we hear from NDIS participants who are struggling to understand how to get bang for their NDIS buck and feeling unsure about where to find the providers who can support them to build their capacity so they can manage their funding and their lives.
They want expertise to ensure they use their plans well and make every dollar count so they can achieve their goals that much faster.
We’ve listened, and Kinora – our free online community of solutions – has created training to empower NDIS participants to manage their plans and their providers, right from the start of their NDIS journey.
Kinora’s capacity building training will show you how to use and maximise your NDIS plan funding and how to find and engage the right providers for you. The cost of the training is $210, and the great news is it may be funded by your Core Supports budget if it’s in accordance with your plan.
Click here to learn more.
We're here to help
Here’s some more information from us about your Core Supports budget – including the different categories within it. And here's our NDIS funding explained resource, which unpacks each NDIS plan budget and the categories within them.
If you have any questions about how to use your Core Supports (and wider NDIS) funding, we’re here to help. You can call us on 1800 861 272 from 8am-5.30pm (SA time), Monday to Friday, or email us at enquiries@myplanmanager.com.au.
Updated 18 February 2025
A lot of people think that a plan manager holds cash and releases funds directly to participants and providers for items approved by the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). But this isn’t true.
At My Plan Manager, we follow a specific process to get invoices and reimbursements paid – a process that protects you as our client, as well as us and the Scheme.
Here’s how it works:
Your provider sends us their invoice, or you send us a receipt for reimbursement.
We review the claim to ensure it meets our invoice requirements and aligns with your NDIS plan.
Our technology is the most sophisticated in the sector and allows 32 checks (and counting) to be completed on every invoice – providing confidence that your finances are in safe hands.
It also allows us to scrutinise every invoice to make sure providers aren’t charging more than the rates set out in the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits – if they are, we won’t process the claim.
We also verify the services you’ve been invoiced for and make sure they’re being claimed against the correct budgets.
We submit the claim to the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) on your behalf.
The claim will either meet the NDIA’s validation rules or it won’t (it’s not manually reviewed).
To help reduce fraud and non-compliant behaviour, the NDIA has confirmed that, if a claim meets its validation rules, the Agency will release the funds to us within two or three business days.
Some payments may take up to 10 working days to be processed, allowing time for the Agency to undertake more rigorous investigation of claims.
We’ll then make the payment to your provider on your behalf or pay you your reimbursement.
We make a record of each payment, so it's reflected in your plan budget, and you can see it at any time in our client portal and mobile app – and in your monthly budget report, which you can find in the client portal and mobile app too.
Our client portal and mobile app are great for helping you to keep track of your plan budget and see it in real time.
Don’t have access? Contact us and we’ll happily assist. You can email us at enquiries@myplanmanager.com.au or call us on 1800 861 272 from 8am-5.30pm (SA time), Monday to Friday.
While we’re investing into research, technology, and practice to get your invoices paid to the right people swiftly and securely, it’s important to assess and recognise your own risk too, so you can keep your information and funding protected. Here are some tips from My Plan Manager to help protect yourself from fraud.
Updated 18 February 2025
Irshad Haidari has been working alongside people with disability since beginning a traineeship in 2019. Trusted to work with very vulnerable National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants in Supported Independent Living (SIL), Irshad was awarded Trainee of the Year in the 2021 South Australian Training Awards, delivered by the Government of South Australia.
However, it’s not the awards or accolades that mean the most, he says – the most rewarding part of being a support worker is the professional relationships with participants and their families.
Like a lot of people in our industry, I had a personal connection to someone with disability. Growing up in Pakistan, one of my friends had significant intellectual and physical disabilities. Unlike Australia, he didn’t receive financial support from the government – he was just surviving day to day as people passed by, helping him with cash.
When we arrived in Australia, I got work as a baker, but I knew I wanted to do something with people, something more fulfilling. The traineeship was a fantastic opportunity and then, as part of my traineeship, I got work with Cara in South Australia and I’ve been with them ever since.
I can’t imagine ever leaving the disability sector.
This job is the most rewarding job there is. As support workers, we get the unique opportunity to make a positive difference in the lives of people with disability. You develop meaningful and lasting professional relationships with customers, and you experience a feeling of genuine accomplishment as customers get to improve their quality of life.
As support workers, we also work every day as advocates for our customers. There will be times when we head off to a restaurant and the staff will talk to us instead of the customer, especially if the people we’re supporting are non-verbal. We can gently educate staff – you can say ‘how about you talk to the customer’, or you can ask them to show the customer the menu and they’ll indicate their choice with eye-gaze or with their finger. In this way, as support workers, we ensure our customers are valued and included.
Being a support worker requires a lot of physical, emotional, and mental fortitude. It requires a great deal of patience and empathy.
Sometimes it can be challenging to manage people’s behaviour when it’s impacted by their physical or cognitive disability. Or there can be medical emergencies to deal with, where you also need to manage your customer’s comfort and safety.
As support workers, it’s important we also take time to look after our own health as well – you need to fill your own tank, so there is more energy to give. You need to rest and look after yourself physically and mentally. Despite the challenges, the meaningful impact we have for our customers is immeasurable to us.
It takes time to form good working relationships. We need to be able to trust each other and give each other time and space so that the support worker can get to know and understand the customer. You cannot expect a support worker to understand a customer and their family in a single shift.
The longer support workers work with you, the more they will get to understand what you want, how you feel, what your thoughts are, how to understand and prioritise your choices, and how to engage with the community.
With time and trust you can empower customers and support workers to have good working relationships and for support workers to provide quality support.
If you have patience and the desire to make a change, then it’s the right pathway for you. It’s about helping others and supporting someone because it’s the right thing to do, not just because it’s part of a job.
You need to support your customer’s choices, prioritise their life, and advocate for them. It’s about what they want, not what you think is best.
To people who are looking for a rewarding job, I would say this is the best of all professions for job satisfaction.
Educate yourself about people with disability – consume media from people with disability, read stories by people with disability, find their art, and educate yourself about disability pride and the rights of people with disability.
The physical part of safely supporting clients, manual handling, is something that helped me a lot and I’m always looking to learn more and deepen my understanding.
At some recent manual handling refresher training, the facilitator asked me to act as the customer. I was on the floor and the trainer put a sling around me and transferred me from the floor to the bed. I felt how vulnerable it is to be on the floor and relying on people who you don’t know. It’s so scary, you get the feeling you’ll fall down, the risk of harming yourself and others. Some people with disability keep that fear, and inner feelings, inside them.
It really reaffirmed the importance of reassuring people, while we’re doing transfers especially, supporting them emotionally and helping them to feel safe.
Something surprising about the profession is the significant emotional attachments that can form. In many cases, support workers spend considerable amounts of time with customers and form meaningful relationships, which lead to a sense of pride and fulfilment.
And that’s why it’s so important to maintain professional boundaries. We have to strive for a balance of compassion and professionalism. We aren’t our customers’ friends or family, we are professionals there to work, and we never take the place of friends and family.
It’s about getting to know the customers little by little.
Don’t expect that everything is written in the care plan. The care plan gives you the health needs, but working with customers gives you the understanding of what they want and how they want to be supported. These are things that you can only learn while working alongside a customer.
You can't get all the skills in just one day, you have to have that desire to learn, have compassion, and get to know the people you’re supporting.
One of the most interesting things that we both enjoy is painting on a canvas. I think it’s the colours that really engage them more with the activity.
We put some soft music on in the background, the customers choose the colours, and we support them with the painting with hand-over-hand. You can see the focus on their face, their focus is on the canvas and how the colours spread out as they are holding the brush.
We also use a lot of sensory toys. There are toys where you can record your voice and make your voice or their voice and make games out of it – the occupational therapist and the speech pathologist have used them.
If a client can’t talk, we can use their device to communicate and you can record words, a sentence, a joke, a command or request. I enjoy what the customers enjoy!
Out of the house, there are so many places to go! One of the women I support loves bowling. We encourage and cheer and we make it into a competition. Another loves shopping, even window shopping. When we go into the city and are surrounded by people, she loves the energy of the crowds. Or we’ll go into shops and help her choose dresses and nail polish.
Going to the pool is another thing. While sometimes it can be challenging with noise, swimming has made such a positive impact on their bodies and their lives. You can see how it helps them to stretch out, and afterwards you can see how relaxed they are as they go home ready for a nap.
Last year I went back to Pakistan and got married! I spent three months there, but it was so short – I’m going back again this year. My brother also got married at the same time, so my whole family was there. We had such a great time.
Now, my wife is sharing my day-to-day – my problems or stresses, and my excitement. I can tell her anything and it eases my mind. We have started the immigration process for her to move to South Australia, but it takes time.
I still do a bit of hip-hop dancing, but less these days because I spend more time talking to my partner and planning our life ahead.
I still remember the night of the award ceremony, sitting in the crowd after we had all received our finalist certificates. I thought, ‘we made it here, it’s a great achievement’. There were so many good candidates in the room, I thought I didn’t have a chance.
Then, when they announced my name, my heart went from the ground to the roof! It will be one of the best memories of my life.
Since then, I’ve had many people approach me for advice about working in the disability sector. People listen to you and take advice from you, which is a great thing. Now I’ve got four years’ experience in the industry, as well as my traineeship and the award, and it gives more words to the people around me.
I’ve convinced my brother to get into the disability sector as well. He did a traineeship and he is working for another provider. I’m like a one-man recruitment agency for the disability sector!
I’m studying my Diploma of Community Services, and in the future I would like to work in more leadership roles, but I don’t want to completely stop working on the floor as a support worker, I want to do a few shifts every fortnight supporting customers.
There’s wide scope in this course with what you can do – you can be a case manager, you can be a service manager, an advocate, or you can even become a support coordinator.
I do see myself in a leadership role, but I don’t know where. But I’m sticking with working in the disability industry, for sure. It’s the most rewarding sector in the world and I always want to be able to be an advocate for people with disability.
