A practical guide to using your NDIS funding

So, it’s plan reassessment time and – as part of your roster of National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) housekeeping – you set aside time to check on your funding… only to discover you’ve barely even touched it.

It’s actually really common not to use all your funding (it’s known as ‘underutilisation’), especially when your plan is new and you’re still getting your head around how everything works.

The NDIS can take time to understand. Each plan is a bit different, with its own budgets and rules, and it’s not always clear what you can use your funding for, or where to start. A lot of people tell us it feels like you’re just expected to figure it out as you go.

If you’ve got funding sitting there partly unused, it doesn’t mean you’ve done anything wrong. Most of the time, it just means you don’t have the right support, information, or connections in place yet – not that you don’t need the support!

Why using your NDIS funding matters

At My Plan Manager, we work with tens of thousands of NDIS participants across Australia, and we’ve noticed there often cases where:

• parts of a person’s budget aren’t being used at all
• some categories of funding run out quickly, while others still have plenty left
• smaller budgets get overlooked, or
• people aren’t sure what they can actually spend their funding on!

This is all really normal – especially early on in your NDIS journey – but as time goes on, making the most of your funding becomes more important. 

The budgets and support categories in your NDIS plan are there to help you build skills, stay independent, and access the supports that make a real difference to you. That's why knowing how much funding you have and how to spend it is vital.

Start strong

Whether you’re new to the NDIS or have had a plan for a while, one of the most helpful things you can do is build a clear understanding of how your funding is meant to work for you.

Request an implementation meeting

A great place to start is a plan implementation meeting. This is your chance to sit down with your National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) planner or Local Area Coordinator (LAC) and ask questions like:

• Why was this funding included?
• How is it expected to be used?
• What supports or providers should I be looking for?

Not everyone is offered an implementation meeting, but everyone has a right to have one – so make sure you ask for it!

Connect with experienced providers

It can also help to connect with providers who understand NDIS funding well and have experience working within your specific budget areas. Finding the right fit early can make it much easier to use your funding consistently over time. 

The right provider will:

• understand how your funding works
• help you use the right budget categories
• make it easier to use your supports consistently

Your NDIA planner, LAC, or support coordinator (if you have one) can point you in the right direction.

Understanding how your funding works

One of the biggest barriers to using your plan is being unsure how the different budgets work.

Here’s a helpful way to think about it:

• Your Core Supports funding is usually the most flexible and can often be used across different day-to-day supports like support workers or help at home.
• Your Capacity Building Supports funding is more structured and tied to specific supports like therapies or skill development.
• Your Capital Supports funding is typically for larger purchases like equipment or home modifications and may require quotes or approvals.
• Your Recurring Supports funding is for regular, recurring transport supports – like public transport or taxis.

Once you’ve got a clearer sense of what each budget is for, and how flexible it is, it becomes much easier to use your funding in a way that supports your goals.

Making sure your plan works for you

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to using an NDIS plan. What matters is that your funding is working for you.

If something isn’t being used, it’s worth taking a closer look at why. It could be:

• you haven’t found the right provider yet
• you’re not sure what’s available
• your needs have changed
• the funding doesn’t quite match your current situation

You’re not locked in though – these are all things that can be worked through with the right support and a clearer understanding of your options.

How My Plan Manager helps you stay on track

Our role isn’t just to process invoices – it’s also about helping you understand and use your funding in a way that works for you.

We help by:

• giving you visibility over your budgets are tracking and nothing feels unknown or out of reach.
• spotting early if a budget is being used faster than expected, so you can make adjustments
• getting in touch if we see categories of funding that aren’t being used at all – checking in to help you explore why.
• answering those everyday questions like: “Can I use my funding for this?”

Often, it’s not about the funding itself, it’s about access, timing, or just knowing what’s possible.

We’re not here to decide how you can use your funding, but we’re here to help you make sense of the rules and feel more confident in your decisions. Having someone to check in with can make a huge difference.

Simple ways to stay on top of your plan utilisation

If you’re not sure where to start, these small steps can make a big difference over time:

1. Log into our client portal regularly so you can see how your budgets are tracking.
2. Check in with our NDIS experts any time you’re unsure about spending.
3. Ask any and all questions. If you’re not sure what your funding can be used for there are no silly questions.
4. Request a plan implementation meeting from your NDIA planner or LAC, especially if you haven’t had one with your current plan.
5. Pay attention to budgets that aren’t being used and figure out why (with help).
6. Make changes early if a budget is running low, so you have time to adjust.

Using your funding well doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. With the right support and regular check-ins, it becomes much more manageable, and that means better outcomes for you. Because, at the end of the day, your NDIS plan is all about making sure you have the support you need to live the life you choose.