My Plan Manager recently interviewed Georgia, Community Engagement Facilitator at Mission Australia, to learn more about the free-of-charge service that’s available to people with disabilities and their family members/guardians.
Prior to her current role, Georgia spent time working as a LAC for Mission Australia, which runs local area coordination in South Australia and provides early childhood early intervention services nationally to participants aged under seven years.
Georgia: LACs are NDIS partners who work in the community to provide information, linkages and capacity building support to people with disabilities. They exist to provide information about what the NDIS is, how the community may be more inclusive and accessible, and what services – apart from the NDIS – are available to assist people with disabilities in their local communities.
This can involve a conversation about initial access to the NDIS, a first planning meeting with a participant, an implementation appointment where the LAC explains how to utiilise a plan, or explaining what a person’s review rights are if they're not happy with their funding or if their circumstances have significantly changed. Outside NDIS plan funding, LACs can provide support by explaining what mainstream and community services are available.
LAC services are completely free and available to all people with disabilities – including those who aren’t in the NDIS. To find your local LAC office, visit www.ndis.gov.au/contact/locations.
Georgia: If a person is thinking about applying for the NDIS and they are aged from seven to 64 years and require support, I recommend they (or their family member/guardian) first contact a LAC. If they’re under the age of seven, their first point of contact is an Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI) Coordinator.
An important component of this first contact is to discover if the support the participant is requiring is specialised disability support requiring the NDIS or if the support they are seeking is available through another mainstream service (i.e. education, health or justice). Having this conversation is an important first step in determining if the NDIS is right for that person and, if so, how they can request access.
Georgia: First, the LAC will check that the person is aged under 65 years, because unfortunately a person older than that can’t apply for the NDIS. They will also talk about residency or citizenship, because those who access the Scheme must be living within Australia and an Australian citizen, or hold a permanent visa or a protected special category visa.
Next may be a conversation about what disabilities typically meet NDIS access criteria (available at here} and what evidence of disability is required in an access request (i.e. permanent and significant disability).
Georgia: The first option is a verbal access request, where the person, their family member or guardian calls the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) and says: ‘This is where I/they live, this is my/their age, this is what I/they believe my/their primary disability is, can I/they apply for the NDIS?’.
The NDIA will then add them to the system and send them a supporting evidence form, which requires confirmation from a treating professional. That could be a general practitioner (GP) or an allied health professional like an occupational therapist, speech pathologist or psychologist. Or it could be a specialist like a neurologist or psychiatrist.
This form needs to be completed and returned to the NDIA – and the catch is, there's a deadline to do this. LACs will advise a participant to really consider if they have all the information that’s required before submitting a verbal access request because, as you can imagine, it can be a very anxious process when someone has to gather that all together and get it to the NDIA. However, it can work really well for people who may have an extensive diagnostic assessment that provides a lot of information.
The second option to apply for the NDIS is to submit an access request form. It’s a whopping 28 pages, however it's very clear in what’s required. The first 12 pages are for the participant (or their family member or guardian) to complete. It asks questions like where they live, what their age and primary disability is, and if they have family members in the NDIS. The second part of the form is for their treating professional/s to complete.
The third option for accessing the NDIS is an evidence of psychosocial disability form – for people whose primary disability is within that psychosocial category (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar, anxiety or depression). A General Practitioner (GP), allied health professional or specialist can help to fill the form out. You can find more information at Mental health and the NDIS | NDIS.
Georgia: The LAC may talk to the participant about reapplying at a later stage, when/if perhaps their circumstances change or more evidence is available to them. There isn’t a cap on the number of times a person can request access to the NDIS.
If the participant doesn’t agree with the NDIS' decision, they can gain support from the LAC to explore what their review rights may be, understand more about what the process to appeal the 'access not met' decision is and/or how they might connect to a disability advocate for further advice or ongoing support with appeals.
Georgia: When a person’s access request is successful (a person older than seven years), their application is typically sent to their LAC partner. The LAC will then contact the participant to set up a first plan appointment. This is where the LAC talks to the person about what their support requirements are, what their circumstances are, and what their current goals are – or what they want to achieve from their NDIS plan. LACs can hold review appointments, where they look at what is and isn’t working and gather evidence for a plan review.
Georgia: Local area coordination is a free community service delivered by NDIS partners and support coordination/specialised support coordination is a specific funded support delivered by NDIS providers (both registered and non-registered). Both LACs and support coordinators support participants with the implementation of their NDIS plans.
You can find more information at support coordination | NDIS.
If a participant has initially planned with a LAC, and they have a plan approved that includes support coordination, the LAC will contact the participant and ask if they have chosen a support coordinator who they want to work with. If they don't have a chosen support coordinator, the LAC can support the participant in finding one. Once chosen, the LAC is then able to complete a 'request for service.
Georgia: A LAC will first discuss plan management in a planning conversation, once a participant has NDIS access. If the participant tells them they want to be plan managed, the LAC will talk to them about putting that forward to the NDIS, and rehash that conversation at the point of plan approval. This is where the LAC can also help people to find providers.
To find your local LAC office, visit www.ndis.gov.au/contact/locations.
Or, if you are looking for a plan manager to take the stress out of the NDIS, join My Plan Manager at myplanmanager.com.au/join.
My Plan Manager recently welcomed Georgia, Community Engagement Facilitator at Mission Australia, to explain exactly what LACs do. Georgia spent time working as a LAC for the organisation, which runs local area coordination in South Australia and provides early childhood intervention services nationally to participants aged under seven years.
Georgia: Firstly, LACs hold a range of discussions to help people understand and access the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). They talk to people who’ve never heard of the Scheme, as well as those who want to know more, or need help in understanding how they may apply. They can help those who are eligible for the NDIS to develop, review and implement their plans.
Secondly, LACs help people who are ineligible for the NDIS, or who don’t want to apply, by linking them to services in the community. For example, LACs can support people with disability to know more about what is available to them in their local community (like what community centres are close by, what volunteer transport services there are in their local area, and what support programs are available for carers). LACs want to make sure that all people with disabilities are well connected.
Thirdly, LAC’s work in the community to grow people’s understanding of disability, the NDIS and inclusion. For example, LACs can work collaboratively on projects with a range of community stakeholders, such as people with disability, advocates, councils, job network providers, schools and more.
Georgia: The great news is, LACs are very accessible! They will often be in community spaces like libraries and community centres, and running workshops where anyone who wants to know more about the disability landscape can drop in and ask questions. They can meet wherever a person is comfortable and can even do home visits.
To find your local LAC office, visit www.ndis.gov.au/contact/locations.
Georgia: If there’s a community or mainstream support that’s not funded through an NDIS plan, LACs can easily refer people to them. It may be that there’s a person with disability who’s on a low income and really struggling to pay their bills. A LAC can connect them to a community centre that has cheap meals, financial counselling and can provide vouchers.
Without a participant’s consent, LAC’s can’t refer them to NDIS providers, but they can help people with disability to find providers using search engines like the provider finder in the myGov portal and Clickability.
Georgia: Local area coordination at Mission Australia is a completely free service, and a lot of people in the community don’t know this. We’ve had participants who didn’t seek assistance earlier because they thought they couldn’t afford it.
Then, there’s limited understanding of the role of mainstream services and the NDIS. The NDIS is going to complement, not replace, the services a person with disability is already getting - like Medicare.
Georgia: A LAC is a community support to assist people with disability to understand more about the NDIS and how they may access it. An NDIS planner is a person who works at the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) and is a delegated decision maker.
A LAC will meet with a participant for a planning meeting, will gather their information and submit this to the NDIA. Then, the LAC and the NDIS planner will have the opportunity to collaborate, by discussing the information gathered in the planning meeting and reviewing any progress reports, quotes, and recommendations provided to determine plan funding. If a plan is approved and the participant doesn’t agree with the amount that’s in it, or it doesn’t meet their needs, the LAC can support the participant with identifying their review rights and next steps.
Tip: Participants have the right to change LACs if they wish. LAC partners (like Mission Australia) have a range of LACs with different skill sets and personal experiences to create a great match.
There are a lot of different roles in the NDIS, which can get very confusing whether or not you are new to the Scheme.
To find your local LAC office, visit www.ndis.gov.au/contact/locations.
Or, if you already have an NDIS plan and are looking for a plan manager to take the stress out of the NDIS, click here to join My Plan Manager.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a way of providing individualised support for people with disability, their families and carers. The NDIS provides people of all ages, from birth to 65 years old, with lifelong access to the care and support they need.
This blog post explores how the NDIS works, who can benefit from it and when you can expect to see benefits. Read on for more information!
An NDIS plan is a written agreement between you or someone you care for (the ‘participant’) and the NDIS. It describes the:
All people with disabilities or developmental delays need support to grow, develop and thrive throughout all stages of life, but each requires different things to reach their individual goals. This means that you and the NDIS will work together to create a plan tailored to the participants individual needs and circumstances.
The NDIS planning process has several steps:
When the participant's access request is accepted, an NDIS representative will contact you.
As an example, if you care for a child, depending on how old your child is and where you live, this person will be:
The early childhood partner, LAC or NDIA planner will make a time to meet with you to discuss your child’s NDIS plan. Depending on what works best for you both, the meeting might be face to face, by video chat, or on the phone. The early childhood partner, LAC or NDIA planner will help you decide whether your child should come to the meeting.
They will also tell you:
It’s a good idea to do some preparation before the planning meeting. You’ll get a planning booklet from the NDIS that will help you to prepare. First, think about your child, what they like and dislike, and what their interests are. For example:
Second, think about your child’s disability or developmental delay. For example:
Third, think about your child’s current supports, these include:
Fourth, think about the supports you and your child might need. For example:
You can write down all of this information, plus any questions you have, in your child’s planning booklet. It’s a good idea to bring this booklet to the planning meeting.It can also help to write a carer's statement. This statement explains how your child's disability or developmental delay affects you and your family's daily life. You can write about your other children, your child's carers, and your health, wellbeing, financial circumstances and so on. For example:
The NDIS planning meeting is between you and your child’s early childhood partner, LAC or NDIA planner.
You should bring:
In your child's NDIS planning meeting, your child's early childhood partner, LAC, or NDIA planner will:
At the end of the planning meeting, your early childhood partner, LAC or NDIA planner will explain what happens next.
After your child's planning meeting, the NDIA must authorise your child's NDIS plan.
When your child’s NDIS plan is approved, you’ll get a copy of the approved plan via the myplace portal within 24 hours and in the mail within seven days.
If you disagree or are unhappy with the support funded in your child’s NDIS plan, you can ask for a review.
If you want to make the NDIS easier and maximise your child's funding, My Plan Manager is Australia's largest plan management service that helps thousands of parents with the NDIS.
Yes we can process your NDIS invoices, remove time-consuming paperwork and let you track your spending through the My Plan Manager Client Portal. But we also help you make sure that your child is getting the support that they need, and not missing out on important items that can really make a difference to their plan goals.
Most NDIS plans for children go for 12-24 months before they have a scheduled review. The scheduled examination of your child's plan is a good chance for you to think about:
If your child has an NDIS plan, it's essential to let the NDIA know about changes in your child's or family's circumstances.
Here are some examples of the changes you need to tell the NDIA about:
The NDIA needs to know about changes like these if your child's NDIS plan needs to change.
For example, if you move to a rural or remote part of Australia where disability services are more expensive, the funding in your child's plan might need to increase. Or, if your child's diagnosis changes, your child's plan goals and support needs might change. This means the funding in your child's plan might also need to change.
There are two ways to let the NDIA know about changes in your child’s needs or family’s circumstances.
The first way is to complete a change of circumstances form.
The second way is to ask for an NDIS plan review. You can do this by:
Chief Executive Officer
National Disability Insurance Agency
GPO Box 700
Canberra ACT 2601
Two things could happen after a change in your child's needs or family's circumstances:
If the NDIA says your child's strategy needs to be reviewed, your LAC or early childhood partner or an NDIA planner will contact you to arrange a plan review meeting. This review will ensure your child's plan is meeting your child's changing needs.
If the NDIA says your child’s plan doesn’t need to be reviewed, you can keep using your child’s existing NDIS plan. You can use the funds in your child’s core support budget differently to suit changes in circumstances, as long as you’re still using the funds in line with your child’s existing goals.
The core supports budget allocates funds to four categories:
You can use the funds in these categories to pay for supports and services in other types, except for transport.
Here are some examples of how you can adjust funds in the core supports budget to adapt to changed circumstances:
When you're thinking about changing how you spend the funds in your child's core supports budget, you need to consider the following:
Your child's NDIS goals are what you want your child to achieve with support from the NDIS and other supports and services.
Your child’s goals might include things like:
Your child's goals are a vital part of your child’s NDIS plan, so setting goals is essential for the NDIS planning process.It’s best to start thinking about your child’s goals when an NDIS representative contacts you to arrange your planning meeting.This way, you’ll be well prepared to discuss and decide on your child’s goals when it’s time for the NDIS planning meeting.
When you’re thinking about your child’s NDIS goals, start with what you know about your child’s daily life. For example, if your child needs more help to get dressed than other children the same age, a goal might be to get dressed with less or no support.
It's also essential to think about your child's likes and interests. For example, if your child likes playing board games, a goal might be to make friends with people who share this interest.
You can also think about the bigger picture. What are your hopes for your child? For example, what do you hope your child will be able to do by the end of primary school or the end of secondary school?
And it’s a good idea to think about what would make it easier for you to care for your child and support your child’s development. For example, some daily living equipment might make getting in or out of bed or the bath easier.
Your child’s NDIS plan will include short-term goals. These are the things you want your child to achieve during the plan.
Short-term goals can be concrete. When you look at your child's progress after 12 months, it's easy to see whether your child is achieving or has achieved short-term goals. Short-term goals give you a good idea of how well your child's plan is working.
For example, a short-term goal might be for your child to hold a spoon by themselves.
You can also include medium-term and long-term goals in your child’s NDIS plan. These are the hopes you have for your child’s future, like successfully transitioning to high school, getting a job or doing further education.
You can break down long-term goals into the steps your child will take to achieve them. For example, your child’s long-term goal might be to make friends more easily. Steps towards this goal might be your child being able to take turns or ask questions.
Long-term goals can be pretty flexible. This means that there are many ways your child could achieve them. For example, your child's long-term goal might be to stay home alone without a carer when they're a teenager. Your child could move towards this goal in many ways – for example, by being able to move around the house independently, use a phone, manage anxiety and so on.
Your child’s NDIS plan will include funding to support your child’s progress towards some or all of their goals. All of the NDIS-funded services and supports in your child’s plan are based on your child’s goals.
So as you're thinking about your child's goals, it's essential to think about what supports the NDIS can provide to help your child achieve these goals. For example:
Depending on your child’s age, you might be able to work on developing goals with your child.
You could start by asking your child what they like doing or want to do better, more efficiently or more often. Involving your child can give your child a sense of control, boost their confidence and prepare them for setting their own goals as they get older.
Older children might also have ideas about what could help them reach their goals. For example, your teenage child might enjoy going to the gym and working on strength but might be having difficulties because of their disability. You could ask your child what might help with that. Your child might suggest help with transport to the gym, the option to go more often, or someone to help them use the equipment.
There are probably people in your child's life who know your child well, like your GP, paediatrician, child care educator, teacher and so on. Or your child might get support from a therapist or other disability professional. So it's a good idea to ask these people about goals.
And your child’s NDIS early childhood partner, LAC or NDIA planner might help you with goals in your NDIS planning meeting.
How does My Plan Manager work?
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is absolutely life changing! But like anything that can change your life, making it happen can take a lot of effort.
No reward without hard work, right?
Fortunately, applying to access the NDIS has a relatively clear path to follow, and at My Plan Manager, we’ve got the map!
There are five elements you need to consider to see if you’re eligible to join the NDIS.
More information from the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) is available here.
You’ll need to fill out an NDIS Access Request Form and submit it to the NDIA.
Having trouble filling it out? Help is available. You can:
You can also:
Your treating health professional (e.g., general practitioner) will need to fill out Section 2 of the Access Request Form.
If you have any existing reports or documentation, make copies and include them with your application too.
The NDIA will use the evidence you provide to determine if you’re eligible to access the Scheme. It will also be needed down the track when you discuss your needs in readiness for your first plan, and for your future plans.
Evidence needs to be recent and include reports and documentation that:
For more information about providing evidence, click here.
You’ll also need to provide proof of your age and residency. You can do this with your existing Centrelink record (if you’re a current Centrelink customer).
Alternatively, for proof of age, you can provide copies of your birth certificate, passport, driver’s licence or proof of age card.
To confirm your residency status, you can provide a copy of your birth certificate, Australian citizenship or naturalisation certificate, or a foreign passport or travel document which includes a valid Australian permanent visa or a protected Special Category visa.
Now, you wait – and the wait times can vary. However, you should get an answer about your access request within 21 business days (around a calendar month).
If you haven’t heard back in that timeframe, make sure you follow up with the NDIA directly, or if you received help from a local NDIS office or NDIS partner, get in touch with their team to check in on the progress of your application.
If your access request is successful, the NDIA will contact you to set up a planning meeting to discuss your needs.
Read our tips for preparing for a planning meeting here.
Plan managers (like My Plan Manager) are NDIS-registered providers who support participants to manage the funding in their NDIS plans. That means the NDIS pays for our services and we work with you to:
And best of all, we do all of this at no cost to you! Plus, by choosing to have your funding plan managed, you can access a wider range of providers – NDIS-registered and unregistered – and we’ll handle the rest.
Once your chosen providers are locked in, you can sit back, and we’ll take care of your finances and make sure you’re paying exactly what you should be for every support and service you receive.
Think plan management is right for you? There’s no cost involved – all you need to do is ask!
If your NDIS access request is successful, you just need to let the NDIA know you’d like a plan manager to support you – and which plan manager you want to work with – and your choice will be recorded on your plan.
You’re not the first person to apply for the NDIS, and you won’t be the last. There’s power in community… and that’s why we created Kinora.
An online community, Kinora helps people with disability and their supporters to connect with peers, NDIS experts, disability sector professionals, and service providers, assisting them to build lasting connections with the people and businesses who can support them throughout their lives.
Whether it’s a question about the NDIS, a problem you’re trying to work through, people you’re trying to connect with, or a service you’re wanting to locate or market, Kinora – a community of solutions – will be right by your side.
To learn more about the benefits Kinora offers, click here.
If you’ve received a response to your request for access to the NDIS and it wasn’t the outcome you were hoping for, don’t be disheartened.
Whether your application was rejected outright or you’re unhappy with how it was handled, you can ask to have the decision reviewed. For more information, click here.
Your family members, friends or a disability advocate can also support you. For more information about how a disability advocate can help you to exercise your rights, click here. If you need help connecting with a disability advocate, try asking the community in Kinora.
You can also email [email protected] or contact the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission if you’re concerned about an NDIA decision or process.
You may be aware of some of the upsides of plan management – like being able to access more providers and having someone on hand to take time consuming paperwork off your plate.
But at My Plan Manager, there’s a lot more to what we do – and that translates into a whole lot more that our clients and their supports can expect from us!
If you have questions about plan management and exactly what we can do to make life a little less complicated, give us a call on 1800 861 272 from 8am-6pm (SA time), Monday to Friday. If email suits you better, you can contact us via [email protected].
The capacity building budget contains nine support categories that all are aimed helping you to be more independent and live your best life. The other two types types of budgets are core supports and capital supports, and they cover expenses related to your day-to-day care and equipment or modifications. Together, these three supports budgets help you work toward the goals in your NDIS plan.
The NDIA will assess your needs during your planning meeting or plan review meeting to determine what capacity building supports might be considered reasonable and necessary. Your planner or LAC will use your short- and long-term goals listed in your NDIS plan to fund supports to achieve those goals and live a more independent life. For example, if one of your goals is to develop your skills in cooking and healthy diets, your plan might include the 'increased social and community support' budget to fund cooking classes.
Your goals are very important in determining what you can purchase out of your capacity building support budget as it’s not flexible like the core support budget. You can find out more about NDIS plans in NDIS category confusion and NDIS Dictionary: Breaking down the jargon.
Read on to learn about the categories that make up the capacity building support budget.
You can claim support coordination services from this budget. Support coordinators help you put your plan in action and organise your supports. They can help you to build connections with the community and broader systems of support; develop and design support options to help you work towards your goals; and work with you to prepare for review and report on what you’ve achieved. Read our tips for choosing a support coordinator that's right for you.
This funding is for help for you to find suitable accommodation to live more independently, and could cover someone to assist you with inspecting properties or negotiating your contract. Supports may including assistance with applying for a rental property, meeting tenancy obligations and ensuring the home is appropriate for your needs.
This is to pay for support to help you build your skills in accessing the community. This may include funding a mentor or therapist to assist with learning skills for independence in the community.
This category of funding can be used to pay for tuition fees, art classes, sports coaching and similar activities that build skills and independence. You can use this category to pay for camps, classes and vacation activities that have capacity-building components. Activity-based transport is also included.
Funding to support you to find a job and have assistance in your work. This budget can pay for a support worker to assist you at your job or helping you to find a job that’s right for you, including on-the-job training to assist you manage the demands of the job.
Other options may include life and work coaches, private recruitment specialists, career counsellors and employment mentors.
Supports to help build your skills to connect and build relationships in your community. This could include funding to pay for someone to help you build your social skills or behavioural therapy services.
Services that improve your health and wellbeing, like a personal trainer, exercise physiologist or dietitian to improve your skills in maintain your own health and wellbeing.
Access to services that will help you to transition from school to further education. This budget could fund a support worker to help you to go to university or TAFE.
This budget pays for your plan manager. All you need to do have funding for a plan manager is request it in your planning or review meeting. Your plan manager will take care of all the financial administrative work from your NDIS plan and if they are a good plan manager, they will have handy technology and a team of NDIS experts to help you get the most out of your NDIS plan. Find out more about what a plan manager does.
Funding to cover your therapies and other programs to build your capacity to reduce the impact of your disability. This could be a physiotherapist, speech pathology, occupational therapy or any other therapy that assists you to become more independent with your daily living tasks.
The NDIA has recently announced that the three support budgets (core, capital and capacity building) will eventually be replaced with only two types: fixed and flexible. These changes will be phased in from the later half of 2021, as current plans end and new plans start. So if you are due for a new plan, expect it to be in the new format of fixed and flexible. Read more in Coach Amelia's explanation on Kinora.
To find out more about the other types of funding or other NDIS lingo check out NDIS Category Confusion or NDIS Dictionary: Breaking down the jargon.
If you have any queries about how to use your funding please contact us via phone or email and we will be more than happy to assist.
This budget covers higher-cost assistive technology items and equipment, home or vehicle modifications, and other one-off purchases. The other two types types of supports budgets are core supports and capacity building supports, and they cover expenses related to your day-to-day care and building skills and capability. Together, these three supports budgets help you work toward the goals in your NDIS plan.
Capital support has two budget categories: assistive technology and home modifications. Some assistive technology and equipment - low-cost and low-risk items - are claimed out of the consumables category in the core budget, which is flexible. The capital supports budget is not flexible and usually will only fund specific pieces of equipment or modifications which were discussed in your planning meeting and have been approved in your plan by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).
This category covers specialised technology or equipment to assist to live more independently, like:
This category covers funding for structural modifications to be made to your home to make it easier for to you live your everyday life, where your disability creates barriers. This may include modifications to your kitchen, entrance or bathroom equipment.
This budget will include funding to pay for the assessment, delivery and set up, adjustment and maintenance costs associated with your home modification project.
This budget will also cover specialist accommodation for participants with very high needs who need specialist housing for their delivery of services.
The NDIA is usually very specific in how to spend your funding for assistive technology or home modification. In your planning meeting your planner or LAC will discuss with you how you can purchase items out of the budget and where you could purchase these from. If capital supports are needed, the LAC or planner will usually add the capital supports category to the plan pending a quote. This means you need to get a quote from provider (such as the store where you will buy your assistive technology, or the builder who will do your home modification). You then need to send the quote to the NDIA for approval before the funding can be made available to purchase the equipment, or start the project. Funding for repairs and maintenance may also be included.
The NDIA has recently announced that the three support budgets (core, capital and capacity building) will eventually be replaced with only two types: fixed and flexible. These changes will be phased in from the later half of 2021, as current plans end and new plans start. So if you are due for a new plan, expect it to be in the new format of fixed and flexible. Read more in Coach Amelia's explanation on Kinora.
To find out more about the other types of funding or other NDIS lingo check out NDIS Category Confusion or NDIS Dictionary: Breaking down the jargon.
If you have any queries about how to use your funding please contact us via phone or email and we will be more than happy to assist.
A support coordinator can play an important part in your National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) journey, and that's because their role is to help you to make the best use of the supports in your NDIS plan.
Whether you've got access to plenty or few in your area, you'll want to know how to choose the right support coordinator for you and your circumstances.
Let's dive in to how funding for support coordination works, what makes a good support coordinator, and where you can find one.
Not every participant will benefit from or need to work with a support coordinator. In determining whether to include funding for a support coordinator in your plan, the NDIS will consider if support coordination is reasonable and necessary for you to pursue your goals, as well as the support you receive from family, friends, and other community and government services.
If funding for a support coordinator is approved, you'll find it in your Capacity Building Supports budget.
There are three levels of support coordination that can be included in your plan:
Support coordinators need to be NDIS-registered providers, so they can’t charge more for the type of support coordination included in your plan than the rate specified in the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits.
The NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits lists the maximum amount a provider can charge you for a service under the Scheme. If you’re able to negotiate a cheaper price with your provider, you can - and this means you'll be able to get more out of your allocated funding.
Everyone has different needs and requires different levels of support, so finding a support coordinator who works well with you is an entirely personal decision. Here are a few key questions to ask when choosing a support coordinator:
At My Plan Manager, we like to keep the choice and control firmly in the hands of our clients, so we don’t recommend providers directly. But we can certainly help you find the information you need to make you own decisions about providers.
Try looking at our list of the top NDIS provider search directories to help you find service providers in your local area. Or, check out our free online community, Kinora, where you can source wisdom from the crowd by asking for recommendations.
When you pay a provider upfront for a service you want to be reimbursed for the costs as quickly as possible, so you aren’t left out of pocket. There are some things you can do so your reimbursement goes to the right place straight away and we can get the money back to you quickly.
The most important thing is your email subject line. When emailing a reimbursement to us, the email subject line for reimbursements you should include one of these words or phrases:
Including one of these clear instructions in the subject line of your reimbursement email will make sure you get your money back as soon as possible. Our payment system recognises these and sends your email to the right place.
Send your reimbursement requests to our accounts inbox – [email protected] – the same place you send your regular invoices for payment.
This way it will go straight to the right team for processing asap.
You can also submit reimbursements through our online client portal. Simply select ‘Submit Claim’ and then click on Pay To > Myself for reimbursements.
There are three types of supports budgets that may appear in your NDIS plan: core, capacity building and capital. Your NDIS planner will tailor your NDIS plan with funding connected to achieving your goals and supporting you in your day-to-day life.
The core supports budget is funding to support the everyday tasks that relate to your plan and life goals. It’s quite flexible across the four support categories that make up the core supports budget, and it is up to you how you spend it. You can choose to spend your funding interchangeably between the support categories to better suit your needs. For example, you may prefer to spend more of your total core funding on meal preparation and less on taxi expenses. Your support coordinator and plan manager are experts in all things NDIS and can help you to understand how to use your NDIS plan flexibility to get the best outcome!
Name on NDIS portal – “Daily Activities”.
This category will cover all your expenses related to assisting you to undertake daily tasks. This could include:
Funding to cover transport expenses related to the impact of your disability, such as:
Funding to pay for everyday items and low risk/low-cost products, like:
Name on NDIS portal – “Social, community and civic participation”. Covers cost to access and participate in the community, such as:
There are lots of ways to use your core supports budget so you’re getting the best value for your funding.
As the core supports budget is flexible you can make it work for you and choose the services that best suit your life. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box! Is there a low-cost assistive technology such as an app that could help you to achieve smaller tasks in your day-to-day life? Could you have hand rails installed in the bathroom or around the house to improve your independence?
The majority of our clients have most of their NDIS funding allocated to the core supports budget, so making the most of this is important. Researching providers and finding a provider with competitive pricing can make a big different to your budget. One of the benefits of being plan managed is that you can use any provider, whether they are an NDIS-registered provider or not. Providers who aren’t NDIS-registered generally charge below the NDIS price guide. But it’s important to do your research, ask questions and trial a provider to find one who best suits your needs.
The core supports budget funds your essential everyday tasks and it also needs to last the whole way through your plan. This is where budgeting is important, as you don’t want your core budget to run out before your plan ends. Do the sums on your everyday expenses and work how much it will cost (roughly) to fund for the duration of your plan. If you’re a client of My Plan Manager, we can help you with budgeting, and our online client portal helps you view and track your funding so you can see what you’ve spent and how much you have left. If you’re not a client yet, find out how we could help you manage your plan.
To find out more about the other types of funding (capital supports and capacity building supports) or other NDIS lingo check out NDIS Category Confusion or NDIS Dictionary: Breaking down the jargon.
If you have any queries about how to use your funding please contact us via phone or email and we will be more than happy to assist.
