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-6pm (SA time), Monday to Friday. You can also email our NDIS plan management experts at [email protected].
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 [email protected].
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 [email protected].
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-6pm (SA time), Monday to Friday.
Updated 31 October 2024
Every person has the right to make decisions for themselves, and to take risks that help them to learn, grow, and experience life at its fullest. And for people with disability, it’s no different.
That’s why it’s important they and their loved ones know about ‘dignity of risk’ – the right of every person to, within their capacity, make the choices they want, even if they involve some level of risk.
Dignity of risk is a basic human right. Examples might include:
Where dignity of risk can get complicated is when it is balanced with duty of care – the legal responsibility to keep a person and their property safe. For example, a support worker assisting a person living in disability accommodation should honour the person’s decision to walk outside alone, even if it may be a risk to their safety.
Duty of care also means having systems in place to help reduce risk, but not at the cost of a person’s right to choose for themselves.
An example of this is, if a healthcare provider recommends a patient (who may be a person with disability) stops consuming alcohol, but the person instead decides to only reduce their intake, those who provide support to the person can check in regularly to see how they’re going with minimising their consumption.
It’s less about removing risk and more about helping someone do what they want in a safer way.
With dignity of risk, you have the right to make decisions about your life, and your support networks – family members, providers and others – should respect them, even if they don’t agree with them.
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).
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 [email protected] or call us on 1800 861 272 from 8am-6pm (SA time), Monday to Friday.
Updated 31 October 2024
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-6pm (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-6pm (SA time), Monday to Friday, or email us at [email protected].
If you’re anything like most of us, chances are you regularly turn to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) website as a source of truth for all things funding (and beyond!). But what happens when the theory on the page doesn’t match the practice in your life – where do you turn to then?
Take goal setting for example. The NDIS website says: ‘Your goals are not directly linked to your NDIS funding’ – but those with lived experience tell us that getting your goals right can play a big part in securing more money for supports, while getting them wrong can leave you grasping for funding and seeking a plan review pretty quickly.
We chatted to *Kate, a sibling of an NDIS participant, and Elizabeth Hickey, an independent support coordinator and mentor for people in the disability sector, about identifying and articulating well crafted goals that tie directly to the funding you need to deliver the outcomes you’re after.
Kate told us that at the start of her brother's NDIS journey, he and his family didn’t really know what goals were for or how to set them. This meant he wasn’t telling the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) what he wanted out of life, or the things he really needed, and therefore he wasn’t funded for the supports that could build his capacity and help him to thrive. But, once he and his family understood how to set NDIS goals – and how to ask for the supports you need – they put it into practice, and it changed everything.
Here’s the conversation we had with Kate.
In my brother’s early NDIS plans his ‘goals’ were very loosely worded. Really, they were a collection of thoughts and hopes he had for the future, but without any real roadmap of how he planned to get there, the people, tools and services he would need to support him along the way, and the funding he would require to turn those thoughts and hopes into reality.
In his current plan he’s been very clear about what he wants to achieve. For example, he wants to feel happy and well, he wants to be able to better regulate his emotions when he feels distressed, and he would like people to better understand and respond to his needs.
He’s tied the goal I mentioned earlier to a detailed, nitty gritty plan for achieving it – which includes having an up-to-date and effective positive behaviour support plan with identified strategies and supports to guide him, our family, and his formal supports.
He’s been very specific about having access to staff who are trained to support him correctly and who he knows well and trusts with his physical and emotional safety.
Because he lives in supported accommodation, he’s also stated that the staff that support him need to be focused on supporting him alone, and not working with a large group of participants at the same time, because that affects his safety and emotional wellbeing.
To achieve this specific goal, my brother's been up front about the supports and funding he needs. He worked with an occupational therapist who prepared a functional capacity assessment for the NDIA. Then, he asked for funding to access allied health professionals who can work together to develop a positive behaviour support plan and implement it with his formal and informal supports, and a support coordinator to assist him to increase his independence, and to find and engage all the providers he needs.
He also asked for funding so his providers can offer appropriate training to their staff to ensure they are qualified to work with him and meet his needs.
At the start of his NDIS journey, my brother didn’t really know what goals were for in the NDIS, why they were so important, and what the risks were for him if he didn’t have them. No one really helped us to understand that and, as his family, we felt we were flying blind and unable to support him in the way we wanted to.
Then, we stumbled across a great disability advocate, and she changed everything. She worked with him – and with us – to make sure he was front and centre in every discussion about his NDIS plan, and his life.
She took a look at his goals, such as they were, and explained that they didn’t really speak about his desire to grow his independence and build his capacity, and they also didn’t show how he planned to make progress and what he needed to have in place to enable him to do that.
She told us he would have a much better chance of getting the funding he needed if he could demonstrate to the NDIA how his capacity would be built by progressing towards his goals – and how the Agency could measure it. And, of course, if we were able to submit a functional capacity assessment and other reports from a wide range of professionals to support my brother’s case for increased funding.
When we knew that, we went from a place where the goals in my brother’s plan were poorly structured and ineffective, to a place where they’re now the polar opposite. We all worked together with my brother to identify SMART goals – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-based – and everything changed.
The relief for him, and for us, when he finally got an NDIS plan with the funding he needed – in the budget categories he needed it in – was enormous. Finally, he was able to get on with living his life in the way he wants to live it, and we were at ease knowing he had the supports around him to make sure he could do that in a safe and happy way.
Elizabeth Hickey from AFA Support Coordination confirms that NDIS goals do impact plan funding.
“(Goals) provide the framework against which an NDIS plan is structured and how success is measured at review,” said Elizabeth. “Like each NDIS participant is unique, their NDIS plan should be individualised and clearly identify what they will work towards during their NDIS plan and how that will be achieved. A lot of this is articulated in goals.”
Elizabeth said a statement on the NDIS website that says: ‘Your goals are not directly linked to your NDIS funding' is true and reflects the fact that NDIS goals don’t inform planners what funding is needed. However, she said the statement must not be taken to assume that goals have no positive or negative impact on a person’s NDIS plan.
“The more detailed and substantial – and, in some cases, granular – a goal is, the more scope there is to have important elements approved, which may be rejected when the goal is more general,” said Elizabeth.
She said key points to consider included that:
We asked Elizabeth to unpack what a well structured goal looks like and the outcomes it can achieve. Here’s what she said.
Let’s explore this by considering our young friend Jimmy.
Jimmy is 10 years old and has been trying for many years to learn to ride a bike because he ‘just wants to ride to school like everyone else’. He attends the local mainstream school and is focused on making friends and being more active. He has a disability that affects his social, gross and fine motor skills, and his ability to participate in the wider community.
Jimmy and his informal supports have worked with an occupational therapist and physiotherapist who have provided detailed feedback in their reports. They’ve also made recommendations and provided quotes and cost estimates around the funding Jimmy needs to achieve the goal of riding to school like everyone else.
In preparation for the planning meeting, Jimmy’s informal supports are trying to determine the most effective way to write the goal. Here are two options to approach this:
Goal 1 is not to be automatically discounted – it is clear, specific and measurable. However, while this is a great goal to have, it may actually result in less funding being approved.
To achieve this goal (depending on the evidence provided in reports and requests made), the NDIS may fund participation in a learn to ride program and some sessions with an occupational therapist to build the skills to get to and from school.
Goal 2 allows for much more consideration of the various components of the goal – requiring a more nuanced and customised set of supports (with their appropriate funding allocations). It details the specific things assessed independently as necessary to help Jimmy ride a bike to school like his friends. To achieve this, he needs to work on his coordination and participate successfully in a range of physical activities. It also identifies that Jimmy will need to work on his independence and personal safety skills, along with other social skills, so he can do the activities in a community or other setting with a range of people.
Another positive of having a broader goal like Goal 2 is that it will also allow Jimmy to do other things that require many of the same skills – this could include playing team sports, like basketball, or other physical activities. It may also include social development supports that assist with general independence tasks, like packing the dishwasher or mowing the lawn.
To assist in achieving Goal 2 (depending on the evidence provided in reports and requests made), the NDIS may fund a learn to ride program, social and community participation in a social skills program, an occupational therapist to assist with independence and safety skills, and physiotherapy sessions to assist with gross motor skills.
When preparing an NDIS goal, it can seem quite overwhelming. Breaking each goal down into its specific areas – just like we did with Jimmy – actually assists with this preparation by focusing the justification to a single outcome.
In general, here are a few things to remember when setting a goal.
1. The goal should ideally last the length of the plan
When a goal allows room to grow, it will be more flexible and increase opportunities for different methods of implementation.
In Goal 1, once Jimmy is able to ride to and from school, that goal has been achieved.
In Goal 2, not only could Jimmy learn to ride a bike, then learn to get to and from school, but he also can learn the road rules and skills needed to then do that independently, and hopefully go to different locations. But he could also use this goal to participate in therapy to increase independence and safety skills, an after school or school holiday skill building program based around physical activities, or even therapy targeted at active travel skills.
2. A goal should be flexible enough that it can adapt to changing situations
If, for any reason, Jimmy is no longer able to ride to school, Goal 1 is no longer achievable or valid.
Goal 2 allows Jimmy to increase his skills across a range of activities in any location – this allows for changes to situations to occur and the ability for different methods to achieve increases in skills to occur. This goal also allows for Jimmy to have choice and control over the activities he participates in at any given time (he may fall out of love with cycling over winter for instance).
3. The best goals are ones where more than one functional domain is being worked on
There are six NDIS functional domains: mobility, communication, social interaction, self management, learning, and self care.
In Goal 1, the focus is on mobility only. In Goal 2, by aiming to increase coordination, social participation, safety and independence, the goal meets mobility, communication, social interaction, learning, and self care.
4. Goals should reflect the reports and supporting evidence you provide
Make sure you discuss with supports what it is you want to achieve in your next plan before they write your reports, to better align client expectations with support opinions.
For Goal 1, therapy providers could easily support participation in a learn to ride program and leave it at that for a report.
For Goal 2, by discussing options for support and identifying that coordination, safety and independence skills, along with an increase in Jimmy’s social skills, will be needed for him to be able to achieve riding to school like everyone else, Jimmy’s NDIS supports can outline the wide range of supports needed so that a more complete package of funding is provided to help Jimmy achieve this goal.
5. Not all goals may be funded – however the supports needed to offset the impact of a disability on achieving that goal may be
For Goal 1, funding support for a child to participate in a learn to ride program is likely to be appropriate – especially for a 10-year-old like Jimmy. Funding for someone to escort Jimmy to and from school is less likely, as that is typically a parental responsibility.
For Goal 2, funding for support to participate in a learn to ride program – therapy that will assist in increasing safety, independence, and communication – may be appropriate, as may participation in group programs based in the community that are about increasing social skills and community participation.
While your NDIS goal may not directly impact your NDIS budget, if that goal is well written, considers all the supports needed, and is backed by evidence provided by supports in their reports and quotes, then you’re more likely to increase the scope of support provided in your next NDIS plan.
*Kate is a pseudonym to protect her brother’s privacy.
For people with disability, especially those with cognitive or intellectual disability, the right to make decisions about themselves is often overlooked – and the consequences can be devastating.
Making decisions and choices about your own life is a basic human right.
If you feel like you’re not being given the opportunity to exercise this right, supported decision making can help.
Supported decision making is a legal framework which promotes the rights of people with disability to make their own choices.
It usually involves support from a team of trusted people chosen by the person with disability – often it’s family members, friends or advocates. The team will work with the person to help them to understand information, express preferences and make informed decisions.
The person or people who help make decisions are called ‘Decision Supporters’. They don’t make decisions for people with disability, rather they help individuals to come to their own decisions about the choices they want to make.
To date, there have been limited formal guidelines around supported decision making, perhaps due to the fact that everyone involved in it is so diverse.
However, in early May 2023, the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) released a new supported decision making policy. You can find information about the policy, how it will be rolled out, and how it was co-designed with people with disability here. There are summary documents and Easy Read versions too.
The policy will be implemented during 2023 and beyond, and it’s designed to empower National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants to make decisions that relate to their plans and funding for themselves.
That policy is for supported decision making and how it relates to the NDIS, but there’s also a report from the Disability Royal Commission that’s definitely worth a read! You can find standard and Easy Read versions, as well as an explainer video with transcript, here.
Out of this report has come a recommendation for ‘nine universal principles’ to inform a framework for supported decision making. The first four were conceptualised in 2014, while the remaining five came from a recent review.
The nine principles allow consistency and guidance for people with disability who need supported decision making and provide support and expectations for the team assisting with the process.
The nine principles are:
How can you, or someone you know, organise supported decision making?
For people with disability: Talk to someone you trust about it. You could share this article with them.
If you have a support provider you’re working with, you could find out if they offer supported decision making.
If they don’t, Inclusion Australia has lots of resources, developed under the leadership of people with intellectual disability, which can help get you started – and you might be able to share them with the people you’d like to work with to start supported decision making.
Or you may like this resource, funded by the Department of Social Services and designed by Western Australia’s Individualised Services.
For potential supporters: As well as using the above resources, South Australia’s Office of the Public Advocate has compiled a list of free training resources to understand supported decision making and some of the ways you can support a person with disability by adopting it.
Much like any skill, you’ll get better at supported decision making by practising. If you’ve never had the opportunity to make decisions for yourself, it can feel unnatural or overwhelming when you start making your own choices.
But it’s worth persisting. Remember, making decisions about your own life, and having autonomy – that’s making informed decisions of your own free will – is your human right.
It’s not about being perfect or making the ‘correct’ decision every time. It’s about having the dignity to make mistakes and learn from them. It’s about being able to make choices that are right for you, not what other people think is best for you.
It’s your life to live and you are in control.
If you or your employer provides a service to a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participant, and either or both of you gets paid under the NDIS, then you’re required to adhere to the NDIS Code of Conduct.
The NDIS Code of Conduct is designed to promote a safe and skilled workforce to serve participants in the Scheme, and it applies to every provider – both NDIS registered and unregistered – and to NDIS workers.
Brush up on what the NDIS Code of Conduct sets out for providers and workers – and find out what we’re doing at My Plan Manager to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of people with disability – by reading on.
The NDIS Code of Conduct helps protect the health, safety and wellbeing of people with disability by setting out acceptable, appropriate and ethical conduct for NDIS providers and workers. The requirements in the NDIS Code of Conduct are fundamental to the rights of people with disability, as set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
NDIS providers and workers must:
1. Act with respect for individual rights to freedom of expression, self-determination and decision-making in accordance with applicable laws and conventions.
People with disability have the right to make their own decisions, to be free to live the life they choose, and to have the same rights and freedoms as any other member of the community. (NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission)
That’s why, at My Plan Manager, we place huge emphasis on supporting choice and control for every client – a commitment that forms the basis of every decision we make.
We aim to present information to our clients that they can use to make decisions – like what kind of providers they want to use and where they want to spend their funding. Then, if requested, we assist them to act on those decisions by helping with budgeting and setting funding aside to access the providers they want to see. This gives our clients more control of their NDIS plans, their budget and their lives.
2. Respect the privacy of people with disability
Everybody has the right not to have their personal information disclosed without their informed consent. NDIS providers should respect and protect the privacy of everyone they provide services to and have policy and procedures to ensure they manage information in accordance with privacy laws. (NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission)
At My Plan Manager, our staff are trained to protect the personal information of our clients and we’ve created policies (if ever there’s a case where client privacy is compromised) to minimise exposure of personal information and the subsequent damage that may arise from it.
We also undertake proof of identity checks when clients and providers call us and request private information.
We have specific training about privacy and dignity that we approach from a rights-based agenda (as opposed to a box our team members have to tick). This means our clients’ privacy is at the heart of the training we provide to our team members and is emphasised through it, as part of the person centred approach we take.
We’re also currently working towards being accredited with the International Standards Organisation (ISO) 27001 Standard, which assesses and accredits information security management. The 27001 Standard entails an external and independent review of our policies and systems to ensure we protect the confidentiality, integrity and accessibility of our client data at a world class level.
Once accredited, we’ll be one of the first plan managers to achieve this external validation of our systems.
3. Provide supports and services in a safe and competent manner with care and skill
Providers should ensure they have competent workers to serve their clients. They should ensure their workers have the necessary training, skill and qualifications for the services they provide. (NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission)
At My Plan Manager, our team members are provided with training at key stages of their employment, including induction and refresher training, to have competence in assisting our clients in a range of areas – in addition to processing their NDIS invoices.
We also have a competency framework that’s used to structure our team member training, which is externally reviewed as part of our ISO 9001 accreditation. We’re one of only a few plan managers to have the ISO 9001 accreditation at present.
We also adhere to NDIS Practice Standards that are audited every three years.
4. Act with integrity, honesty and transparency
People with disability have a right to accurate, accessible and timely information that includes the cost and efficacy of services. (NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission)
At My Plan Manager, we scrutinise every invoice to make sure clients aren’t being charged more than the rates set out in the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits. We also help clients to verify the services they’ve been invoiced for, and they can let us know if they have any concerns about invoices or the charges being made by their providers.
We’re able to provide accurate, accessible and timely information through technology that lets our clients see their information – including their NDIS plan budget – in real time, via the client portal and mobile app.
Our clients can choose to receive SMS text notifications when their invoices are processed, and we have service level standards – including call response and invoice processing times – that we monitor and are reviewed under our ISO 9001 accreditation.
5. Promptly take steps to raise and act on concerns about matters that may impact the quality and safety of supports and services provided to people with disability.
NDIS providers have a responsibility to provide safe and quality services. That’s why they should have effective complaints, resolution, incident management, investigation and disciplinary processes. (NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission)
At My Plan Manager, we can provide information if clients have concerns that need to be reported to the NDIS Qualify and Safeguards Commission or to the National Disability Insurance Agency.
If a client has a concern about fraud, if something goes wrong with their supports or services, or if they’re at risk of danger, we can provide information on who to report it to and how, and we’re committed to reporting first and third party reports if ever required.
This basically means we’ll provide a report to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission if ever we become aware that a My Plan Manager team member or provider is involved in a ‘reportable incident’.
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission considers a reportable incident to include these scenarios when they’re related to NDIS services provided:
We have a dedicated Quality and Risk team that’s in charge of notifying the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission if a reportable incident does occur. The team looks after subsequent requests, and answers communication from the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, once informed.
6. Take all reasonable steps to prevent and respond to all forms of violence against, and exploitation, neglect and abuse of, people with disability.
Evidence demonstrates that people with disability are at a far greater risk of experiencing violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation than others in the population and this often goes unrecognised and unaddressed. Women and girls with disability are at far greater risk of violence, and children and young people with disability experience violence and abuse at approximately three times the rate of children without disability. (NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission)
We know that people with significant or profound disability are particularly vulnerable to systemic and opportunistic harm, and we’re often their first line of defence in raising concerns about actual and potential risks.
That’s why we proactively work to detect and report vulnerability, safety and safeguarding concerns, to improve outcomes for the thousands of Australians with disability who we support.
7. Take all reasonable steps to prevent and respond to sexual misconduct.
Sexual misconduct is a broad term encompassing any unwelcome acts or behaviour that are experienced by the person with disability as being sexual in nature. This includes physical and verbal actions committed without consent or by force, intimidation, coercion or manipulation. It includes sexual violence and exploitation but is not limited to actions which constitute a criminal offence. (NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission)
The relationship between a worker and a person with disability relies on a great degree of trust. All forms of sexual misconduct constitute a breach of this trust and a breach of the NDIS Code of Conduct.
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission states that an NDIS provider’s guidance for their workers should:
As we’ve outlined above, we know that people with significant or profound disability are particularly vulnerable to systemic and opportunistic harm, and we’re often their first line of defence in raising concerns about actual and potential risks.
That’s why we proactively work to detect and report vulnerability, safety and safeguarding concerns, to improve outcomes for the thousands of Australians with disability who we support.
We often get asked the difference between the NDIS Practice Standards and the NDIS Code of Conduct, and here’s the simplest response:
The Practice Standards outline the legally binding quality standards that registered providers must adhere to, while the NDIS Code of Conduct sets out expectations of how providers and workers will conduct themselves when delivering services.
For the latest information about the NDIS Code of Conduct, visit the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission website.
If you're confused by the range of home and living supports available through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), don't worry, because we're here to help with this easy-to-follow guide!
Home and living supports can help you choose who you want to live with and where you want to live. Funding can also be provided for reasonable and necessary home modifications and assistive technology, as well as formal supports, to help you achieve your goals. The different types of home and living supports available through the NDIS are:
Here’s a breakdown of each type of home and living support available in the NDIS, the criteria to apply for them, and how they might look in your plan.
STA funding covers the cost of accommodation, as well as the support you receive while staying there – including personal care, food and activities you and the STA provider agree to.
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.
It can also be used to support you if there’s an unplanned breakdown of your formal supports.
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 isn’t for the purposes STA is meant for and/or it exceeds 14 days in a row, or a total of 28 days per year.
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.
Your NDIA partner should tell you if you’ll receive a plan in PACE during your planning meeting.
Access to MTA can help you find a place to live when you haven’t yet found your long term home. You might be funded for MTA if you’re moving out of a healthcare setting, like a hospital, or waiting to move into SDA.
The NDIA typically funds MTA – which doesn’t include the cost of food – for up to 90 days, and it must be included in your plan.
Your NDIA partner should tell you if you’ll receive a plan in PACE during your planning meeting.
To be eligible for MTA, you need to have found – or be looking for – long term accommodation. For more information about MTA, click here.
If you have very high support needs, it could mean you need to live in a specially designed home that meets your access requirements. If you do, SDA will be a stated support listed in your plan, which means funding has been allocated for a specific support or service, and you can't use that funding for anything else.
SDA housing includes accessible features to help residents live more independently and allow other supports to be delivered better or more safely. Funding is paid directly to your SDA provider to cover the building and maintenance costs, and you’ll need to pay a reasonable rent contribution and other day-to-day living costs, such as electricity bills.
To be eligible for SDA you must have an extreme functional impairment or very high support needs, and meet the SDA needs requirement and the NDIS funding criteria. Find everything you need to know here.
Your NDIA partner should tell you if you’ll receive a plan in PACE during your planning meeting.
SIL funding is designed to provide you with the support you need to assist you to complete daily tasks and build your skills.
It covers a range of supports in and out of home, like cleaning, cooking, personal care, or support to go shopping.
In addition to funding for your ongoing SIL supports, you may also be able to claim 10-15 days of ‘irregular SIL supports’ each year, for those times when you need a little extra help. Funding for ’unplanned exits’ may also be provided if you need to immediately exit SIL accommodation due to a death or breakdown in your support relationship.
Whether you live alone or with others, you may be able to access SIL funding if the NDIA considers the supports to be reasonable and necessary for you. Remember, the funding is for the support you receive, and not for rent or other day-to-day expenses, like utility bills and groceries.
Your NDIA partner should tell you if you’ll receive a plan in PACE during your planning meeting.
ILO funding gives you choice and control to live the way you want and in a living arrangement that suits your needs and preferences, but with tailored supports that help you to achieve your goals.
You may decide to share your home with friends or housemates, live with a ‘host’ who’ll provide informal supports, or live on your own with the support you need. ILO supports work with other funded supports and services, as well as with informal supports.
You’ll first need to work out where you want to live, who you want to live with, what support you’ll need, and who you want to provide that support. Then, you can work with your support coordinator or Local Area Coordinator (LAC) to put your supports into place.
Remember, ILO funding doesn’t pay for your accommodation, just the supports delivered to help you live there.
Another thing to know is that ILO supports can involve non-standard arrangements, like an agreement with roommates to subsidise rent in return for them providing informal supports to you. These arrangements then need to be documented in your NDIS plan.
Using your ILO funding, you can explore different ways to live and then design your supports to help you live the way you choose. Find out more here.
Click here to see how the NDIS decides if it can fund you for ILO.
Your NDIA partner should tell you if you’ll receive a plan in PACE during your planning meeting.
Assistance with Daily Life is a support category in your Core Supports budget. It's for assistance or supervision of personal tasks during day-to-day life that help you to live as independently as possible. Examples might include assistance with household cleaning or yard maintenance, or with attending medical and other appointments.
These supports are provided individually to participants and can be provided in a range of environments, including in your own home.
Applications for Assistance with Daily Life funding are assessed on a case-by-case basis and will be included if the request is considered reasonable and necessary and the support will help you to achieve your goals.
Home modifications are changes that are made to the structure, layout or fittings of your home, so you can safely access it and move around comfortably. The NDIS can fund home modifications to make a home accessible.
You may need home modifications if you:
Click here to find more information about home modifications.
Your NDIA partner should tell you if you’ll receive a plan in PACE during your planning meeting.
Assistive technology is the equipment you may need to help you with everyday tasks. Perhaps you want to buy an iPad to help you to communicate better, or modified cutlery for a child who’s learning to cut up their own food? Maybe you need a new wheelchair, a handrail or a washing line to assist you to live more independently?
Whatever assistive technology you have in mind, you may be wondering if the NDIS will fund it, and where to turn to next. Click here for more information.
If you want to explore home and living options, the NDIA will start by getting some information from you. You might be asked to complete the ‘Supporting evidence form – home and living’, or advised to request a change to your plan. You can find out more about that on the home and living supporting evidence form page.
Based on the information you provide, the NDIA will consider your request and, if it meets the NDIS funding criteria, the Agency will determine how much support you need to explore and design your home and living support package. The NDIA will communicate with you through the plan reassessment process before it’s approved and added to your plan.
Your NDIA partner should tell you if you’ll receive a plan in PACE during your planning meeting.
Updated 31 October
Are you wanting more value from your National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) budget? Or perhaps you live in a community where it’s difficult to access good, local providers at a fair price?
If either – or both – of these sound familiar, we’ve got some news that might help you out.
The NDIS recently introduced Coordinated Funding Proposals (CFP) to help participants get better bang for their NDIS buck, exercise the purchasing power of a group, or attract specialist providers to underserviced communities.
Like most participants in the NDIS, you no doubt want maximum value from your budget so you can access the supports you need and work towards achieving your plan goals.
The problem is, a lot of providers charge the maximum price that’s set in the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits, leaving little space for competitive pricing.
And many of them are not available in remote communities – which reduces your options for exercising choice and control over the providers you see.
This is where CFPs can help.
CFPs let you form a group of people with the same or similar support needs and combine funding to:
CFPs provide an option for every NDIS participant – regardless of location – to group together with peers and maximise their return on investment by ‘buying in bulk’ from providers of choice.
The win for providers is they get multiple participants on their books, while people with support needs can drive down costs per session or improve efficiency by sharing associated fees (such as travel).
We’ve listed the steps below, taken from the NDIS (2023), and added a few extra tips to get maximum success from your CFPs.
1. Find other NDIS participants with the same or similar support needs to build a CFP group
If you have a support coordinator, chances are they know a lot of people just like you, so they may be able to help you find others with similar needs by asking their client base.
They may also be willing to act as a ‘team leader’. While a team leader in a CFP group isn’t compulsory, it can help to have a person dedicated to contacting providers and locking in services to get things underway.
If you don’t have a support coordinator, a team leader can be any trusted person who supports you or any member of the CFP group.
2. Agree on the supports you want to buy
When discussing your plans for a CFP, make sure every member of the group creates descriptions of the supports they want to purchase and that you agree the volume of supports together.
Check that everyone in the group has the funding in their NDIS plans to purchase them, and then start searching!
3. Ask providers how and if they can provide NDIS supports and request a quote
The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) recommends picking three providers the group has agreed on and approaching them to discuss suitability, availability, fees and charges, and willingness to enter into a CFP.
Let the providers know the number of participants in your group, where they’re located, and the supports required.
You can ask the providers if they're willing to offer a more competitive price point for a higher volume group purchase.
4. Choose a provider
Come together as a group to talk about the quotes and the scope of services they cover, and agree which provider – or providers – the group wants to use.
This decision can factor in the providers’ credentials, whether they can provide a specialist service, and their cost, availability and cultural awareness.
5. Notify the providers that are chosen and initiate service agreements
You – or the team leader – may want to meet with the agreed providers to discuss start dates first.
Each participant in the group will need to have their own service agreement and bookings in place before the CFP can be formalised.
At My Plan Manager, we can help you initiate a service agreement if you’re a client of ours.
6. Keep in contact with your group to make sure everyone receives their supports.
The provider should deliver the supports as per the service agreements. To make sure you and everyone in your CFP is happy, it might be worth considering a group meeting or discussion every couple of months.
Below are some NDIS templates which aim to assist in the development of a CFP.
For more information about CFPs, you can email [email protected] or call the NDIS on 1800 800 110.
If you have any questions, we can also assist. You can email us at [email protected] or call us on 1800 861 272 from 8am-6pm (SA time), Monday to Friday.
