Understanding Your NDIS Plan

Sometimes it can be hard to read and understand your NDIS plan based on the language and terms used. Below are some helpful hints on how you can interpret it so it makes more sense to you.
Your NDIS plan is broken into three different categories of funding 1) core supports 2) capacity building and 3) capital supports.

Category 1 – Core Supports

The Core Supports category in your NDIS plan is designed to provide supports that are needed daily. This means that to get through the day or week you may need some supports and/or assistance.
Some services provided under the core supports category cleaning, medication management, accommodation, food deliverye3yu, self-care, community access, transport, continence products, PPE, and many more.

Category 2 – Capacity Building Supports

The Capacity Building category is designed to help build your independence in your home and community. This means, support providers are there to help teach you and build your confidence until you can complete tasks on your own.
Some services provided under the capacity building category are therapy, nursing, early childhood intervention, psychology, social skills, support coordination, employment, and community access.

Category 3 – Capital Supports

The Capital Supports category is designed to support you with the assistive technology or equipment you might need each day.
Some support items are manual or electric wheelchairs, beds, scooters, ramps, accessible recreational equipment, etc as well as home and car modifications, delivery fees, set up fees and everything that is included to complete the full job.

NDIS Management Options

There are three different ways to manage your NDIS funding,

1) self-manage,

2) plan manage and

3) NDIA manage.

⦁ Self-manage

Self-management is the greatest amount of flexibility you can have with your supports. This means that you can access both private organisations and NDIS registered organisations.
Only you (or your nominee/guardian) can access the funding in your NDIS plan. Once the funding is approved, you can claim the funding down from the NDIS Portal to pay your supports directly.
Self-management Resources:
• Resource – Checklist if engaging an Independent Contractor.pdf (disability.wa.gov.au)
• Resource – Employee-or-Contractor_how-to-decide_tag.pdf (disability.wa.gov.au)
• Resource -Type-of-Employees.pdf (disability.wa.gov.au)
• Hiring your own support workers – Checklist for hiring employees (disability.wa.gov.au)
• Hiring your own support workers – Is my worker an employee or a contractor? (disability.wa.gov.au)

⦁ Plan Manage

Plan management is designed to have an intermediary with your funding. This means you will be allocated a ‘Plan Manager’ or accountant to help pay your invoices for you.
Having plan managed funds also allows you to choose between private and NDIS registered organisation, but without the hassle of managing your funding or paying your invoices. Funding in your NDIS plan can only be claimed by your Plan Manager.
Plan/Shared-management Resources:
• Shared Management in the NDIS | WA’s Individualised Services (waindividualisedservices.org.au)

• NDIA Manage NDIA

management allows you to receive support from NDIS registered organisations. You can find out if the organisation is registered by looking them up on the NDIS website, provider finder.
For some families, NDIA managed funding is the easiest and best way to manage their supports and funding as they claim the funding on your behalf. It is also the obligation of the service provider to update you on how much funding you have remaining in your NDIS plan and allocated budgets.

Please also see some helpful links about management options below:
• Ways to manage your funding | NDIS
• Visual Checklist management options – WAiS.pdf (disability.wa.gov.au)
• Managing your plan in the NDIS – Information booklet by Down Syndrome Western Australia.pdf (disability.wa.gov.au)

Choosing your service providers can often be overwhelming and difficult to choose and compare. Please see below some tools to help you figure out what you want and need within a service provider.
Choosing a Service Provider
• Choosing a Service Provider | WA’s Individualised Services (waindividualisedservices.org.au)
• Provider Finder – Provider finder | NDIS

Understanding NDIS Plan Budgets

Some of the language chosen by the NDIA can be difficult to interpret, we have tried to make it simpler to navigate your plan budgets by describing the budgets under your NDIS plan below.
1. Core Supports
Core Supports The core supports budget is the most flexible budget in your entire NDIS plan. There is such a wide variety of supports that you can access, build up and swap around.

This includes, community access, self-care assistance, accommodation, food, medication management, cleaning, and other daily supports.
Transport The NDIS understand that one of the biggest causes of isolation is due to not having access to the community. Transport comes in many ways and can be costed against this budget.

Transport is broken down into two different types ‘general transport’ and ‘specialized transport’. General transport includes, support worker mileage, taxi’s, Uber’s, buses, trains, ferries, etc, while specialized transport is a part of a service that escorts you to school, work or places in the community.

2. Capacity Building
Improved Daily Living Improved Daily Living is known as your therapy-based supports.

This budget is used for Occupational Therapists, Speech Pathologists, Social Workers, Physiotherapists and Psychologists to provide assessments, training, support and reports. It also includes driver training and assessments, nursing and early childhood intervention.

Your assessments and reports will help determine how many hours of support you may need from each therapist.

Improved Relationships The improved relationships budget is generally for behaviour intervention and emotional support. These supports are often delivered by a Behaviour Support Practitioner, Psychologist or Occupational Therapist who specializes in these areas. This budget can also assist with social skills development and the development of a behaviour support plan.
Improved Health and Wellbeing Improved Health and Wellbeing is generally known as your health and wellness budget that involves diet and exercise.

Through this budget you can access a Physical Therapist or Trainer to assist with exercise and/or a Dietician to assist with a healthy meal plan and support.
Improved Learning The improved learning budget is funding to help you transition into further education opportunities, such as TAFE, from school. This support can be managed in consultation with your therapy team but will likely be delivered by a Support Worker. The support is to provide skills training, advice, assistance, arrangements, and assistance.

Improved Life Choices Improved Life Choices is your budget for your Plan Manager to claim the set-up costs, monthly fees, and ongoing tasks they need to provide you to process your invoices.

Some plan managers will also offer you training on how to manage your funding or a technological interface to help you read and track your budgets with ease.

Improved Living Arrangements This budget is allocated to Support Workers who can assist you with managing your tenancy agreement. This might include applying for a tenancy agreement or undertaking tenancy obligations, for example, upkeeping the property to ensure sustainable living arrangements.
Finding and Keeping a Job Finding and Keeping A Job is for all your employment support. The support comes in different ways and means something different for everyone. This budget is likely provided by a trained Support Worker who understands the employment space well and report against their efforts to find a job that you are happy with.

The support involves attending to assessments, assistance and counselling to successfully engage in a workplace. This funding is also used to help school leavers transition out of school and into the workforce (usually referenced as SLES funding).

Support Coordination The Support Coordination budget involves all levels of support coordination (level 1, level 2 and level 3) as well as Capacity Building and Training in Plan and Financial Management and Psychosocial Recovery Coaching.

You may have one or two of these supports built into your plan, depending on what is required at the time. All levels of support coordination and coaching play slightly different roles. Please refer to our ‘Services’ page for more information on the supports we provide here.

3. Capital Supports

Assistive Technology Assistive technology is built into your NDIS plan for aids and equipment you may need to function in everyday life. This might be a wheelchair, bed, communication technology, orthotics or other items that have been assessed by a therapist and approved by the NDIA.

The funding in this budget also incorporates set-up costs, delivery fees, trails, advice, guidance, repairs, maintenance and vehicle modifications etc.

Home Modifications NDIA have built in home modifications for you to be able to modify your home to create better accessibility and safety within your home environment.
This budget is only pre-approved after a home assessment has been completed by your Occupational Therapist and has been approved by the NDIA.
Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) SDA is considered as purposely built accommodation for you and your specific needs. This support is usually approved by the NDIA in cases where other accommodation options are not available due to high support needs.