How does NDIS funding work?
Understanding how your NDIS funding works means that you are getting the most from your NDIS plan.
Your unique NDIS plan sets out your goals, the supports that will help you work towards your goals, and the NDIS funding you’ll receive to help you pay for those supports.
There are four types of support budgets funded in a NDIS plan:
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Core Supports,
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Capacity Building Supports,
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Capital Supports, and
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Recurring Supports.
Each budget has categories of funding within it.
NDIS plan on PACE
How NDIS funding works for participants with a NDIS plan on PACE
PACE is the National Disability Insurance Agency’s (NDIA) new computer system. It’s being introduced slowly and will eventually replace the Agency’s existing system.
If you’re a new NDIS participant, your plan will automatically be built on PACE – but if you’ve been a participant for a while, it might take some time for you to be moved over to a PACE plan.
Why’s that important? Well, the support budgets and categories included in PACE plans are slightly different to those on the ‘old’ computer system.
Here’s the support budgets and categories you may see funded if you have a NDIS plan on PACE:
1. Core Supports
Core Supports help you with everyday activities, your current disability-related needs, and working toward your goals.
The following four categories are flexible, meaning you can move funding between them, as long as they’re managed in the same way (e.g. NDIA, plan or self-managed).
Assistance with Daily Life
Funding to cover expenses related to assisting or supervising you to undertake daily tasks. This could include:
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Personal Care
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Meal Preparation
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Cleaning
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Gardening
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Laundry
Consumables
Funding to pay for everyday items and low risk/low-cost products, like:
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Low-cost assistive technology
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Nutritional supplements
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Continence products
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Auslan or Signed English training
Assistance with Social, Economic, and Community Participation
Funding to cover costs to access and participate in the community, such as:
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One-to-one support to attend a social outing or activity
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Participation in sport and exercise, including joining a club
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Community, social, recreational or economic activities.
Transport
Funding to cover transport from a provider, for example:
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When a provider transports you to a support that is delivered by another provider
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When a provider transports you to an activity that is not itself a support
The following two categories are what’s known as ‘stated’. That means you must use the funding in these categories in the way it’s described in your plan.
2. Capacity Building Supports
Capacity Building Supports help you to work toward your goals and build your independence. The categories within Capacity Building Supports aren’t flexible – they’re stated – so you can’t move funding from one category to another.
Behavior Support
Funding to pay for supports to help you develop behavioral management strategies to reduce behaviors of concern.
Choice and Control
Funding for a plan manager (like us!) to manage your budget, deal with your providers, speak with the NDIA about your claims, and process your invoices.
Finding and Keeping a Job
Funding to cover supports that help you find and keep a job. This may include employment-related support, training, and assessments.
Health and Wellbeing
Funding to pay for supports that are directly related to managing the impact of your disability on your health.
Improved Daily Living Skills
Funding to cover supports to help you to maintain, develop or increase your skills and capacity for independence and community participation, including assessments, training and therapy.
Improved Living Arrangements
Funding to help you find and keep suitable accommodation to live in, including assistance with securing a rental property and meeting tenancy obligations.
Increased Social and Community Participation
Funding to pay for supports to help you take part in skills-based learning to develop independence in accessing the community.
Lifelong Learning
Funding for supports to assist you to move from school to further education, such as university or TAFE. Examples include training, advice and support.
Relationship
Funding to help you develop positive social skills and interact with others in the community.
Support Coordination and Psychosocial Recovery Coaches
Funding for support coordinators and psychosocial recovery coaches to help you understand your NDIS plan and build connections with NDIS providers, the community, and other mainstream supports.
3. Capital Supports
Capital Supports funding is for higher-cost assistive technology items and equipment, home or vehicle modifications, and other one-off purchases. All supports are stated, meaning you can only use funding for the purposes specified in your plan.
4. Recurring Supports
Recurring Supports funding is for regular, recurring everyday transport needs – like public transport or taxis. You don’t need to make a claim for these supports because the NDIA will make a regular payment to your nominated bank account to cover the costs.
Home and Living
Funding to support you to live as independently as possible with options including:
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Individualized Living Options
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Supported Independent Living
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Assistance with daily life tasks provided in a residential aged care facility
YPIRAC - Cross Billing
Funding for some of the fees and charges related to young people in residential aged care, like:
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The basic care subsidy
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Care and accommodation costs you are asked to pay from your own money
Assistive Technology
Funding to cover specialised technology or equipment to assist you to live more independently, like:
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Wheelchairs and other mobility equipment
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Vehicle modifications
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Electric beds
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Bathing and toileting equipment
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Vision assistive technology
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Assistive products for personal care and safety
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Communication devices
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Hearing assistive technology
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Assistance dogs (including guide dogs)
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Prosthetics and orthotics
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Custom shoes
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Transfer equipment
Assistive Technology - Maintenance, Repair and Rental
Funding to cover supports to maintain and repair assistive technology and pay for short term rental and trial of assistive technology supports.
Home Modifications
Funding to cover structural modifications to your home to make it easier for you to live there. This also includes assessment, delivery, adjustment, and maintenance of home modifications.
Specialist Disability Accomodation
Funding to pay some of the costs associated with living in a house that’s designed specifically for people with extreme functional impairment or very high support needs.
NDIS plan not on PACE
How NDIS funding works for participants with a NDIS plan that is not on PACE
If you’re a NDIS participant whose NDIS plan is still on the NDIA’s existing (‘old’) computer system, meaning you haven’t had a new one built on PACE yet, here’s the support budgets and the associated categories that may be funded in your NDIS plan.
1. Core Supports
Core Supports help you with everyday activities, your current disability-related needs, and working toward your goals. This budget is flexible, meaning you can move funding from one category to another. However, this is not always the case with the transport category.
Assistance with Daily Life
Funding to cover expenses related to assisting you to undertake daily tasks. This could include:
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Meal preparation, personal care, cleaning or gardening
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Assistance with laundry – linen service
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Access to alternative living arrangements
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Short and Medium Term Accommodation and assistance (including respite)
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Supported Independent Living options
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Assistance with daily life tasks provided in a residential aged care facility
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Nursing care to assist with your disability-related health needs
Consumable
Funding to pay for everyday items and low risk/low-cost products, like:
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Nutritional supplements or continence products
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Auslan or Signed English training
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Low-cost assistive technology
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Minor repairs to aids and equipment
Assistance with Social and Community Participation
Funding to cover costs to access and participate in the community, such as:
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Community, social or recreational activities
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One-to-one support to attend a social outing or activity
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Participation in sport and exercise, including joining a club
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Transport to and from activities
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Support to maintain your current employment
Transport
Funding to cover transport expenses related to the impact of your disability, such as:
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Taxi expenses if you’re unable to access public transport
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Specialised transport services to get to school or other educational facilities, employment, or out in the community
2. Capacity Building Supports
Capacity Building Supports help you to work toward your goals and build your independence. The categories within Capacity Building Supports aren’t flexible, so you can’t move funding from one category to another.
Improved Daily Living Skills
Funding to cover therapies and programs to build your capacity to reduce the impact of your disability, including physiotherapy, speech pathology, and occupational therapy.
Improved Life Choices
Funding for a plan manager (like us!) to manage your budget, deal with your providers, speak with the NDIA about your claims, and process your invoices.
Improved Learning
Funding for a support worker to provide advice on further education, support you with applications to further education organizations, support you at orientation events, or assist you to participate in further education.
Improved Health and Wellbeing
Funding to pay for a personal trainer, exercise physiologist or dietitian.
Improved Relationships
Funding to pay for someone to help you build your social skills or behavioral therapy services.
Improved Living Arrangements
Funding to help you find suitable accommodation to live more independently, including assistance with securing a rental property and meeting tenancy obligations.
Increased Social and Community Participation
Funding to pay for tuition fees, art classes, sports coaching, camps and other activities that build skills and independence. Activity-based transport is also included.
Support Coordination
Funding to cover a support coordinator to help you put your plan into action and organize your supports, build connections within the community, and prepare for reassessment.
Finding and Keeping a Job
Funding to pay for a support worker to assist you at work or help you to find a job, life and work coaches, private recruitment specialists, career counsellors, and mentors.
3. Capital Supports
Capital Supports funding is for higher-cost assistive technology items and equipment, home or vehicle modifications, and other one-off purchases. It’s not flexible, so you can only use it for the purposes specified in your plan.
Assistive Technology
Funding to cover specialised technology or equipment to assist you to live more independently, like:
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Smart devices
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Wheelchairs and other mobility equipment
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Apps
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Vehicle modifications
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Electric beds
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Bathing and toileting equipment
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Vision assistive technology
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Repairs and maintenance for equipment
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Assistive technology rental costs
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Assistive products for personal care and safety (bed/mattress, personal alarms etc)
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Communication devices
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Hearing assistive technology
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Assistance dogs (including guide dogs)
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Prosthetics and orthotics
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Custom shoes
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Transfer equipment
Home Modifications
Funding to cover structural modifications to your home to make it easier for you to live there. This also includes assessment, delivery, adjustment, and maintenance of home modifications. This category may also cover Specialist Disability Accommodation if you require special housing because of your disability.
