How to Find a Great Plan Manager

March 9, 2023

Choosing a Plan Manager to handle your NDIS budgets for you really takes the stress out of using your funds. Your plan manager pays your providers from your NDIS budget, keeps records, and ensures you’re maximising the value of your funding – potentially saving you hours of work each week! But how do you choose a great plan manager? Here are a few important things to consider when doing your research. 

Rave Reviews 

Word of mouth speaks volumes! Ask around to see if any friends or family members have someone to recommend. You can also look online for reviews and testimonials from other customers. 

Getting to know you 

A great plan manager will partner with you on your NDIS journey, but will ensure you know that you’re still in charge of your funds and choices. They’ll take the time to get to know you and understand your needs and goals.  They should explain your plan to you in a way you understand, and ensure you know what is included, and the types of support available to you. 

If your goal is to eventually be able to manage your own plan, they should support you to learn these skills. 

Consistent communication 

Plan management should not be a set-and-forget scenario! Your plan manager should commit to providing regular statements and reports regarding your plan funds. Monthly statements are common. 

Outside of this monthly contact, if there’s been any over-spending or under-spending, they should be in touch as soon as possible to let you know what’s going on.   

A great plan manager should also be easy for you to contact, answering calls and returning messages promptly.  It can be stressful when you have concerns about your plan funds, but a great plan manager will be able to alleviate the stress for you. 

If you’re a Disability Plan Services client, you also have access to your own online dashboard, so you can log in and see the status of your budgets at a glance, any time of the day or night. 

Prompt payments 

A great plan manager won’t keep you or your providers waiting for payment.  Ask them if they adhere to set timeframes for making payments and reimbursements. At Disability Plan Services, we ensure invoices are paid within 3-5 working days of receiving them. 

Want to switch to plan management? 

By simply requesting plan management at your first planning meeting or plan review, you will be allocated the extra NDIS funding needed to cover plan management services. It comes at no cost to you and doesn’t dip into other areas of your budget. 

If you don’t have a review coming up, you can still switch to plan management by: 

  • contacting the NDIS (1800 800 110) or your Local Area Coordinator 
  • requesting a “light touch review” 
  • explaining that you want to switch to plan management, and give your reasons (such as wanting help with managing your budgets). 

We also have team members who can support you with this process if you need.  

Once your request is approved, you can contact Disability Plan Services, so we can set you up to make the most of your plan funds!