Understanding capacity building supports

September 6, 2020

Understanding capacity building supports

We often speak to clients who are just starting their journey with the NDIS or parents and carers who are trying to do the best they can to help their loved one but are struggling to grasp the sometimes complicated NDIS terminology.

The most important thing to understand is your NDIS plan and the funding allocated for particular supports that work to achieve your goals.

The NDIS split up funding into three main categories, which are further split into sub-categories to ensure everyone receives appropriate funding for exactly what they need. The most complicated and often most misunderstood category is capacity building NDIS.

In this post, we’ll cover some of the most common questions about NDIS capacity building categories.

What does capacity building NDIS mean?

Building capacity means to obtain and improve skills to help enhance your ability to do tasks. Within organisations, capacity building is a term commonly used to refer to training and development of staff. When you continue to develop your skills, your confidence and efficiency also improves, giving you capacity to perform new or additional tasks.

Think of it like this. If you are learning to cook pasta for the first time it might take you a while to get all of the steps right. After a few more times cooking pasta, you will become familiar with the recipe and the steps involved and it won’t take you as long. Eventually you will feel confident in your ability to cook pasta and will have extra capacity (time) available to do other tasks.

What is capacity building NDIS?

Capacity building supports in the NDIS work in a similar way! Using the above example, you may receive funding within the NDIS capacity building category for a support worker to teach you the skills needed to cook pasta and other meals.

With your capacity building funding, you can access supports that help to build your skills and confidence performing day-to-day tasks that lead to you achieving your goals. If your goal is to become more independent, it is likely that you could access a support worker to help you learn skills such as cooking, cleaning, public transport and budgeting to pay your household bills.

Another example of a capacity building support is support coordination (coordination of supports). A support coordinator, such as Disability Plan Services, will work with you to build your skills and confidence when managing your own supports and providers. At Disability Plan Services, our local NDIS support coordinators work with you to make the most out of your NDIS plan. We also help you to navigate the NDIS and understand your plan, and take the stress out of organising your supports.

What are the capacity building NDIS support subcategories?

There are 9 subcategories that sit within capacity building. Each is designed to help you become more confident in different areas of your life such as living independently, finding a job, or getting help with your NDIS plan.

The categories and their NDIS definitions are:

You won’t automatically receive funding for all nine categories so it’s important to communicate your needs and goals clearly at your planning meeting so the NDIA can appropriately allocate funding for the areas you need.

What is the difference between Core, Capital and Capacity Building budgets?

Where NDIS capacity building supports help to improve your skills, ability and confidence in tasks, your core and capital budgets work quite differently.

Your core budget is more hands-on support with things such as cooking and cleaning, transport to and from school or funding for consumables. Your core budget is to help with things in your daily life that you are not capable of doing on your own.

Your capital budget is usually for big-ticket items and equipment such as home and vehicle modifications. If you’re unable to get around without a wheelchair but your home has stairs leading up to the front door, you can access available funds in your capital budget to pay for a ramp to be installed at your home.

If you have any other questions about capacity building supports or anything else relating to your plan, give the team at Disability Plan Services a call. Our team of experienced NDIS support coordinators and plan managers can help to answer any question you may have about the NDIS!