How to maximise your funds with NDIS plan management

June 23, 2020

How to maximise your funds with NDIS plan management

When it comes to spending your allocated plan funds effectively, it can get a little overwhelming. Each time your plan ends and a new plan begins, your NDIS funds are also reset and any unspent funds are lost.

Every year, participants who are self-managing an NDIS plan have thousands of dollars’ worth of unspent funds lost when their plans end. There are many reasons why you may underspend or overspend your plan funds so it’s important to stay on top of your NDIS financial plan management.

Although there are any number of reasons why you may accidentally underspend or overspend your NDIS funds, we’ll cover the most common events and how you can avoid them.

Not understanding your plan

If you’re new to the NDIS or you’re just trying to wrap your head around how it all works, this will help. If you’re self-managing your plan, you must keep track of all receipts, submit online forms in the NDIS portal to pay service providers and track your budget. This can be complicated stuff!

Another option is choosing for the NDIA to manage your plan for you, also known as agency-managed. This option restricts you to choosing only registered providers that aren’t always the most cost-effective or preferred way of utilising your funding.

No matter how you’re currently managing your plan, if you don’t properly understand it then chances are you’re likely to be overspending or underspending!

The solution: Turn to expert NDIS plan management for support! Plan managers understand the NDIS and will take the time to understand you, your needs and how to best utilise your plan funds.

A plan manager such as Disability Plan Services will allow you to remain in control of who you work with but also save you having to worry about the paperwork or confusing NDIS terminology. We will help you to understand your plan and ensure your plan funds are being well spent.

Not finding the right service providers

Knowing where to look and what you should be looking for when it comes to seeking service providers to deliver the supports within your plan can be confusing, and if this sounds like you, don’t worry because you’re not alone!

There are many factors to consider when choosing service providers to deliver supports such as which areas they cover, the services they deliver, if they charge a fair price and how comfortable you feel around them.

It is normal to want to take it slow when choosing service providers. It’s important to make sure you’re working with people you trust and that have your best interests at heart. But this can often take some time, which means time spent not utilising your available funds.

All you need to do is Google “NDIS service provider near me” and you’re bound to get thousands of results. So how can you be sure you’re choosing the right ones?

The solution: Get a trustworthy, third-party provider to help connect you with the best of the bunch. The job of a support coordinator is to help find and connect you with suitable service providers.

Support coordinators like at Disability Plan Services work with a wide range of service providers and understand what to look for when trying to find the perfect options for their clients. They can even negotiate better rates on your behalf and check over service agreements to make sure everything is up to scratch and you’re getting a great service.

Not keeping track of your budget

This is quite common for people who choose to self-manage their NDIS funds. Organising your own supports, approving invoices and submitting them for payment all while keeping track of your available funds to ensure you don’t overspend is very difficult.

The solution: Let a plan manager take care of the difficult financial tasks for you! NDIS plan management is designed so that you can focus on living your life while an independent, third-party takes care of the administration work for you.

The best part about plan management is that you don’t have to pay a thing for it. When you request for NDIS plan management at your plan review, funds will be included in your plan. It’s that easy!

The plan management team at Disability Plan Services go above and beyond just paying invoices and record-keeping. We take the time to understand your needs and wants, and work with you to provide recommendations on how to best utilise your plan funds.

We are passionate about helping people to understand their plans and feel empowered to make decisions. We build relationships based on trust and promise to always put your needs first.

To learn how you can take control of your NDIS plan, get in touch with the team at Disability Plan Services or visit our new shopfront at Capalaba Central Shopping Centre.