How your NDIS plan affects your funding – NDIS Support Categories

July 19, 2021

If you’ve spent any time researching the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), you’ve likely come across a lot of terminology that may sound like a foreign language to you. 

Although the NDIS does have a glossary, it contains more than fifty terms, many of which likely don’t apply to you.

One of the terms you’re likely to hear quite often is about your plan or NDIS plan. 

In this blog, we’ll cover what an NDIS plan is and how it ultimately affects the funding you may be eligible to receive.

What is an NDIS plan

An NDIS plan is a document that contains a collective of approved information about you, your disability, your goals and the supports you require to achieve your goals.

Because everyone is unique and their disability impacts their lives differently, your plan will not be the same as that of anyone else.

It’s this very reason that makes the NDIS so important. Everyone’s goals must be carefully created with a representative from the NDIS to ensure that your individual plan suits your needs.

The goals in your plan are broken down into two sections – a section for how you will achieve your goals and another for how you will be supported. 

The goals in your plan will also be matched up with the three different NDIS support categories: Core, Capital and NDIS capacity building supports.   

If you’re wondering, “What will the NDIS fund”, the answer to this question will differ depending on your personal situation, your disability and your goals.

Your goals

As mentioned above, your allocated funding is a direct result of a few factors, one of which being your goals. 

Goals are milestones that you want to work towards with support from the NDIS and other support providers, such as Disability Plan Services.

It’s important that these reflect not only what you need, but also what you want as this will directly impact the support you receive in your day-to-day life.

There are a number of ‘goal domains’ which are groups of similar aspirations. By grouping these into these domains or categories, the NDIS can determine what supports you need to reach your goals.

Some goal domains include: Choice and control over my life, Daily life, Health and Wellbeing, Learning, Relationships, Social and Community activities, Where I live, and Work.

When deciding on your what goals you want to set, your NDIA representative will ask you questions about your circumstances and what you want to achieve. 

On average, NDIS participants set around four goals for each plan with an average tenure of just under 20 months, however it’s best to set goals that can be achieved across a range of different time periods. 

When it comes time to review your plan, which usually happens every 12 to 24 months, you will have the opportunity to amend your plan goals and set new ones.

Types of funding

Depending on the agreed information within your plan and your goals, you may be eligible to receive funding for supports within the following NDIS support categories:

• Assistance with Daily Life such as assistance with self-care routines in the evening
• Transport if you are unable to use public transport because of your disability
• Consumables such as purchasing continence aids
• Assistance with Social & Community Participation to engage in recreational activities
• Assistive Technology including mobility items
• Home Modifications such as rails in the bathroom
• Coordination of Supports to implement your plan with the help of service providers
• Improved Living Arrangements including support to obtain appropriate accommodation
• Increased Social and Community Participation such as life skills development and training to use public transport, develop social and community engagement skills
• Finding and Keeping a Job including assessment and counselling
• Improved Relationships such as behavioural support strategies to reduce behaviours of concern
• Improved Health and Wellbeing such as exercise and diet advice
• Improved Learning including assistance moving school or into further education
• Improved Life Choices including NDIS plan management options
• Improved Daily Living such as therapy to improve your capacity 

The team at Disability Plan Services are NDIS experts that have helped hundreds of individuals and their families to understand their plan and achieve their goals. 

We are here to help you at any stage of your NDIS plan journey. We can assist you with anything from understanding aspects of your NDIS plan, to ensuring that you are getting all the funding and supports you need.  

If you have any questions about your plan, are struggling to understand NDIS support categories or funding terms, contact one of our friendly team members today.