You’ve finally received that NDIS plan you’ve applied and been waiting for.

Now, what next?

Cross-checks
Firstly, check that your name and plan period is accurate. Then, look through your goals to make sure they encompass the supports you’re interested in using your funds for.

Help and support
Yes, it can be overwhelming, but you need not fear as you may have a Local Area Coordinator (LAC) or Support Coordinator available to go through the plan with you. If LACs are not available in your area, you may have funding on your plan to have a Support Coordinator help you.

Find out what supports and services you may use with your plan, checking that the support funding you absolutely need in order to live healthier and get better is provided and sufficient for you.

Understanding your support funds
There are three main support budgets – Core Supports, Capacity Building Supports and Capital Supports.

• Core Supports help with your everyday activity and your disability-related needs.
• Capacity Building Supports provide services that help you reach your long-term goals and live independently
• Capital Supports provide for funds to acquire equipment or home modification services.

Following this, you can check whether the method of fund management you have chosen is written in each support budget of your plan.

There are essentially three approaches to managing your funds – Self managed, Plan managed and NDIA-Managed.

• Self-managed participants will pay providers directly and claim this amount from NDIS themselves.
• Plan managed participants have a plan manager who deals with making their claims from NDIS and paying their providers
• NDIA-managed participants will have their providers claim their session costs from their funds through the NDIS portal

After you have understood what supports you have and how your funds are managed, your next step is to then choose the service providers that would be able to provide and deliver your services.

Choosing your service provider
NDIS registered providers are those who meet the government’s qualification, guidelines, and policy standards. If you are NDIA-managed, you can only engage these providers to aid with achieving your goals. If you are plan-managed or self-managed, you can use either NDIS registered or non NDIS registered providers.

If you have a Support Coordinator, they can recommend the most suitable provider for you.

Writing up a service agreement
Subsequently, you will write up a service agreement with your provider to agree on how much funds you will be using for their services within your plan period and what services would be delivered.

You will start receiving your NDIS funded supports once you have signed the service agreement with your chosen provider. Your NDIS plan will normally last for 12 months, lest there is a significant need for change in your supports.

Once this has all been actioned, you are now ready to receive treatment and support!

To learn more about how a Life Ready practitioner can help you in your NDIS journey and how to utilise your NDIS plan, phone (08) 6155 0936.