Help to get started
You'll be invited to a plan implementation meeting with your my NDIS contact once your new plan is approved.
A plan implementation meeting is offered with every new plan. It’s our way of helping you make the most of your NDIS plan. You don’t have to attend a plan implementation meeting, but many participants find it useful.
Understand how your NDIS plan works
Your NDIS plan has 4 support budgets
You can have up to 4 support budgets in your NDIS plan. The support budgets are:
- core supports
- capacity building supports
- capital supports
- recurring supports.
Support budgets have support categories
Each support budget is made up of different support categories. Support categories describe the kinds of NDIS supports included in your plan.
Your core supports are to help you with everyday tasks
- help you complete regular tasks like cooking, cleaning and personal care
- help you get involved in social and community activities
- can fund everyday purchases, like continence aids.
You can use your core supports budget to pay support workers to help you with these tasks in a way that helps you work towards your goals.
Your capacity building supports are to help build your independence and skills
Capacity building supports are for:
- therapy supports that help build your life skills, such as behaviour supports, occupational therapy or speech therapy
- employment supports that help you find and keep a job, or learn new skills
- developing your daily living skills, like funding a plan manager or support coordinator to help you arrange your NDIS supports and pay for them.
Your capital supports can pay for high-cost assistive technology
Capital supports are for:
- expensive, one-off purchases like home or vehicle modifications
- equipment or items that help you be more independent, such as mobility aids like wheelchairs
- very high support needs, like specialist disability accommodation.
Your recurring supports are for participants with transport funding.
Recurring supports are for if you can’t travel or use public transport independently. You’ll have a zero-dollar amount against this support category in your plan if you aren’t eligible for transport funding.
Flexible or stated NDIS supports
Your support categories can be flexible or stated.
When a support category is flexible, you can use your total budget amount to buy those NDIS supports in the way that suits you best.
For example, if some of your core supports are flexible.
When a support category is stated – like capital supports and some capacity building supports – you can only use this funding to buy the NDIS supports described in the specific support budget. Examples include behaviour supports and high-cost assistive technology.
Tip: NDIS supports are the supports your plan can pay for.
We can only fund NDIS supports that relate to your disability. The supports that are NDIS supports list describe the services, items and equipment you can use your plan to buy.
Know who is managing your funding
How your plan is managed makes a big difference to how you use your plan.
When we meet with you to approve your plan, we decide how your plan will be managed. Your plan can be:
- self-managed (you pay your invoices and keep records)
- plan-managed (a registered plan manager pays your invoices and keeps records)
- NDIA-managed (we pay your invoices and keep records)
- a mix of these options.
Tip: It’s your responsibility to monitor your plan and funding.
You choose your providers and NDIS supports even if someone else manages paying your invoices. It’s your responsibility to monitor your spending and to only buy the NDIS supports our rules say your plan can pay for.
Find the right people to work with
Choose your providers
When you become a participant, you use your plan to buy NDIS supports from providers.
Providers help you work towards your goals.
A provider can be a person, business or organisation. They can be large companies, charities, small not-for-profits, sole traders, or any other type of business.
The provider you choose to work with is up to you. You can change at any time if you're unhappy with them.
Learn more about working with providers.
Pay for your supports on time
You can see your plan and support budgets when you sign in to either the my NDIS app or the my NDIS portal.
When it’s time to pay your providers, the process is a little different depending on how your plan is managed.
Paying for supports if you self-manage
You'll pay the providers yourself and get a receipt if you're self-managing your funding. You can then use the my NDIS participant portal or app to make a claim to have the money from your NDIS plan budget paid into your nominated bank account.
You need to include the provider’s ABN, a description of the NDIS supports delivered and the receipt in your claim. With these details, you'll usually be reimbursed within 2 business days.
You can learn more about self-managing in the guide to self-management.
Download the guide to self-management:
- Guide to self-management (PDF 1.68 MB)
- Guide to self-management (DOCX 214.57 KB)
Paying for supports with plan-managed funding
You don’t have to worry about paying your providers if your funding is managed by a plan manager. Your plan manager will pay invoices for you.
Paying for supports with NDIA-managed funding
We’ll pay providers for you if your funding is NDIA-managed.
Tool to help with budgets
You can use our budget calculator if you need extra help managing your funding.
Easy Read
Download using your plan in Easy Read:
- Using your plan (PDF 4.16 MB)
- Using your plan (DOCX 66 KB)