Preparing for your NDIS Plan meeting: The people who support you.

But a little preparation will help you feel more confident about going into your meeting and means you won’t have to remember everything on the day.

In the second story in our series on preparing for your plan meeting, we look at the information you need about the people who support you.

But first, in case you missed it, here is the link to the first story in the series – Describing your daily life.

This includes informal supports, which is assistance you receive from people who don’t work for a disability service provider.

When you’re preparing your information, you’ll need to provide details about the informal support networks you have.

This may include:

• Family members who help you at home
• Support from friends, housemates or neighbours
• Any assistance you receive from community groups or services
• Help from government agencies
• Extra help you may get at school, TAFE or work because of your disability.

What information to include.

• The name of the person: Their first name and last name.
• Their relationship to you: You’ll need to be specific here. For example, mother, father, brother, flatmate, son, daughter, a student liaison officer at school or university, or a volunteer community worker that visits.
• Organisation (if they have one): Include the name of the organisation.
• How they are involved in your life including the type of help they give you.

Some tips for completing this information.

1. Include detailed information. Describe exactly what the person does to help you and how often.
2. Include regular and occasional supports. This includes support you receive every day, every week or once a month.
3. Don’t leave anyone out. This helps to paint a clearer picture of your needs.
4. Note any changes since your last NDIS Plan. If someone who used to help you is no longer available or has changed how often they can provide support, be sure to include those details.
5. Think about where there are gaps in your supports. For example, if a family member is helping you to prepare for work but there is no one to help you get the bus to work.

How to record your supports.

It’s helpful to organise your list of supports in a structured way (the ‘Crew’ and ‘Supports’ sections of the Leap in! app are perfectly designed for this). Below are some examples so you can see the type of information the NDIS requires.

Try the Leap in! app.

The free Leap in! app makes it easy to prepare for your NDIS Plan or Plan Review meeting. It has a special section for who is important in your life and includes the details you need to complete for your support crew.

The app breaks all the information into sections and converts it into a Plan Ready Summary that you can print or email, ready for your meeting.

Need help? Call 1300 05 78 78 or chat with us online via our website.