NDIS FAQs.
The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) is an independent agency whose role is to implement the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
The NDIS funds reasonable and necessary support and equipment that a person with disability needs. The funding supports you to pursue your goals and aspirations; increase your independence; increase your social and economic participation and to develop your capacity to take part in the community.
NDIS funding doesn’t cover general everyday living expenses that people without disability would be required to pay, such as train travel, rent, groceries, mobile phone or movie tickets.
Funding under the NDIS is individualised, based on goals and outcomes. Your plan is developed following a planning meeting and can be reviewed as your goals change.
No. The value of your assets are not taken into account when determining eligibility. NDIS funding does not impact income support such as the Disability Support Pension or Carer Allowance.
In order to be considered reasonable and necessary, a support must,
- be related to your disability
- represent value for money
- be likely to be effective and beneficial
- take into account any informal supports given to you by your family, friends, support crew (including support workers, support networks and the community)
They can’t include any day-to-day living costs that aren’t related to your disability support needs.
What types of supports are funded?
Your NDIS plan will be individual and specific to you and your life.
The types of supports that the NDIS may fund include:
- daily personal activities
- transport to enable participation in community, social, economic and daily life activities
- workplace help to allow you to successfully get or keep employment in the open or supported labour market
- therapeutic supports including behaviour support
- help with household tasks to allow you to maintain your home environment
- help by skilled personnel in aids or equipment assessment, set up and training
- home modification design and construction
- mobility equipment
- vehicle modifications.
Planning meetings can either be conducted by a NDIA Planner or through a Local Area Coordinator (LAC). A LAC can be a NDIS staff member or they can be a team member of a not-for-profit organisation who is acting on behalf of the NDIA.
What will my meeting be like?
You can request a face-to-face meeting planning meeting when the NDIS planner calls you.
When someone from the NDIS calls you, ask them what the purpose of the phone call is: ask whether it’s to check your eligibility or whether it’s for your NDIA Planning meeting.
See our Plan Meeting Checklist here for more information on what you can request.
Yes. You can ask a family member, close friend, your partner or a person who supports you (someone you know and can trust)
It’s not necessary to include the cost of the item in your plan.
However, you can familiarise yourself with the NDIS Price Guide here.
We recommend to think about two short term and one long term goal to be included in your first plan (although there is no limit to the number of goals you can have).
It may be that one of your short term goals is to retain your current level of supports.
A good place to start is to think about what you’d like to achieve in the next year or two. This can be something simple e.g. ‘learning to cook for myself’ or to make new friends’. Longer term goals could be ‘finding a job that’s right for me’ or learn to live more independently’.
So often we hear from our members and crew, ‘that you don’t know what you don’t know’. If you need some inspiration, visit the Goal Tracker section of the Leap in! planning app for a range of goals that are tailored to your individual profile.
Generally, no.
You can request a review of your plan with the NDIA (this must be made within three months of receiving your plan).
You can make the request by
- Calling the NDIA on 1800 800 110
- Writing to the CEO of the NDIA at GPO Box 700, Canberra ACT 2601
- Emailing to a request to enquiries@ndis.gov.au
- Visiting an NDIS office or
- Completing the application for review of a decision form on the NDIS myplace participant portal.
Your review will be conducted by an NDIA staff member who was not involved in the original decision making. They will reconsider the facts, law and policy aspects of the original plan and determine if was accurate. They are also able to consider any new information available.
Any unspent funds are returned to the NDIA.
If you are over 65 at the time your area rolls out the NDIS, you will transition into the aged care system.
If you are currently receiving funding under the NDIS and you turn 65, you can either choose to remain with the NDIS or you can transition to the aged care system.
I have a new NDIS Plan. Do I need to sign a new service agreement with Leap in!?
When you join Leap in! you agree to our Terms and Conditions (service agreement) and accept that it will remain in place until one or both parties notify each other of their intention to terminate the agreement.
This means Leap in! will continue to act as your Plan Manager across one or more plans until we are asked by you to stop.
When/if your next NDIS Plan is ready, we automatically place a new service booking on it and continue to provide your plan management service without interruption – you don’t need to sign or accept a new agreement each time.
If you do not wish us to continue to support you on future Plans, please write to us at crew@leapin.com.au or phone us on 1300 05 7878 before your new plan commences.
This could mean several things:
- In-kind support. This doesn’t mean that you only have $1 for the support, just that the cost of the support is already covered.
- Quote pending – which means that the NDIS does not know how much the support will cost until more information is provided.
- This Core supports budget is available or ‘unlocked’, so you access supports in this category flexibly with your total allocated Core budget.
Questions we get asked the most on supports and providers.
Both fall under the Short term accommodation category of the NDIS Core supports budget. This category covers short term accommodation, including respite, and covers the cost of your care in another place for up to 14 days at a time. You might have a short stay with other people, or by yourself. It’s often funded when your usual carers aren’t available, or for you to try new things.
Generally not. The NDIS will only pay direct family members to provide supports in exceptional circumstances. For example, if you are in a remote area with no services available to you.
If you have questions about this or would like to seek approval for a special circumstance, we recommend that you contact your LAC or NDIS Planner to discuss.
Our plan managers here at Leap in! HQ provide great advice and connections for local providers in your area or you can take a look at our new Provider Network Directory to find the right organisation to suit your needs.
Service agreements are not required but are highly recommended. They are an important aspect of implementing your NDIS Plan because they set out how and when you receive supports from a service provider.
Read our previous story to find out more about The importance of service agreements.
Yes! NDIS participants are able to become service providers. Learn more by following this URL https://www.ndis.gov.au/providers/becoming-ndis-provider
Yes you can! For example, if you have been allocated 30 hours of individual support you could split the allocation among multiple providers.
No, you don’t have to share your plan or the funding information. Remember, your plan is yours and you can choose who you share the details of your plan with.
Visit the NDIS ‘Sharing your plan’ page for more information.
While you don’t have to share your information, you do need to make sure you have sufficient funds available for all of the goods and services you agree to purchase.
The Leap in! app is a great tool to help you to keep track of how you are spending your budgets.
The Leap in! app is available in the Apple App Store, on Google Play and for web. If you have any questions about how to use the app to prepare for your NDIS plan meeting or plan reassessment, contact the Leap in! Crew on 1300 05 78 78.
The out-of-pocket expenses that would be incurred if you went on a holiday, such as transportation (like car travel, flights or rail), meals, accommodation and sightseeing are not covered by the NDIS.
The important thing to understand is that how your plan is managed can affect the providers you can use and how you can claim. If you choose plan management or self-management, you can use registered or non-registered providers. Read our previous article for more information on Registered and unregistered providers.