What is the NDIS?
The NDIS is the National Disability Insurance Scheme, a new way of providing support for people with a disability. The NDIS is designed to empower people with a disability to work towards achievements, to identify the disability related support they need and to choose where they would like to buy their supports.
What is a NDIS Plan?
Your NDIS plan will be all about you. It will include details about your personal goals, needs and aspirations. Your NDIS plan will also include details about the support that you are funded for and how much funding you will receive for these supports.
Who will develop my plan?
You will work with someone allocated by the NDIA (National Disability Insurance Agency) to develop your plan. This might be a NDIS planner, a Local Area Coordinator (LAC) or an Early Childhood Partner. As LAC are from a NDIS partner organisation, your planner will not know you or your circumstances, so it is important to think about what’s important for your plan now, to assist with the planning process.
What is funded in a NDIS Plan?
Depending on your goals and aspirations, the funding in your NDIS plan may include:
• Core Funding – Funding that covers functional support needs for daily living and participation and to access community supports and activities
• Capital Funding – Funding that covers the purchase of one off items such as equipment, technology or modification. An example may be a wheelchair or modification to the car. It also includes funding for Specialist Disability Accommodation.
• Capacity Funding – Funding that supports skill building, training, learning, capacity building, accessing employment, opportunities to join the workforce, improving health and wellbeing and support coordination.
What does reasonable and necessary mean?
• Be identified in your NDIS plan as helping you achieve your goals
• Be related to your disability.
• Help you take part in community or to find paid work or volunteering work.
• Not include day-to-day living costs not related to your disability.
• Represent value for money.
• Be beneficial to you and be proven to work (tried and tested)
• Take into account informal family, carer and community support that is available to you.
• Not more appropriately funded by another area of government such as the health care system, education or transport departments
What is not funded in a NDIS plan?
The NDIS will not replace funding from mainstream services such as education, health, medication or other community services. The NDIS only funds support that are disability specific. For example, if you have a disability such as cerebral palsy and need a wheelchair to get around, this will be funded by the NDIS. However, if you also have asthma and use a Ventolin puffer or nebulizer, this will be paid or by health services.
The NDIS will not pay for the kinds of things all people are expected to purchase like food, rent or buying a car.
