Who is this article for?
This article is for you if your child has applied to join the NDIS and their application has been approved.
Developing and getting an NDIS plan is the next step for you and your child.
What is an NDIS plan?
Every NDIS participant gets an NDIS plan. It’s a document that outlines the participant’s supports, goals and funding.
An NDIS plan for your child sets out:
- information about your child
- your child’s goals and the supports that might help work them towards those goals
- information about the funding in your child’s plan, including your child's support budgets
- the start and end date of your child’s plan and the date for the plan’s reassessment.
All children with disability or developmental delay need support to grow, develop and thrive, but each child needs specific things to reach their individual goals. This means that you and your NDIS representative will work together on an NDIS plan that’s tailored to your child’s individual needs and situation.
How does the NDIS planning process work?
The process for developing and getting an NDIS plan has several steps:
- An NDIA planner creates your child’s NDIS plan.
- You have a plan meeting to discuss your child’s plan.
- The NDIA planner approves your child’s plan.
- Your child starts using their plan.
1. An NDIA planner creates your child’s NDIS plan
An NDIA planner will use the information and evidence in your child’s NDIS application to develop your child’s NDIS plan.
The NDIA planner will then invite you to a plan meeting to discuss your child’s NDIS plan. This meeting might be face to face, by video call, or on the phone.
You can find out more about the information-gathering process in our guide to getting NDIS support.
2. You have a plan meeting to discuss your child’s NDIS plan
At the meeting about your child’s NDIS plan, the NDIA planner will talk with you about:
- your child’s living situation, goals and daily supports
- the process for creating your child’s plan
- the NDIS supports included in the plan
- any supports you’ve asked for that aren’t included in the plan
- the management options for the funding in the plan
- the length of the plan
- the process for asking for a review of the plan
- your next plan check-in.
For more information, go to NDIS – How we develop your plan and NDIS – Your plan meeting.
3. The NDIA planner approves your child’s NDIS plan
If you’re happy with your child’s NDIS plan and don’t need any changes to it, your NDIA planner will approve the plan during the plan meeting.
If you think that the plan needs to be changed, your NDIA planner will discuss this with you.
4. Your child starts using their NDIS plan
When your child’s NDIS plan is approved, it will be available in your my NDIS participant portal and app, and you can start using it. This means you can spend your child’s NDIS funding on the NDIS supports in their plan.
Your early childhood partner, local area coordinator or NDIA planner will offer to have a plan implementation meeting with you. This meeting is to help you understand how to use your child’s NDIS plan.
At a plan implementation meeting, you can talk to your NDIS representative about:
- finding and using mainstream and community supports
- finding and using NDIS supports
- managing your child’s NDIS plan
- finding a support coordinator or psychosocial recovery coach (if this is included in the plan)
- learning how to use the my NDIS participant portal
- learning how to manage the funding in your child’s plan
- making service agreements.
For more information, go to NDIS – Using your plan.
Check-ins in the NDIS planning process
Your NDIS representative will check in with you to see how your child’s NDIS plan is going. They’ll ask about whether the supports in your child’s plan are meeting your child’s and family’s needs, and about whether you’re having any problems using your child’s plan.
Your NDIS representative will also check in with you 2-3 months before your child’s plan reassessment date to let you know it’s coming up.
Check-ins can take place face to face or by phone or video call.
For more information, go to NDIS – Your check-in.
You don’t need to wait for a check-if you want to make changes to your child’s plan. If the changes are small, the NDIS can do a plan variation. If the changes are bigger, the NDIS will do a plan reassessment. Your NDIS representative can give you more information about making changes to your child’s plan.