Managing NDIS funding: what does this mean?

When you’re developing your child’s NDIS plan, you’ll be asked how you want to manage NDIS funding for your child.

Managing NDIS funding means:

• getting funding
• buying NDIS supports as described in your child’s plan
• keeping track of what you buy.

Options for managing NDIS funding

There are 3 options for managing your child’s NDIS funding:

• self-managed
• plan-managed
• NDIA-managed.

You can choose one of these options or a mix of options. For example, you can choose to self-manage one area of your child’s funding and ask for another area to be plan-managed.

When you’re deciding on options, you could think about the following things:

• How much independence and flexibility do you want in managing your child’s NDIS funding?
• How much administrative work are you comfortable with?
• How much funding is in your child’s NDIS plan?
• How many NDIS providers will your child be seeing?
• Will you be using registered NDIS providers?
• How confident do you feel about managing money?

You can change the way you manage your child’s NDIS plan by asking for this in your child’s plan reassessment. Or you can make this change at any time by asking for a plan variation.

Self-managed NDIS funding

When you self-manage your child’s NDIS funding, you’re responsible for:

• buying NDIS supports for your child’s NDIS plan
• spending funding in the way your child’s plan describes
• making agreements with NDIS providers about what supports they’ll provide, how they’ll provide them, and how you’ll pay for them
• managing the cost of supports so that they give you value for money, are within your plan budget and last for the length of your child’s plan
• paying NDIS providers
• keeping invoices and receipts to show what you’ve spent
• meeting your obligations as an employer if you employ staff directly
• cooperating with payment reviews by the NDIA
• advising the NDIA of any changes that might mean you can’t self-manage anymore.

If you choose the self-managed option for your child’s NDIS funding, you can:

• manage your child’s funding yourself
• nominate someone like a family member or friend to self-manage on your behalf
• pay a bookkeeper to self-manage your child’s funding.

Benefits of self-managed NDIS funding

You can:

• choose the NDIS supports you want to buy
• use both registered and unregistered NDIS providers
• negotiate the costs of your supports – NDIS providers can charge more or less than the NDIS rate
• employ support workers directly
• explore various options to find the best supports for your child.

Disadvantages of self-managed NDIS funding

You:

• are responsible for understanding your child’s NDIS plan, finding and organising supports, and dealing with employment regulations
• might have to do a lot of administrative work, like keeping records of how you’ve used your child’s funding and using the NDIS portal.

Self-managed NDIS funding involves time and effort. You’ll need to decide whether it’s right for your family. You’ll be asked questions to check your suitability, including questions about your ability to self-manage and your financial history.

With self-managed NDIS funding, you can choose from a wider range of NDIS supports. This is because you can use both registered and unregistered NDIS providers. This might be important if your child uses the NDIS and you live in a rural or remote area with fewer services. Or it might be important if you want more choice – for example, because you want to choose an LGBTQ+ friendly NDIS provider.

Plan-managed NDIS funding

A plan manager can manage some of or all your child’s NDIS funding. The plan manager can:

• pay NDIS providers for you
• help you keep track of your child’s funding
• take care of financial reporting.

They can also help you build your plan management skills and learn how to self-manage your child’s plan.

You can choose your own plan manager. For example, you could choose an accountant or a plan management organisation. All plan managers must be registered with the NDIS.

The cost of plan management is included in your child’s NDIS plan if you choose this option.

Benefits of plan-managed NDIS funding

You:

• can use both registered and unregistered NDIS providers
• can negotiate pricing up to the maximum NDIS rate
• don’t need to pay NDIS providers yourself or keep records
• don’t need to be responsible for bookkeeping and spending records.

Disadvantages of plan-managed NDIS funds

You:

• can pay NDIS providers only up to the maximum NDIS rate
• are responsible for finding and organising NDIS supports
• need to deal with employment regulations.

NDIA-managed NDIS funding

The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) can manage your child’s NDIS funding.

Here’s how it works if the NDIA manages your child’s funding:

• You choose registered NDIS providers using the NDIS provider finder, and you organise supports directly with them.
• NDIS providers submit payment requests through the NDIS portal, and the NDIA manages your bookkeeping and spending records.

Benefits of NDIA-managed NDIS funds

You don’t need to:

• pay NDIS providers yourself
• keep records
• show bookkeeping and spending records.

Disadvantages of NDIA-managed NDIS funds

You can use only registered NDIS providers. This might be a problem if you live in a rural or remote area with a limited choice of NDIS providers or if you want to use unregistered providers.

Note: sometimes NDIA-managing funds is called ‘Agency-managing’.