The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a new way of providing support for Australians under the age of 65, with a significant and permanent disability, as well as providing support to their families and carers. The scheme takes a lifetime approach to ensuring that Australians with disability will have the necessary support they need to live an ordinary life. A disability is life-long and you will need to acquire many skills to overcome the barriers you will face. You should aim to become your own NDIS patient advocate and healthcare case manager.
If you are eligible, the NDIS will provide funding for reasonable and necessary supports that are required for you to live your life and reach your goals. Disability Health Support, helps you better understand your plan, connecting you with the right people and support to enable you to live your life!
Resources
Click on the options below to find out more
Learn About the NDIS
NDIS Price Guide
NDIS Support Catalogue
What is meant by disability-related health services?
All Australians have an equal right to access the health system, whether or not they have a disability. The Australian health system provides health services to treat illnesses or health conditions.
Disability-related health support is support you may need to help you manage a health condition directly related to your disability. Or, to help you to be your own advocate to case manage your health or health condition if your disability means you can’t do this on your own. Your funding is there so you can get the reasonable and necessary supports you need.
NDIS funding provides supports to help you to be more independent and pursue your goals. The supports must directly relate to the functional impacts of your disability. This means there needs to be a direct link between the disability-related health support you need and your disability. Where appropriate, funding a support person to provide your disability-related health supports is covered by the NDIS.
All Australians have an equal right to access the health system, whether or not they have a disability. The Australian health system provides health services to treat illnesses or health conditions.
Disability-related health support is support you may need to help you manage a health condition directly related to your disability. Or, to help you to be your own advocate to case manage your health or health condition if your disability means you can’t do this on your own. Your funding is there so you can get the reasonable and necessary supports you need.
NDIS funding provides supports to help you to be more independent and pursue your goals. The supports must directly relate to the functional impacts of your disability. This means there needs to be a direct link between the disability-related health support you need and your disability. Where appropriate, funding a support person to provide your disability-related health supports is covered by the NDIS.
Categories of funding under the NDIS
Introduction
There are three different categories of funding under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Each of these categories fund different activities and services that are related to NDIS participants’ goals.
It might be helpful to have a conversation about the different categories of funding under the NDIS and what these categories of funding can be used to pay for.
Introduction
There are three different categories of funding under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Each of these categories fund different activities and services that are related to NDIS participants’ goals.
It might be helpful to have a conversation about the different categories of funding under the NDIS and what these categories of funding can be used to pay for.
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CORE
SUPPORT PURPOSE CATEGORY SUBCATEGORY IN YOUR PLAN
DOMAIN (IN THE MYPLACE PORTAL)
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CAPITAL
SUPPORT PURPOSE CATEGORY SUBCATEGORY IN YOUR PLAN
DOMAIN (IN THE MYPLACE PORTAL)
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CAPACITY BUILDING
SUPPORT PURPOSE CATEGORY SUBCATEGORY IN YOUR PLAN
DOMAIN (IN THE MYPLACE PORTAL)
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Categories of Support Purpose
There are three ‘support purpose’ categories within the NDIS. These three support purpose categories are presented in the purple column of the table. The three categories of support purpose are:
Core supports are supports that enable NDIS participants to complete activities of daily living and enable participants to work towards their goals and meet their objectives. If your healthcare is a barrier to these objectives, you should work towards overcoming that barrier.
Capital supports are supports that form an investment. Assistive technologies, such as medical equipment and home modifications, are types of capital supports.
Capacity building supports are supports that enable NDIS participants to build their independence and skills. Workplace assistance and community participation activities are examples of capacity building supports.
There are three ‘support purpose’ categories within the NDIS. These three support purpose categories are presented in the purple column of the table. The three categories of support purpose are:
- Core
- Capital
- Capacity building
Core supports are supports that enable NDIS participants to complete activities of daily living and enable participants to work towards their goals and meet their objectives. If your healthcare is a barrier to these objectives, you should work towards overcoming that barrier.
Capital supports are supports that form an investment. Assistive technologies, such as medical equipment and home modifications, are types of capital supports.
Capacity building supports are supports that enable NDIS participants to build their independence and skills. Workplace assistance and community participation activities are examples of capacity building supports.
Need Help with your disability health support and capacity building?
Spending Budgets
NDIS participants are assigned a budget for each of the three categories of support purpose. That is, each NDIS participant is assigned a core budget, a capital budget and a budget for capacity building.
Core support budgets are flexible across the four core subcategories. This means that NDIS participants can chose how to spend their funding for core support. The core support budget must be used for core supports though, it cannot be used to fund capital or capacity building supports. For example, an NDIS participant may have a core support budget of $4000. This NDIS participant could choose to spend $1000 on each of assistance with daily living, transport, consumables, and assistance with social and community participation.
Alternatively, this NDIS participant may decide to spend all $4000 on daily living. While the NDIS participant has complete control over how they distribute their core support funding across the four core support subcategories, they cannot spend any of this $4000 on assistive technology, finding a job or any other capital and capacity building supports.
Capital support budgets are not flexible. NDIS participants will receive a particular amount of money for a particular capital support. This funding must be spent on that support and cannot be used for any other capital supports or any core or capacity building supports. For example, a participant may receive funding to purchase a wheelchair. This money must be used to buy a wheelchair. It cannot be used for home modifications or any other capital support and cannot be used for consumables, improving learning or any other core and capacity building supports.
Capacity building support budgets are somewhat flexible. Participants can choose how to use their capacity building funding within capacity building subcategories but cannot use this money to pay for supports in other capacity building subcategories or core and capital supports. For example, a participant may have been allocated $2000 for improving health and wellbeing. This participant may decide to spend $1000 on exercise physiology and $1000 on dietetics, or they may decide to spend all $2000 on exercise physiology. However, this participant can’t use any of this $2000 for supports within another capacity building subcategory like support coordination and they can’t use this funding for any core or capital supports.
Any service listed as a ‘stated support’ is not flexible. If the item is listed as a stated support it means the funding MUST be spent on that and not anything else in the plan. Stated supports cannot be swapped for something else.
Planning your support with Disability Health Support
You may know what you want, you may need some guidance. Our role is to work alongside you to plan your support and help you achieve your goals. We help you to understand your plan and connect you with the people and support that will enable you to live the life you choose.
Preparing for your plan
If you haven’t received your NDIS funding yet, but have started thinking about your planning meeting with the NDIA, talk to us. We can chat with you about some of the things you might like to think about when working out what supports you need and what goals are important to you. Familiarising yourself with the NDIS language and knowing exactly what to ask in your planning meeting is really important, and we help you prepare for this.
Reviewing your plan
Time for your plan to be reviewed? We can help you through this process and assist with preparing for your review meeting. It is important that you are clear about what support you want to continue with, change or add to your plan.
NDIS participants are assigned a budget for each of the three categories of support purpose. That is, each NDIS participant is assigned a core budget, a capital budget and a budget for capacity building.
Core support budgets are flexible across the four core subcategories. This means that NDIS participants can chose how to spend their funding for core support. The core support budget must be used for core supports though, it cannot be used to fund capital or capacity building supports. For example, an NDIS participant may have a core support budget of $4000. This NDIS participant could choose to spend $1000 on each of assistance with daily living, transport, consumables, and assistance with social and community participation.
Alternatively, this NDIS participant may decide to spend all $4000 on daily living. While the NDIS participant has complete control over how they distribute their core support funding across the four core support subcategories, they cannot spend any of this $4000 on assistive technology, finding a job or any other capital and capacity building supports.
Capital support budgets are not flexible. NDIS participants will receive a particular amount of money for a particular capital support. This funding must be spent on that support and cannot be used for any other capital supports or any core or capacity building supports. For example, a participant may receive funding to purchase a wheelchair. This money must be used to buy a wheelchair. It cannot be used for home modifications or any other capital support and cannot be used for consumables, improving learning or any other core and capacity building supports.
Capacity building support budgets are somewhat flexible. Participants can choose how to use their capacity building funding within capacity building subcategories but cannot use this money to pay for supports in other capacity building subcategories or core and capital supports. For example, a participant may have been allocated $2000 for improving health and wellbeing. This participant may decide to spend $1000 on exercise physiology and $1000 on dietetics, or they may decide to spend all $2000 on exercise physiology. However, this participant can’t use any of this $2000 for supports within another capacity building subcategory like support coordination and they can’t use this funding for any core or capital supports.
Any service listed as a ‘stated support’ is not flexible. If the item is listed as a stated support it means the funding MUST be spent on that and not anything else in the plan. Stated supports cannot be swapped for something else.
Planning your support with Disability Health Support
You may know what you want, you may need some guidance. Our role is to work alongside you to plan your support and help you achieve your goals. We help you to understand your plan and connect you with the people and support that will enable you to live the life you choose.
Preparing for your plan
If you haven’t received your NDIS funding yet, but have started thinking about your planning meeting with the NDIA, talk to us. We can chat with you about some of the things you might like to think about when working out what supports you need and what goals are important to you. Familiarising yourself with the NDIS language and knowing exactly what to ask in your planning meeting is really important, and we help you prepare for this.
Reviewing your plan
Time for your plan to be reviewed? We can help you through this process and assist with preparing for your review meeting. It is important that you are clear about what support you want to continue with, change or add to your plan.
patient advocate NDIS patient advocate NDIS patient advocate NDIS patient advocate NDIS
