When thinking about your future with NDIS funding you need to think about some important decisions for your plan. You do not have to make all these decisions now, but you should start exploring your options. As well as thinking about whether you want the support of a ‘recovery coach’, you’ll also need to think about whether you would prefer ‘support coordination’, and how you’d like to manage the money in your plan.
Check out this video: What do you think about support coordination?
Find the transcript for this video here: Transcript-Support Coordination
A Support Coordinator is an independent person that helps you learn to select and manage your support services and help you to put your plan in place. They will help you think about whether the services you are paying for are useful and can help you make changes. Most people with a psychosocial disability will benefit from a Support Coordinator.
If you experience psychosocial disability you may find it hard to manage the services that the NDIA pays for. If you have little help from family or friends to make decisions, a Support Coordinator can help. Even if you do have support from family and friends, a Support Coordinator can help ensure all the services you have are helpful. This is especially true when you first receive funding. Over time, they can help you develop the skills to self-manage your plan. You may need a Support Coordinator to help you manage your plan if you need help:
In Step 6 of your reimagine.today workbook is a pros and cons list to help decide whether you need a Support Coordinator.
With your plan you may receive funds for supports. There are four options for managing your different budgets and funding. You can also use a combination of options.
The following are options for managing your NDIS funds. They do not actually manage your plan.
You can choose to manage your funds yourself. With this option the NDIS pays you directly. You can self-manage part of your budget if you do not feel confident to manage it all. You can pay someone to teach you how to self-manage as part of your plan. This option will give you more choice and control over the supports you buy.
You will find the transcript for this video here: Transcript-Self-Manage
In this next learning activity, you can explore self-managing your plan further and consider whether it is right for you:
Here is a handy list of what’s involved in self-managing, to take with you:
Self-managing is only one option and you may find one of these other options works better for you:
This is when you choose (or nominate) someone else to manage your funds, such as a carer or family member.
If you choose this option, your budgets are managed by a Plan Management Provider. This is usually an organisation you choose. With this option the National Disability Insurance Agency will pay your Plan Manager directly and they will support you to manage your funds. Many people living with psychosocial disability have said they think this is the best option.
If you choose to have the National Disability Insurance Agency manage your budgets, they will pay your support providers directly.
If you become an NDIS participant, you decide how to manage your funds. You may choose to combine options and self-manage some of your budgets while someone else manages your other budgets. It is about what works best for you. In Step 6 of your reimagine.today workbook you will find a pros and cons list to help you decide. Start thinking about whether you want a Support Coordinator now and whether you want support to manage your budget. When you begin NDIS planning, you can ask for the right supports to help you. If you already have support from an organisation you can also ask for independent advice from someone else.
For some people, they worry about what will happen with their NDIS plan if they become unwell. This printable resource may be useful to support you if you become unwell:
As you explore the 6 steps to accessing the NDIS, you will be guided to activities in the Reimagine Your Life Workbook, where you can complete questions and activities to support your application.
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