What is funded?

Step 2 – What is funded?

The NDIS does not intend to solve everything. It does not replace ‘mainstream services’.

What can be funded in an NDIS package?

Some of the goals or needs in your approved plan will include NDIS funding. As a participant you may also receive funds to help you implement your plan. This may include support workers.

The main types of funded supports are:

‘capacity building’ – goal-oriented supports for building skills for the future, e.g. with support from a recovery coach or therapeutic support to reduce the impact of distressing thoughts and feelings on your daily functioning
‘core’ –help ease the impact of your mental health on activities of daily living, e.g. a support worker to help you attend your appointments and participate in community
‘capital’ – equipment to support you to participate in community, e.g. an electronic calendar to help you remember appointments.

For examples of these types of supports for people living with psychosocial disability check out the How can the NDIS support me to achieve my hopes and dreams? page.

What is not funded?

Supports not funded by an NDIS package include things that are:

not related to your disability
not considered ‘reasonable’ or ‘necessary’
likely to cause you harm
daily living costs.

Supports you receive from mainstream services are also written into your NDIS plan, to give a complete picture of the supports you receive. These services are not usually funded by the NDIS and are provided by other government systems. These include:

Health
Mental health
Early childhood development
Child protection and family support
School education
Higher education and Vocational Education and Training (VET)
Employment
Housing and community infrastructure
Justice
Aged care

The NDIA works beside mainstream services to improve the lives of people with disability. A set of ‘principles’ define the responsibilities of the NDIS compared to other services. The principles say that your medical treatment for a mental health condition should continue to be provided from where you are currently getting it now (e.g. GP, private providers like psychiatrists and psychologists, public mental health services).

For more information on what will or won’t be funded by the NDIS, see NDIS guidance on ‘whether a support is most appropriately funded by the NDIS’.

Still have questions? Go to Step 2 in your reimagine.today workbook and write down a list of questions to ask your Local Area Coordinator or NDIA representative.