What does it do; why is it so special?
Think about it. The NDIS is the most significant system for providing support for Australians with a disability that there has ever been.
Under the old system, you would likely have been registered with Disability Services and received an annual funding package. In our case, that sum didn’t cover all we required. We paid the shortfall for our son’s services from his pension or from a ‘bucket of funding’ held by the service provider. This old system was inequitable.
The NDIS provides people with individualised support and the flexibility to manage their lives with the help of workers and the services of the participant’s choice. People are better able to achieve their goals and enjoy as ordinary a life as possible than they were before.
Why is it called an insurance scheme?
The NDIS is not welfare. It is social insurance that takes a lifetime approach to support, investing in people with disability early in their lives to improve their outcomes later in life.
Are you eligible to apply for the NDIS?
You will find all application information at the following URL. You can seek help with the application process from Early Childhood Early Intervention Partners ECEIP, Local Area Coordinators LAC and Support Coordinators.
Under the NDIS, you may claim for what is Reasonable and Necessary.
Reasonable and necessary means that the support or service must relate directly to the participant’s disability. It will assist the person to live an ‘ordinary’ life.
Setting goals—for the first twelve months:
It’s easier than you think. Just consider what you want to achieve first. Here are some ideas.
Daily living skills
Showering without a support worker; making a meal, doing grocery shopping.
Transport training
Travelling to the workplace or to a service without help.
Social and community participation
Going to the football or local events.
An example of what is NOT reasonable and necessary is the cost of entry for a participant and a paid support worker to recreational events. Many venues will permit support workers to attend at no cost, as long as the participant they are supporting has a Companion Card. The participant pays for his/her own entry into the event.
It’s that simple. Now think about long-term goals. What can a participant on the NDIS work towards?
A worker for parts of the day instead of all day.
Mealtimes, ablutions, household tasks, to establish a routine (for however long it takes.)
Moving out of home with support.
Eventually, a participant may only require support in the home for mealtimes and ablutions.
Being supported in a job.
When the participant meets and maintains expectations in the workplace, the support worker can often commit to other duties.
A worker with a vehicle.
Initially, a participant may need transporting from home to service or to the workplace. Simultaneously, he/she may also receive transport training as part of the daily goals.
You can access the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits
The website shows all that you can access. You should acquaint yourself with it–it looks overwhelming, but it’s wise to be acquainted with it.
Some things are accessible to you if you self-manage that are not available to you if you are plan or agency managed.
Look at NDIS management comparisons. NDIS Agency Plan Management is limiting. Or you can engage a Plan Manager in an independent business to submit your invoices to NDIS and pay your service providers. Paying for this comes out of the participant’s funding and it saves you the worry of maintaining the accounts. We manage our son’s funding ourselves because self-managing gives us the flexibility and choice to decide which services to engage to meet his plan goals.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response
The Australian Government enacted the Coronavirus Emergency Response Plan. NDIS participants were accommodated during this period of social distancing. Ring NDIS on 1800 800 110 when you require help.
Our funding ran out two months before it should have because we went from one worker to a three-participant ratio to one on one after COVID. We successfully reviewed and acquired an increase in funding to cover this period of social distancing.