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If you’re eligible for NDIS funding or you’re already been receiving payments, you may be considering self-management. There are a huge range of benefits to NDIS self-management — for example, you have more control, independence and flexibility over arranging and paying for your supports.
It also allows you to decide what you want to purchase with your funds to best suit your needs and meet your NDIS plan goals.
While there are many benefits to NDIS self-management, it is also important to understand your responsibilities and what you can realistically purchase with your NDIS funds. In this article, we take a deeper dive into NDIS self-management and what you need to know before taking on the responsibility yourself.
The pros and cons of NDIS self-management
When it comes to self-managed NDIS, we believe the pros outweigh the cons. Self-management gives you so much more control and independence, allowing you to set your own path and choose the supports required to reach your goals.
Some of the advantages include:
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- The choice to decide what supports you need based on what is included in your plan, who provides the support and how they are delivered.
- The flexibility to use any provider you think will help you achieve your goals.
- The capacity to employ or contract staff directly, or have someone employ staff for you.
- The ability to negotiate the costs of your supports so you can use additional savings to buy more or better supports.
- Control over your NDIS fundings so you can manage your own budget for the duration of your NDIS plan.
Of course, all things have their pros and cons. If you choose to self-manage, you will need to take full responsibility for your NDIS funding.
This means ensuring that the people providing your supports are paid correctly and on time, keeping track of your budget to ensure you don’t overspend before the year is over, and documenting your receipts to show the NDIA how you have been spending your funds.
With the right skill set and a commitment to being thorough with record-keeping, you can easily and successfully manage your own NDIS funding and plan. If you need some more assistance and advice, we recommend getting in touch with your Local Area Coordinator (LAC) or NDIA planner.
You might also be able to get some insights from an NDIS self-management peer support group.
Other responsibilities you need to be prepared for
Before committing to NDIS self-management, it’s important to understand just how much you will be responsible for. Here’s a quick rundown of what will be required on an ongoing basis:
- Sourcing and purchasing the supports that are linked to the goals in your NDIS plan.
- Managing your funding so the cost of your supports provide value for money and can be covered by your budget.
- Claiming and paying for supports by making payment requests and paying on time.
- Making agreements with your providers about the supports you require, how they will be delivered, how they will be paid for and when they will be paid for.
- Keeping invoices and receipts to show what you bought with your NDIS funding and proof that you have paid for them.
- Showing how you have used your NDIS funding to pursue your goals at your NDIS plan review.
- Advising the NDIA if there are any changes to your circumstances that may impact your ability to self-manage your funds.
- Meeting your obligations as an “employer” if you choose to employ staff directly, and ensure you pay them on time.
- Taking part in payment audits where you will need to provide invoices, receipts and evidence to show how you have spent your funds.