We understand that the lives of people with disabilities differ from ours and that they require additional support to live freely and confidently. Every country has a group that offers various services to people with disabilities.
NDIS is an acronym that stands for National Disability Insurance Scheme. It is an organisation that offers assistance to Australians with disabilities. The NDIS has many advantages for people with disabilities because it allows them to live a confident and independent life.
With NDIS plan management, you have three primary options for managing your funding. Finding the best option for you, on the other hand, may take some time. In their NDIS planning meeting, each NDIS participant has the choice of choosing the plan management option. There are three primary management alternatives:
- Self-managed
- Plan managed
- Agency managed
This article will go into detail about plan management and how it interacts with the participant’s plan. So, let’s get started talking about what is NDIS plan management and how it works.
How Does NDIS Plan Management Work?
Plan management is one of the management possibilities that are available in the NDIS plan for managing your funding. NDIS plan management allows you to use your NDIS budget with the assistance of a plan manager who handles your funds, keeps an eye on your budget, and pays your bills. A plan manager can also make NDIS portal claims on your behalf.
Anyone with an NDIS plan can seek plan management, and there are no hidden costs. When you choose NDIS plan management, the NDIS will contribute additional funds to pay your NDIS plan manager.
Plan management enables you to carry out the following tasks:
- Negotiate prices to fit your budget.
- Choose and work with service providers who are a good fit for your needs.
- When someone else handles your administrative tasks, you gain more experience, options, and control.
When your funding is managed by a plan, you are not limited to receiving NDIS support from only registered NDIS providers. If you select plan management, you can also use non-registered service providers. A significant advantage of plan management is that it will not cost you more money because the NDIS will handle it. NDIS funds plan management to have somebody else do your paperwork and handle your funding.
What Is the Role of a Plan Manager?
An NDIS plan manager assists and is responsible for many things for people with disabilities. A plan manager will typically:
- Provides you with a list of NDIS support providers in your area.
- Manage and keep track of your bills and invoices.
- Offer you funding updates.
- Assist you in keeping track of your funding and budget.
- Pay your providers on your behalf.
Choosing the ideal plan manager can significantly enhance the efficiency of your NDIS plan and help you build strong relationships with other knowledgeable professionals.
Different Types of Plan Management
Let’s break down each type of plan management:
Agency-Managed
The National Disability Insurance Agency is in charge of agency-managed plans. The vast majority of NDIS plans are managed in this manner. The NDIA is accountable for paying providers for any tools or services you reserve with them if your plan is organisation-managed. Service providers can bill the NDIS directly. If you have support coordination funding in your plan, you can get assistance from an NDIA support coordinator or a third-party local area coordinator.
The main advantage of this is that you no longer have to track spending and manage your plan’s finances, allowing you to focus on organising and receiving services. The main disadvantage of this option is that it is less adaptable. You can only book services from NDIS-registered providers, and you must seek NDIA approval for all purchases, such as small purchases made under your consumables budget.
Self-Managed
Self-managed is an option if you want complete control over your plan. If you are comfortable organising your services, handling finances, and accomplishing complex paperwork, this may be the path to take. You are directly accountable for the funds in your plan when you self-manage, and you must manage invoices, receipts, and service bookings yourself.
The following are some advantages of this approach:
- You have direct access to certain aspects of your plan. For example, you can buy items that fall under your budget and then get reimbursement from the NDIA.
- You can reserve services with providers who are not NDIS-registered.
The following are some downsides of this approach:
- You are accountable for controlling costs, maintaining records, and ensuring that the funding in your plan is used correctly.
- You may need to arrange service contracts with your providers.
Plan Managed
The third choice is to have a third party, known as a “plan manager,” handle your plan on your behalf. This might be an accountant or one of the many plan management firms that have sprung up since the NDIS’s inception.
Instead of meeting with your support coordinator or local area coordinator to talk about services as in an agency-managed plan, you confront the plan manager. The plan-managed option offers many of the benefits of the self-managed option while reducing your administrative burden. Nevertheless, you are still partly accountable for ensuring that funds are spent properly.
Your plan manager will charge you a fee for their services, but you may be able to receive funding for plan management through your plan.
