What are Capacity Building Supports in the NDIS?

Capacity Building Supports help build your independence and skills to help you reach your goals.

It is 1 of the 3 sections in your NDIS Plan (See Understanding my NDIS Plan for more details on this)

There are  9 different types of Capacity Building Supports found in your NDIS plan and we are going to explain what each type is and also tell you what kind of supports and services you might use your capacity building funding for.

What can you buy with Capacity Building funding?

Here are the 9 types of NDIS Capacity Building support categories with details about what they are and what kind of services they might include. We have also included their NDIS portal name which is different from your plan.

1. What is Support Coordination?
   NDIS definition: This is a fixed amount for a Support Coordinator to help you use your plan and engage with providers.

   Real-life examples:
   Not everyone gets funding for a support coordinator. A support coordinator will help you find the services you need that will help you reach your goals.
   Their role is to help you build your capacity.  Find out more about what a Support Coordinator does here.

2. What is Improved living arrangements (*CB home living)?
   NDIS definition: Support to help you find and maintain an appropriate place to live.

   Real-life examples:
   This could include paying a support worker to help you find a place to live or small (non-structural) repairs needed to make it liveable, helping you understand and sign a rental agreement or liaising with a landlord, assistance with home inspections etc.

3. What is Increased social & community participation (*CB social community and civic participation)?
   NDIS definition: Development and training to increase your skills so you can participate in community, social and recreational activities.

   Real-life examples:
   This could include any activity or program that helps you build your social skills, allows you to access the community and interact with other people. It could include social or group activities like mine craft groups, group tennis lessons, horse-riding and gymnastics. It may include a community get-together.

   It may include school holiday activities too. This option is very flexible: if you ask yourself "will it help me reach my goal of accessing the community and improving my social skills" and the answer is YES, it's likely to be a good option.

    See THE A LIST HUB to find examples of social options.

4. What is Finding & keeping a job (*CB employment)?
   NDIS: This may include employment-related support, training and assessments that help you find and keep a job, such as the School Leaver Employment Supports (SLES)

   Real-life examples:
   Training to help you build your confidence for job interviews, a support worker to help you look for a job or assessments to see what type of employment is best for you. Also skills development, usually under SLES, working with a developmental educator to build skills needed to find and engage with employers.

5. What is Improved relationships (*CB relationships)?
   NDIS definition: This support will help you develop positive behaviours and interact with others.

   Real-life examples
   Funding for specialist behaviour intervention services, funding to build a behaviour management plan, training in behaviour management for the participant, and skills development.
   Developing skills to help you read body language and social skills, developing social skills.

6. What is Improved health & wellbeing (*CB health and wellbeing)?
   NDIS definition: This may include exercise or diet advice to manage the impact of your disability.  

   Real-life examples
   Exercise physiology session, personal training, dietician. Learning to prepare your own meals, learning to eat more healthy.

7. What is Improved learning (*CB lifelong learning)?
   NDIS definition: Examples include training, advice and help for you to move from school to further education, such as university or TAFE. 

   Real-life examples
   Usually available for students in year 11. Help with applications to TAFE or university. Learning study skills; group assignment & participation skills. Support to attend lectures or classes.

8. What is Improved life choices (*CB choice and control)?
   NDIS definition: This category holds funding to pay for a Plan Manager who helps you manage your plan admin and pays for your services. These funds are provided in addition to your total NDIS funding, so you don't lose by having a plan manager.

   Real-life examples
   Find out more about Plan Management here. 

9. What is Improved daily living (*CB daily activity)?
   NDIS definition: This includes your therapies, therapy assessment and training to help increase your skills, independence and community participation. These services can be delivered in groups or individually. 

   Real-life examples
   Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Psychology, Speech Therapy, Behaviour Supports, Dietician, Exercise Physiology, Podiatry and more. It also includes funding for more alternative therapies like Art Therapy, Music Therapy, Equine Therapy etc.
   See our resource on What is CB Daily Activities in my NDIS plan?

NDIS Capacity Building in the Price Guide/Support Catalogue

In the NDIS support catalogue which holds all the NDIS prices, NDIS Capacity building line items all start with 07_ and run up to those that start with 15_

*Just to make things even more confusing, the Capacity Building Support categories are named differently in your NDIS plan to how they are labelled in the NDIS portal. This will only affect Self-Managed participants.