What am I allowed to buy with my NDIS funds?
It is a well-known fact that the NDIS can be confusing.
NDIS plans can be difficult to read (even if it's not the first NDIS plan you've come across!).
Even when you understand the different sections of your NDIS plan, you still need to know what types of NDIS services and supports you can spend your NDIS funding on.
This resource will help guide you when you are asking yourself, "Can I spend my NDIS funds on that?"
Stated Supports
Let's start with where you don't have any flexibility at all.
A 'stated support' is funding for a specific support. You receive NDIS funding for a specific support and it can only be spent on that expense.
For example, Support Coordination and Plan Management are stated supports. If you have funding for Plan Management or Support Coordination, you cannot spend that money on anything else.
How do you know if is a stated support?
Because it says so in your plan. See this example below.
Capacity Building
This is the section of your plan that includes funding for Capacity Building supports like therapies E.g. Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Psychology etc.
Funding for these therapies may be stated or general.
For example, your NDIS Plan may say '...$5,000 of therapy... '
This means you can choose what type of therapy you buy with this funding. You could use $3,000 for occupational therapy, and the remaining $2,000 for physiotherapy.
It may however say:
'... $3,000 for occupational therapy ...
... $2,000 for physiotherapy ...'
Flexible Supports
The NDIS will describe most of your supports generally. This means you have greater flexibility on what supports you buy with your NDIS funding.
It means you can use your funding in different ways and choose what services and supports best suit you.
The NDIS will fund a range of supports and services which may include education, employment, social participation, independence, living arrangements and health and wellbeing.
It funds supports that will help you to:
- pursue their goals, objectives and aspirations
- increase their independence
- increase community and workplace participation, and
- develop their capacity to actively take part in the community.
Ok, so......
How do I know if I can spend my NDIS funds on that?
When trying to decide whether you can spend your NDIS funding on a particular support or service, it must meet these 2 criteria:
- it must not be a type of support the law says we can’t fund or provide
- it must meet the reasonable and necessary criteria
What are the Reasonable and Necessary criteria?
All NDIS supports need to meet all the reasonable and necessary criteria before they can be b.
If you can answer YES to these questions, the support is reasonable and necessary and likely to be funded if it helps meet your goals.
1. Will the support help you to reach the goals in your NDIS plan?
The support you buy must be linked to the support budgets and goals in your current NDIS plan and related to your disability.
2. Is the support reasonably priced and good value?
The support should represent good value-for-money compared to other options. This means we need to consider the costs and benefits of the support, as well as the costs and benefits of alternative supports. Remember you can choose to pay less and get more support, or pay more for a higher quality support that meets your needs.
3. Can you afford the support within your support budget?
Your NDIS funding needs to last for the length of your plan. Work out your budget early so you know what you can afford. This will help you to track your funding and make decisions about any changes to your supports during your plan.
4. Will the support help you to connect with your community and improve the relationships you have with family and friends?
The support you buy should help you to participate in community activities with friends and other members of your community, by reducing the disability-related barriers that prevent you from participating in things such as social outings, recreation, work, and study.
5. Is the support something that should be funded by the NDIS and not other government services?
In your NDIS plan, the funded supports will not include support that is provided by other government services. For example, dental, health or hospital services, education, housing and public transport are all provided by other government services.
6. Is the support safe? Is it likely to be beneficial?
The support you buy must be legal. It should not cause harm or put yourself or other people at risk.
What can I not spend my NDIS funding on?
The NDIS Act and the rules made under the NDIS Act also tell us which supports will not be funded by the NDIS. A support will not be funded if it:
- is not related to the participant's disability
- duplicates other supports already funded by a different mechanism through the NDIS
- relates to day-to-day living costs that are not related to a participant's support needs, or
- is likely to cause harm to the participant or pose a risk to others.
Sources:
NDIS THERAPY FINDER - FREE SERVICE
LET US FIND YOU A SKILLED SUPPORT WORKER
