Improved Daily Living Skills vs CB Daily Activities?
These are the same thing.
Your NDIS plan and the NDIS support catalogue (NDIS price list) use the term "Improved Daily Living Skills", but the NDIS portal uses CB Daily Activity. Don't ask us why they are different! Luckily they have fixed this up in the new NDIS PACE system that all Participants will be moved to in the next 12 months.
The Improved Daily Living Skills support category includes funding for assessment, training or therapy to help increase your skills, independence and community participation. These services can be delivered in groups or individually.
Improved Daily Living examples in the NDIS include:
Therapy and Assessments (and the travel costs incurred to deliver it) for:
- Occupational Therapy
- Psychology
- Physiotherapy
- Exercise Physiology
- Speech Therapy
- Dietician
- Counselling
- Social Worker
- Developmental Educator
- Audiology
- Podiatry
- Orthoptist
- Therapy Assistant
- Art Therapy
- Music Therapy
This category also includes capacity-building services like:
- Skill Development and training including Public Transport Training
- Assistance with decision making daily planning and budgeting
- Training for parents/carers
- Driving Lessons
- Specialised/wearable technology
Can I use my Improved Daily Living Funding on ANY of these therapies?
If you have an NDIS Pace Plan the answer is YES!
You can use this bucket of funding on ANY type of support that falls within this Support Category (See a list of line items here). For example if you have $10,000 in Improved Daily Living and your goal is to better manage anxiety, you can spend it on Psychology or Counselling, a combination of both or all of it on Occupational Therapy (if this will help)!
Older NDIS plans (not PACE plans) may have stated supports for this category and then you will need to stick to that. For Example: "$10,000 for Psychology to help manage your anxiety"
How much is NDIS Therapy?
See our resource on the cost of NDIS therapy and how they may differ between registered and unregistered providers. We also cover the cost of teletherapy and travel.
Travel
Your therapists can charge you for travel. They can claim for:
- the time spent travelling to each of you: 30 minutes in MMM1-3 areas and 60 minutes in MMM4-5 areas.
- the time spent travelling from you (if you are the last participant), back to their usual place of work.
Note: this travel is only claimable when the provider must pay their worker for the return travel time.
Note: the maximum amount on return travel is 30 minutes in MMM1-3 areas and 60 minutes in MMM4-5 areas.
See how to work out MMM region
Shared Travel Time
Where a worker is travelling to provide services to more than one participant in a ‘region’, then it is reasonable for a provider to apportion all of the travel time (including the return journey where applicable) between the participants.
This apportionment should be agreed with each participant in advance as part of the service agreement.
How will your therapist charge for travel?
Claims for travel must be made separately to the claim for therapy on your invoice.
The hourly rate for travel is the same as the therapy rate, unless otherwise agreed beforehand with the participant.
There is a matching “Provider Travel” line item for each therapy.
Providers should submit an invoice that shows these 2 charges separately as:
- the therapy line item: # hrs @ rate
- the matching travel line item: # units @ rate
How to find the matching Travel line item when billing for therapies
Each therapy has a matching line item for travel. Look for the matching number. For example, here is the matching travel line item for OTs:
- 15_617_0128_1_3 Assessment Recommendation Therapy or Training - Occupational Therapist
- 15_799_0128_1_3 Provider travel - non-labour costs 0128 Therapeutic Supports
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