What is Social and Community Participation Funding in my NDIS plan?

This is part 1 in our series of upcoming resources related to Social and Community Participation funding in your NDIS plan and what you can spend it on!

So, What is Social and Community Participation in my NDIS Plan?

Social and Community Participation funding can be found in both the CORE and CAPACITY BUILDING parts of your NDIS Plan:

CORE SUPPORTS

Assistance with Social and Community Participation

Assistance with Social and Community Participation (Support Category 4) is a funded support category that you may find in your NDIS plan, under Core Supports.

Provision of this support can be found in the 2022/23 Support Catalogue

This funding covers the SUPPORT NDIS participants need to meet goals relating to participating in community, social or recreational activities. These activities may be provided in a centre or in a community setting.

All supports funded under this item need to be determined as reasonable and necessary given the participant’s plan goals.

You could use this funding for a Disability Support Worker to support you to travel to and attend a music concert.

This funding also covers support for activities that are either centre-based or out in the community (e.g. to attend a gardening group) at standard or higher intensity rates.

Under Assistance with Social and Community Participation, the NDIS may fund a support worker to support you to:

• attend personal development courses
• join a social group
• take an outing or a holiday
• go on a holiday camp
• visit your local library
• see a movie or a concert
• go to community events, and/or
• join a sporting club.

In the latest NDIS Price List (Support Catalogue), the rate paid for the support worker may vary based on day of week, time of day, the intensity of support required and the ratio of support workers. Remember, if you are self managed you can negotiate what you pay your support worker.

Group Activities

Where the provision of support is to enable a participant to engage in community, social and/or recreational activities in a centre as part of a group activity, rates depend on the staff:participant ratio.

If the participant has challenging behaviour or high medical support needs which require additional assistance, this is referred to as higher intensity support and the cost reflects this additional need.

Providers of group-based supports are not permitted to bill for 'non-face-to-face services' - this would include writing reports, phone calls, emails, research and training of staff etc. This is because the hourly price limits for these supports already include an allowance for non-face-to-face services.

CAPACITY BUILDING SUPPORTS

Increased Social and Community Participation 

Increased Social and Community Participation (Support Category 9) is a funded support category that you may find in your NDIS plan, under Capacity Building Supports.

Provision of these supports can be found in the 2022/23 Support Catalogue.

This category of funding can be used to pay for tuition fees, art classes, sports coaching and similar activities that build skills and independence. 

It can be used to pay for camps, classes and vacation activities that have capacity building components. These may include assistance to establish volunteer arrangements in the community, mentoring, peer support or individual skill development. 

All supports funded under this item need to be determined as reasonable and necessary given the participant’s plan goals.

Examples provided by the NDIS of support that can be funded include:

• Universal recreational activities: A limited number of lessons could be funded to enable a participant to try out an activity and test their capability and interest in pursuing this activity further – such as horse riding, art, dance or singing classes
• Funding to attend a “camp” or groups that build a person’s relationship skills and offer a range of activities and opportunities to explore wider interests.
• Other items or adjustments such as customised tools required because of the person’s disability, could also be funded. An example of this is if you wanted to play all abilities golf and needed to buy an adapted golf club to play. Or you wanted to do a drumming class and needed to buy an adapted glove to allow you to grip the drumsticks.