Here is an overview of what to expect for new participants during the NDIS plan preparation and assessment phase. These guidelines are dynamic and will be regularly updated to reflect any changes to procedures or the NDIS model.

There are five steps involved in the NDIS planning process. These steps are designed to place participants and their goals and aspirations at the centre of the planning process. This allows participants greater choice and control over their own lives. 

Things that are discussed would include:

• Their needs and their goals for eg they need help to strengthen leg muscles so they can start moving independently 
• Arrange a meeting with their NDIS planner
• Map out their plan and explore support management strategies
• Put their plan into action
• Assess and revise their plan

For young people and children who have capacity to participate, they should also have direct input into the planning steps.

How will the planning meeting be arranged?

A planner is a person representing the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) who helps participants plan for what they need from the NDIS to attain their goals. The NDIS contact will book an appointment for a plan meeting with the participant and their family or carer.

Who can attend the planning meeting?

The participant can bring along a family member, friend, advocate or anyone else that is relevant to your meeting. 

For children, the child's representative should invite professionals who can offer valuable input in crafting an NDIS plan. If the child protection worker serves as the child's representative, their presence at the planning meeting is mandatory. Parents or carers of a child or young person may request the attendance of their child protection caseworker at the planning session to provide insights into the support needs of the child. Whenever feasible, the child or young person should also be present, alongside any caregivers. Additionally, if available, a copy of the child or young person's health management plan should be obtained.

How do I need to prepare for the NDIS planning meeting?

An NDIS plan comprises two components:

1. The participant's statement of goals and aspirations, guided by the participant or, where applicable, their child representative. This section outlines the participant's objectives and aspirations, along with the environmental and personal context of their living situation.

2. A statement of participant support, detailing the overall support provisions as well as any reasonable and necessary supports funded under the NDIS. This includes the allocated budget for individualised support, the plan review date mandated by the NDIA, support funding management, and other plan-related aspects.

The following steps need to be undertaken to prepare for the planning meeting:

1. Gather all the information, including any evidence of day to day support needs, that needs to be taken to the meeting.
2. Consider aids/equipment and modifications for the next plan period (usually 12 months).
3. Consider the supports currently needed including day-to-day carer activities.
4. Help draft their participant statement.
5. Understand the support coordination and plan management options available.

A pre-planning meeting with key people (ie participants and their carers and any support coordinator) is recommended prior to the NDIS plan meeting so that you can explore and agree on desired supports and make a plan to gather any evidence. This way all are agreed before meeting with the NDIS planner and the plan conversation will run more smoothly.

What information needs to be taken to the planning meeting?

Prior to the planning meeting, all relevant information should be collected including from the relevant health providers. These can include:

• disability evidence 
• medical reports
• case plans 

Evidence provided during the planning meeting should also include an outline of the participants day-to-day ‘functional support needs’.

For children, early intervention and child protection staff supporting families to access the NDIS can help by advising the family what they should do to prepare.

Consider aids/equipment, modification and disability medication requirements

In preparation for the planning meeting, all the aids/equipment, modifications and disability medication should be listed. 

Also look at whether they may need any new or replacement equipment over the next 12 months. For example, if a participant requires continence aids, consider the number required. If the participant uses a wheelchair, consider whether they are going to outgrow their current chair over the course of the next year and will require a new one.

Understand the supports currently provided 

Prior to the planning meeting, it is important to communicate to the NDIS planner the level of support the child is currently receiving; and what they will require under the NDIS. An outline of the day-to-day functional support needs will also need to be prepared.

Understand the support coordination and plan management options available

The planning meeting provides an opportunity for NDIS participants to decide how their disability supports and the plan funds will be managed.

Support Coordination

Support coordination is most often included in NDIS plans, except for children aged 0-7 in the ECA pathway who have access to early childhood coordinators to assist them with plan implementation. 

A support coordinator will assist in managing and implementing the participant’s NDIS plan and arranging for disability service providers to deliver disability supports for the participant. There are two different levels of support coordination:

1. Coordination of Supports – assistance to strengthen a participant’s ability to connect to and coordinate supports in a complex service delivery environment

2. Specialist Support Coordination offers temporary assistance to participants facing high-level risks. This support aims to overcome obstacles, simplify matters, and help individuals become more capable and resilient.

Plan management options

There are three NDIS plan management choices:

1. Agency managed: The NDIA oversees the funds and pays registered providers. It's straightforward and suitable for children in Out of Home Care (OOHC) where NDIS registered providers are abundant.
2. Plan managed: A registered plan manager handles the funds and payments, allowing more flexibility as non-NDIS registered providers can be used. The plan manager collaborates with the support coordinator to monitor the NDIS plan budget and pay disability support providers. If the participants resides in an area with limited services, plan management might be preferable.
3. Self-managed: The participant personally manages the plan and is responsible for all payments and staff employment. This option isn't available for children and young people in Out of Home Care (OOHC).

What is the participant statement and why is it important?

Every participant’s plan must include goals, objectives and aspirations known as a participant statement. The NDIA prefer the participant to draft the statement prior to the planning meeting ready for discussion with the NDIS planner.

The identified goals in the participant statement will guide the NDIS planner in the assessment of the reasonable and necessary supports required for the participant.

Reasonable and necessary: The NDIS funds supports and services that relate to a person’s disability to help them achieve their goals. They need to be fair (reasonable) and needed (necessary).

The NDIS participant statement includes information about:

• their daily life
• their current living arrangements
• any current relationships and supports from other people
• Their goals and how they want to achieve them, and
• their current disability specific supports.

What does the NDIS provide for children and young people?

The NDIS is responsible for providing:

• Supports for children, families and carers, required as a direct result of a child’s disability that enable the families and carers to sustainably maintain their caring role. Supports include community participation, therapeutic and behavioural supports and additional respite and aids and equipment.

• Where a child is in OOHC, supports that are specific to the child’s disability or developmental delay, and are additional to the needs of children of similar ages, in similar OOHC arrangements. The diversity of OOHC care arrangements is recognised and the level of reasonable and necessary supports will depend on the circumstances of the individual child.

What are the things not funded by the NDIS?

• Treatment for illness or injury: The NDIS does not provide funding for treatment for illness or injury, such as medications, hospital stays, and surgical procedures. These costs are generally covered by Medicare, the national health insurance program in Australia.
• Education and training: The NDIS does not provide funding for education and training, such as school fees, university fees, and vocational training. These costs are generally covered by the education system in Australia.
• Home ownership: The NDIS does not provide funding to purchase or maintain a home. Participants are responsible for their own housing costs, including rent or mortgage payments, utility bills, and maintenance costs.
• Food and household expenses: The NDIS does not provide funding for food and household expenses, such as groceries, household items, and other consumables. Participants are responsible for their own living expenses.

The NDIS developed resources to help people prepare for and engage in the planning process.  Click here Creating my plan