Understanding NDIS Funding

Understanding NDIS funding can be challenging –– with many budget categories and funding codes to decipher.

As a plan manager, it’s our goal to help every single participant thrive. Helping you understand your funding, and therefore get the most out of it, is one of our core aims.

We’ve created a two-part guide to help you better understand the NDIS budget categories. Here’s what you need to know.

Understanding budget categories

There are three main funding categories: core budget, capital support budget, and capacity building budget.

1. Core budget

Funds in the core budget are related to supports that help participants complete their daily tasks and work towards their goals.

This is the most flexible category as generally funds set aside for one area can be used for others as needed.

This budget includes four subcategories. These are:

1. Consumables such as everyday items
2. Daily Activities including assistance with self-care
3. Assistance with Social and Community Participation to engage with the community
4. Transport if you’re unable to use public transport

2. Capacity building budget

Funding in this area is set aside to help participants build independence and increase their skills.

This budget is significantly less flexible because funds allocated to one category cannot be shifted to another once set.

The funding areas match goals within a plan. That’s why we recommend the importance of setting better NDIS goals to get the most out of your funding.

Some of the categories in the Capacity Building budget include:

• Daily activities
• Employment
• Health and wellbeing
• Home living

The budget for support coordination is also included within this category.

3. Capital support budget

This category relates to assistive supports including home modifications and assistive technology.

This category is relatively inflexible too, with funds allocated for specific purposes or items without the opportunity to reallocate. So it’s essential when creating your plan to consider all of the items you made need through the duration.

How we help with budgeting

We know that budgeting can be tricky. Having your NDIS plan managed by us means that we can help with a portfolio review. That is why the team from myAutonomy is available to work with you to help:

• Identify areas of overspending
• Discuss ways to get the most out of the funding
• Discuss opportunities to spend on consumables and services
• Assess the remaining budget for the period
• Collaborate to get the best overall outcomes

Remember: planning ahead will ensure that you’re able to get the most out of your funding to achieve your goals and increase your quality of life.

We’re only a phone call away

Have a question about your funding? Reach out to our friendly team at [email protected] or call us on 1300 60 33 89.

And, for more information on funding, look out for the next part of our two-part guide covering NDIS pricing.

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