How NDIS Plan Managers Help Budget
Written by: Amy Osborne | NDIS Plan Management Team
We all know what an NDIS Plan is and the definition of the word “budget”, but what does that look like to an NDIS Participant and the NDIS Plan Manager? Let’s unpack this a bit.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is experiencing significant changes – some are effective, while others need adjustments.
NDIS Plan Budget + What It Means
NDIS Plans issued before 19th May 2025 were structured in a new format that is designed to decrease the risk of over expenditure.
The NDIS Participant is issued with an overall allocated amount, but the NDIS Funds are released in intervals. It clearly indicates on PACE, the National Disability Insurance Agency’s (NDIA’s) system, the funding interval dates, and the amounts released within those periods. The National Disability Insurance Agency have advised that unused funds from the previous interval will roll over to the next interval of released funds.
With limited communication from the NDIA, it is suspected, but unclear whether services dated in one interval can be paid for in the next interval, if funding in that previous interval has been exhausted.
As an NDIS Plan Manager, navigating the NDIS Budget with NDIS Participants and their greater care team can be a challenging venture, and as stated before, with limited communication from the NDIA, it proves to be the most challenging aspect of our job.
The Importance Of A Budget In Your NDIS Plan
Everyone understands the importance of creating a budget and then sticking to it in our private lives. It’s how we afford the services we need and hopefully a holiday or two within our lifetime.
The NDIS Budget needs to be respected and treated in the same way; NDIS Participants can only access supports within their NDIS Budget.
As NDIS Plan Managers, one of our roles is to assist NDIS Participants to access their supports without over expenditure. We conduct this by creating and maintaining a transparent relationship between the NDIS Participant and the greater care team, including Support Coordinators, Plan Nominees, appointed Guardians and Providers.
We are seeing fewer approvals from Payment Enquiries, which is a section of the NDIS that can approve the payment of invoices for services after the budget has been exhausted. This can lead to Providers not being paid for services given, which may cause providers to seek alternative employment and not return to the NDIS Participant due to unpaid services.
At Canny Plan Management, we encourage our participants to outline the budget in order for the budget to last. It may mean that NDIS Participants are supported less frequently, but if the budget is adhered to, the NDIS Participant can be supported consistently.
What Does Budgeting In Your NDIS Plan Look Like + How Does Canny Plan ManagementHelp?
Here at Canny Plan Management, we pride ourselves on being the budget gurus!
We love getting in and sorting out budgets with our clients to ensure they are utilising their NDIS Plan to its fullest potential. We can have a face-to-face meeting, meet over video call or exchange emails to help maximise our clients’ understanding of their NDIS Plan and its budget. We are across all the legislative changes, FAQ’s, Pricing Arrangements, Guidelines and NDIA published information to offer our clients the most recent compliant information to make informed choices when it comes to utilising their NDIS Plan budget.
Not only do our clients receive monthly budget reports, but they also have access to our dashboard, whenever they like, to check on current remaining funding amounts. The dashboard can also be accessed by stakeholders if given consent by the client.
Canny Plan Management has installed a policy that when an NDIS Participant has reached 70% expenditure within any funding budget, they will receive an email to notify the NDIS Participant and stakeholders that may need to liaise with the providers to avoid over expenditures. This policy allows NDIS Participants to make management decisions regarding their NDIS budget and how they spend their NDIS Plan to maintain independence.
Want to get a better understanding of your budget and category breakdown? Check out this previous article we put together: Breaking Down Your NDIS Plan Supports
The Importance Of Adhering To Your NDIS Plan Budget
As stated before, Canny Plan Management take all the necessary steps to ensure our clients are well informed regarding their budgets, with access to the dashboard, monthly budget reports and budget update emails.
If an NDIS Participant fails to stick to their NDIS Plan budget, it can lead to a lack of services being rendered because providers are not able to be paid. When a client exceeds the budget of their NDIS Plan, and a provider cannot be paid via the NDIS Plan, the NDIS Plan Manager, at the request of the NDIS Participant or provider, can submit the invoice as a Payment Enquiry to the NDIS when the NDIS Plan has ended. However, this is a risky practice as it has been reiterated by the NDIA that “the plan is the plan,” which interprets as “the budget is the budget”, and there is no room or tolerance for over expenditures.
Of course, there are circumstances when Payment Enquiries may approve these payments; for example, perhaps when a Change of Circumstance has been submitted due to extenuating circumstances, but this is not a guarantee. We have also seen Plan Variations come through when an NDIS Participant might require a specific piece of Assistive Technology, but mostly, the NDIS Plan’s budget is the budget.
When an NDIS Participant exhausts their budget, it can cause great distress to them as their ongoing needs may not be met. It may mean that an NDIS Participant may need to cease services until the NDIS Plan is extended or a new NDIS Plan is generated. Our clients rely on consistent support, and if their budget is exhausted, support cannot remain constant, and that is a detriment to all involved.
Canny Plan Management + Helping Our NDIS Participants
Canny Plan Management has the knack to create transparent relationships with clients and other stakeholders to ensure the NDIS Plan is adhered to.
We accomplish this through our personal approach and with monthly budget reports, budget updates when required, and the opportunity to meet face to face to work through the budget and what supports can be accessed. Our main goal is to nut out the budget in a way that is easy to understand and one that can be followed without over expenditures.
We want to ensure all parties are aware of the budget and its limitations to make sure NDIS Participants are supported consistently throughout the life of their NDIS Plan.
Get in touch with out team to have a chat about how we can support you or a loved one of their NDIS journey.
