The NDIS Planning Process: Supporting Your NDIS Participants

The NDIS planning process can be difficult to understand for NDIS participants, especially participants who are accessing the NDIS for the first time. This might be for their initial plan, or for a plan reassessment for an increase in their budget.

Supporting your participants through the planning process

You can support your participants by assisting them to complete the NDIS Booklet 2: Creating your Plan document. This booklet specifies:

• a participant’s personal details
• community and mainstream supports
• how a participant manages every day activities
• safety, including equipment, accommodation or in home supports
• the goals a participant wants to pursue
• ways to manage an NDIS plan.

The importance of a participant’s NDIS goals

An NDIS participant’s goals identify what is important in their life. They need to identify their strengths, independence and something measurable to work towards.

Creating clear and measurable goals assists the NDIS to understand what is important in a participant’s life. When assisting your participant to develop their NDIS goals, it is important to think about what the participant may want in their daily life, where they live and with whom, and any future support they may require. As a provider, you can absolutely assist your participants to capture and identify their NDIS goals, however the NDIS will record a participant’s goals in their own words within their NDIS plan.

Preparing your participant for an NDIS plan reassessment

Prior to the end of a participant’s NDIS plan, it is important that all providers and supporters involved are contacted to allow time for assessments and reports to be written and submitted to the NDIS. These assessments or reports show how a participant’s supports and services are helping the participant towards meeting their NDIS goals. These reports can also make future recommendations for supports and services required in a participant’s next NDIS plan.

In the lead up to your participant’s NDIS plan reassessment, assist them to describe:

• What worked well in the plan
• What didn’t work well
• Progress they have made towards their goals
• Which goals can the participant continue to pursue, and which goals need to change
• Who can assist them to pursue these goals
• Any changes to how the plan’s funds are managed

Plan Approval and Review Requests

NDIS Participants will receive their approved NDIS plan in person or in the mail and through the myplace portal. Participants have the right to ask for an internal review of their plan by the NDIA if they are unhappy or disagree with their NDIS plan.

As a provider, you can support your participant to make a request for internal review of a decision. This must be made by the participant within three months of receiving notice of the decision from the NDIA.

If a participant is not satisfied with the internal review, they can be supported to apply for a review by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), which is independent of the NDIA.