The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) provides options and opportunities for participants to gain support to build independence and achieve their goals. Participants are also entitled to financial support in the form of funding. This is typically offered in the form of a plan that participants are required to manage the financial administration of. This can be extremely stressful and complicated. Participants and their families spend a significant amount of time on the administration of service agreements, tracking expenditure, processing invoices, and ensuring that service providers are compliant.
The NDIS allows participants the flexibility to choose how their funds are managed. The three options include:
- Agency managed (NDIA) – The NDIA restricts participants to using only NDIS registered service providers.
- Self-managed – This option places the full responsibility of financial management on the participant. The participant is required to be financially confident to manage the budgets and ensure tax compliance.
- Plan management – A registered plan manager acts as the financial administrator, freeing the participant to choose both registered and non-registered providers. The Plan Manager is responsible for the financial administration including payment of service provider invoices and claims.
Knowing Your Funding Options: Why Plan Management is Best
When a participant is reviewing or creating their NDIS plan management melbourne, they have the choice to decide how their funds are managed by selecting one of the three paths:
- Agency-managed (NDIA) – The NDIA manages the funds and the participant is restricted to using only NDIS registered service providers.
- Self-managed – The participant manages the financial administration including payment of service provider invoices and budgets and ensures records are tax compliant. This option also provides the participant complete choice and flexibility.
Plan-managed – The participant is provided complete choice and flexibility of service providers. The Plan Manager is responsible for the financial administration including payment of service provider invoices and claims and ensures records are tax compliant.
Requesting plan management will not cost you anything out of pocket. The NDIS has a specific funding line under Improved Life Choices where they set money aside to pay for these plan management services, and therefore, it won’t affect your core or capacity building support budgets.
The Importance of Financial Management for Your NDIS Plan
Managing your NDIS funds the right way changes the NDIS experience in many positive ways such as the following:
Prompt Payment of Providers
The best way to build and maintain a good relationship with your support workers and service providers is to pay them in a timely manner. The biggest advantage of having a plan manager is that they process and pay the service provider’s invoices within 2-3 business days.
Flexibility with Support
With plan management, there is a lot more flexibility when it comes to who you can hire to support you. For example, you can hire someone that you found to be the best gardener for you without requiring them to go through the expensive and time-consuming process to get registered with the NDIS.
Awareness of Your Budget
It can be really confusing to keep track of your budget when your plan is for a long period of time. Having a plan manager automatically notifies you of your spending and then tells you your balance. It also notifies you if you are spending too much.
Protection Against Invoice Fraud and Overbilling
Disability financial managers have an in-depth knowledge of all aspects of the NDIS and study every claim carefully against the strict NDIS pricing guidelines. They review to ensure that all line items and claimed services are within the approved plan categories, review hourly rates to prevent overbilling and protect funding from unauthorized administrative charges or fraudulent claims.
The Sky Plan Management Difference
There is a wide variation in care and accessibility among Plan Management teams. Specialists such as Sky Plan Management provide speedy, considerate, clear and professional services that are second to none.
24 Hour Query Response
If you or your support coordinator need to check on budgeted allocations or the purchase of allowable items, you will receive a clear response within 24 hours.
User Friendly Digital Budget Management System
You can track your real-time budgets, review previous invoices and approve claims all through a secure online system. Payments are released after claims are approved.
Online Purchasing of Assistive Technology
Your Plan Manager can assist you in the purchase of low cost Assistive Technology and other Continuous Supplies from an online store, thus eliminating upfront payment.
Add Plan Management to Your NDIS Plan
You can amend your current plan to incorporate Plan Management by taking these simple steps.
- ASK for Improved Life Choices Funding
- During your next review meeting, inform your plan manager or local area coordinator (LAC) that you would like your plan to include Plan Management.
- Sign a Simple Service Agreement: Sign a digital service agreement that describes how your plan manager will handle your invoices and updates your budget.
- Notify Your Service Providers: Give your plan manager’s billing email to your support providers to send your invoices directly for faster processing.
Conclusion
Your NDIS journey should be about achieving your goals, participating in your community, and growing your independence. You should not have to worry about unpaid bills and messy spreadsheets. NDIS Plan Management gives you the freedom to select the support providers you want, and the peace of mind knowing your plan management finances are managed by experienced professionals.
