23/08/2017
For those who use NDIS
NDIS TIPS: HOW DID THEY COME UP WITH THE DOLLARS IN MY PLAN?
How *does* the NDIS figure out how much funding you get in your plan?
Not even the NDIS planners and LAC’s know exactly how much funding will be allocated in your plan until their computers have done their crunching, though with experience, they’ll likely have a decent idea of the likely reference range.
Those reference ranges have been determined according to a series of mathematical algorithms, developed, and probably frequently tweaked, by the NDIA scheme actuaries (actuaries are awesomely geeky numbers people, and they look at bucketloads of research to figure out what variables to take into account, and by how much).
But, in general, here are the elements that help determine the reference range for your NDIS Plan:
1. YOUR AGE or STAGE – it kinda makes sense that most one year olds with a profound disability will receive far less funding than the same person at 47 years old – for a start, all one year olds need 24/7 care, and they also get nearly all of that from their parent/s. 47 year olds, however, should be able to live away from the family home if they want, and they shouldn't need to have their 75 year old parents doing all their personal care anymore, either. The "Stage" of your life can also affect your funding - moving into high school, leaving school, leaving home etc. are all times when extra funding may be reasonable and necessary to meet your goals.
2. YOUR PRIMARY DISABILITY – this one confuses me a little, as some folks might have, for example, cerebral palsy and vision impairment, both of which are highly impactful for them – how does one choose which is primary? Regardless, this makes a difference, so if you have more than one disability, and they’re all pretty impactful, consider asking your planner/LAC to switch out for a different primary diagnosis to see if that makes a difference to the bottom line. They’re not obliged to do this, and it's not condoned, but if you're in that boat, having trouble deciding which disability has the most impact on your life, it might be worth an ask.
3. YOUR FUNCTIONAL IMPAIRMENT – for most participants, the LAC or Planner will ask you a series of questions about how your disability affects you. This might be by phone before your planning, or during your actual meeting. Some of the questions will appear quite silly (like asking if a six year can handle his own finances, or if a person with quad CP using wheelchair can walk up a flight of stairs without a handrail, but there you go). Some of these questions will give you a choice of answers like “easily” “with a little help”, “with lots of help”, “unable” or “I don’t know”. Make no mistake, the answers to these questions are VERY important. DO NOT answer them with kids underfoot and demanding, or driving home from work. Make the time and space to THINK about your answers and concentrate on the phone call.
4. YOUR GOALS – much of the Capacity Building funding areas will be determined by your goals. If your goal is to sit around and watch TV all day, you’re not likely to get extra funding to help you find a job, for example.
5. YOUR GENERAL SITUATION – if you’re at home, and want to move out, there’s likely to be funded supports for that, and if you have five brothers and sisters who live in the same suburb and drop in and hang out and willingly help you out a lot, your funding is likely to be different than if you have no family, few friends and have been socially isolated for the past twenty years.
This is obviously a very simplified way of explaining how funding is sorted, and each person *is* an individual – I’ve seen several hundred NDIS plans, and no two have ever been the same.
Just so you know, if your plan comes to a bunch more, or a bunch less, than what the computer spat out, it will likely automatically go to higher up folk at the NDIS to make sure nothing’s been missed, or that the higher level funding is warranted. This can take little longer to process and approve, understandably, so having to wait a little longer for your plan can be a good thing!
As always, this is intended as general info, and is definitely not individual professional advice. All of this could have changed between the time I wrote it, and the time you read it, so don’t go betting the house on the info, and check directly with the NDIS for stuff that matters to you.
You are welcome to share this post, with credit to Sam Paior, The Growing Space, and without any edits. If you want to put it in a newsletter or something outside of Facebook, just ask first – I nearly always say yes. I have a personal mission to make the NDIS more transparent, and more collaborative, and sharing information is the first step to having the voices of disabled people and those who love them be part of co-designing this most incredible and massive social reform in Australia’s disability history.
Copyright The Growing Space August 2017
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