NDIS Funding

What is happening? 

Effective from Monday the 30^th of October 2023, the NDIS is set to introduce a new computer system called PACE.

The NDIS has built PACE to help deliver better support for participants. PACE will offer a new and simpler business system, portal and payment system for NDIS participants to use and interact with the NDIS. 

The rollout is expected to take 18 months and will gradually be introduced across Australia. Throughout this time, we will contact you with relevant information to keep you as informed and up to date as possible. 

What does this mean for me? 

Transition to PACE will occur when a current plan ends or is reviewed. 

When your plan is up for review or ends, if you are accessing our supports, you will receive a direct email from the Association, which will contain information about the following key changes:

• Accessing Plan Information: Individuals will access their plan information through a new portal and app called ‘My NDIS’.
• Provider Recording: Individuals will have the option to record providers, including the Autism Association of Western Australia, as ‘My Provider.’ This allows service providers to access each participant’s plans directly through the system, streamlining the claiming process. Please note, this was originally referred to as ‘Provider Endorsement’. 
• How to Record Us As ‘My Provider’: To record the Association as your provider, you can contact the NDIS directly or discuss it during your next plan meeting. 

Need more information?

The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) has created a dedicated website providing comprehensive information about the PACE system. This website contains specific resources to support people during the transition, covering various aspects of the change.

The NDIS takes a person-centred approach through individualised funding plans to decide what types of funding will help you to achieve your goals. This means that YOU are at the centre of the decision making process about how you want to live your life, your choice of supports and who you would like to deliver your supports. It is designed to provide you with choice, control and independence.

The NDIS will pay for support that is:

• Related to the person’s disability
• Represents value for money
• Likely to be effective and beneficial to the person with disability

Your Autism diagnosis is the key to accessing the NDIS. However, it is important to remember that it is the impact of your Autism diagnosis on your everyday life that will be the most important factor in helping to determine what types of funded supports you need and how much funding you will receive.

The NDIS provides Australians with peace of mind that if they, their child or loved one is diagnosed with Autism, they will get the support they need. The NDIS invests early in people with Autism so the quality of life can be improved significantly and to ensure they need less funded support later on in their lives.

There are certain requirements that you must meet in order to receive NDIS funding. To determine if you are eligible you must meet the criteria below:

• You must have a permanent disability that significantly affects your ability to take part in everyday activities.
• You must be under 65 years old.
• You must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or hold a Special Protected Category Visa.

If you already have an NDIS plan – skip ahead to step 5 to see how you can put your plan into action.

Children under 7 years of age

The process of accessing NDIS funding looks different for young children.

The Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI) approach is available to children aged under than 7 with a developmental delay or disability. This means your child doesn’t need a diagnosis of Autism to access ECEI support.

Contact our Autism Advisor Program and we will support you through pre-planning and linking into NDIA funding with Wanslea (ECEI partner for WA), as well as address your questions and provide you access to other support we have available.

If you want to apply directly, you can download an Access Request Form on the NDIS website.

Individuals aged 7 to 65 years

You can download an Access Request Form on the NDIS website. You will need to complete the form which asks you for basic information so NDIA can confirm your identity, age and citizenship. You will also need to provide information about your Autism diagnosis and how it impacts your everyday life.

You could do a Verbal Access Request over the phone with the NDIA. This means they will take your basic information over the phone. Remember to ask for a reference number for your records.

NDIA will then send you a form to request evidence of the functional impacts of your Autism diagnosis.

We recommend you send any paperwork including reports to NDIA via email so that you have a record of them.

It should take NDIA 21 days to respond to your access request and you will be advised of the eligibility outcome via post.

Contact our Autism Advisor Team and we can support you through this process, address your questions and provide information to link you into services and support options through a one-to-one, confidential conversation on the phone.

You will be contacted by a NDIA representative (ECEI partner or local area coordinator) to book in a planning meeting.  The Local Area Coordinators are APM and Mission Australia and they cover different areas in WA.

The meetings generally take place face-to-face and it can be at your home or in the community (such as your child’s schools).

The planning meetings are never quite the same for everyone but in your meeting your representative will work with you to explore your support needs and goals. This includes having a conversation with you about your current circumstances and support that you already receive.

They will explore what is working well and what are some of the barriers in achieving your goals. LACs and ECEI partners do not decide on your funding, someone else at the NDIA does that.

Some top tips:

1. Start early – think about your goals and the support you need in order to achieve them. Completing a pre-planning workbook always helps.
2. Focus on functional goals and the skills you need to learn.
3. Take someone with you – bring along a family member, service provider or an advocate to attend the planning meeting with you.
4. Get your documents ready – bring any supporting documents for example, school reports, diagnostic reports, therapist’s report and reports from current services.
5. Complete a Carers statement (if you are carer/parent) – this can help you describe the care you need to provide for your family member with Autism and the impact this has on you.
6. Request for a support coordinator – if you feel you are going to need help in implementing your plan and linking in with providers, you may want to ask for a support coordinator. NDIA will decide whether this is reasonable and necessary for you.

Your NDIA representative will ask how you want your NDIS funding to be managed. This is an important decision, so you need to think about it before you go into the meeting. There are three options which are detailed below. Alternatively, you can have a combination of management methods in a plan. For example, one budget could be NDIA managed and another could be self-managed.

1. NDIA/agency Managed – NDIA will pay for your services on your behalf. The service provider(s) you choose must be registered with the NDIS and they are responsible for meeting legal obligations and subjected to the NDIS price guide.
2. Self-managed – You or your representative receives and manages the funding. You will be entering into a legal contract with the NDIA to ensure the funding must be spent in accordance to your plan.  Funds will be paid into your nominated bank accounts and you must keep the invoices/receipts. You will need to use the myplace portal to submit claims and manage your funding ongoing. You can access any providers that will help you achieve your goals.
3. Plan-managed – Having the flexibility to engage any providers including hiring your own staff, and the invoices will be paid by a plan management company.  NDIA can give you a separate budget to engage with a plan manager.

Reading your NDIS Support Plan

There are three sections in an NDIS support plan:

1. Section 1: your profile – This section has basic information about where you live, your family and friends and services you access in the community.
2. Section 2: your short term and long-term goals and who is supporting you to achieve the goals
3. Section 3: the funded support – An NDIS support plan will specify how much funding you will receive in order to help achieve your goals. The budget will be broken into three parts: 

Core  – The most flexible budget in your plan is core support. The funding can be used towards helping you to get everyday activities done and accessing the community Example: paying a support worker to help you access the community

Capacity building – The Capacity Building budgets can help you build the skills to become more independent and reach your goals. Example:  therapy services, social skills groups, employment assistance, support coordination. 

Capital – Capital Supports funding can be used for equipment, assistive technology and home or vehicle modifications.

Putting your plan in action

If you requested support with implementing the plan you may be able to engage a support coordinator, who can help you to find service providers and manage your plan.

You will need to contact service providers that can assist you with achieving the goals in your plan.

To find out more about the services you can access with your plan, click here.

NDIA have an online participant portal called myplace. You can use the portal to monitor and manage your funding. If you haven’t already, It’s a good idea to start setting up a MyGov account in preparation for your access to the myplace portal.

Assuming you are happy with your plan, you will engage with your providers throughout the year. NDIA will contact you six weeks before your plan is going to expire to arrange a plan review meeting.  NDIA will request your current services to provide progress reports. In this review meeting, your next plan will be developed.

What if you are not happy with the decision made by the NDIA?

You can apply for an internal review of a decision within three months of the NDIS plan start date.  This will be done by someone else was not involved with developing your original plan.

If you are still not happy with outcome of the internal review of a decision, you can go to the Administrative Tribunal to appeal.

What if your circumstances and support needs change during the plan?

If your circumstances change prior to your plan review date, then you can complete a ‘Change of Circumstances’ form (link to the NDIA website). NDIA will assess the information and decide if an early review of your plan is reasonable.

Contact us to find out what services we can offer you under your NDIS plan.

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