What is NDIS?
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is Australia’s first national Scheme for people with disability. It provides funding directly to individuals. (Source: NDIS website - https://www.ndis.gov.au/about-us/what-ndis.html)
NDIS - What does it mean?
National: The NDIS is being introduced progressively across all states and territories.
Disability: The NDIS provides support to eligible people with intellectual, physical, sensory, cognitive and psychosocial disability. Early intervention supports can also be provided for eligible people with disability or children with developmental delay.
Insurance: The NDIS gives all Australians peace of mind if they, their child or loved one is born with or acquires a permanent and significant disability, they will get the support they need.
Scheme: The NDIS is not a welfare system. The NDIS is designed to help people get the support they need so their skills and independence improve over time.
Am I eligible for NDIS?
NDIS is designed to support Australians with a disability. There are some basic criteria in relation to your age, residency status, your disability and the availability of the Scheme in your residential area before you can be NDIS Participant.
The NDIA is responsible for determining who is eligible to access the NDIS. To allow the NDIA to determine whether you meet the disability or early intervention access requirements, you may need to provide evidence of your disability as part of your access request. This includes information on what your disability is, how long it will last and how it impacts your life. (Source: NDIS website - https://www.ndis.gov.au/what-consider-i-apply/am-i-eligible).
How do I apply?
If you meet the criteria and you would like to become a participant, call us on 1800 800 110 and ask to make an Access Request.
If you are already receiving disability support services, the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) will contact you when it becomes available in your area.
If you do not receive any disability supports, make sure the NDIS is available in your area before you call to make an Access Request.
What happens after I make an Access Request?
If you are eligible for the NDIS you will received an ‘access decision’ letter. The next step is to create your NDIS plan
What is in your NDIS plan?
The first NDIS plan is written by you. It that contains information about your unique situation. Details in the plan include how you are doing in the different areas of your life, what goals you would like to achieve and what kind of support you need.
How do I create my NDIS plan?
There are a number of things to consider when creating your plan, go to https://www.ndis.gov.au/participants/creating-your-plan and https://www.ndis.gov.au/participants/creating-your-plan/planning-meeting-checklist to get the guidance you need. Remember the funding you receive is based on what is ‘reasonable’ and ‘necessary’ to achieve your goals, in addition to the support provided by family, friends, and other community and government services
How do I know how much funding I will receive? What does NDIS Cover?
Your NDIS funding provision will be part of your Approved NDIS plan and will depend on your unique situation
The NDIS funds reasonable and necessary support and equipment that a person with disability needs. The funding supports you to:
- pursue your goals and aspirations - increase your independence - increase your social and economic participation and - develop your capacity to take part in the community - What are reasonable and necessary costsIn order to be considered reasonable and necessary, a support must,
- be related to your disability - represent value for money - be likely to be effective and beneficial - take into account any informal supports given to you by your family, friends, support crew (including support workers, support networks and the community) - can't include any day-to-day living costs that aren't related to your disability support needs.
What doesn’t NDIS Cover?
NDIS funding doesn't cover general everyday living expenses that people without disability would be required to pay, such as train travel, rent, groceries, mobile phone or movie tickets.
Is NDIS means tested?
Assistance from the NDIS is not means tested and has no impact on income support such as the Disability Support Pension and Carers Allowance.
How do I manage the money in the NDIS approved plan?
There are three ways money can be managed
- NDIA Managed - Plan Managed - Self-Managed
When do I need to tell NDIS how I want to manage the money that is available as part of my approved plan?
This needs to be done as plan of your planning meeting or review meeting. You will also need to know the types of budgets you have access to
Who can help you start your plan?
1. Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI) Coordinator Families and carers of children aged 0-6 years who have an NDIS plan will work with an ECEI Coordinator. ECEI Coordinators have experience working with children with disability or developmental delay. The NDIS ECEI approach supports families and carers to help children develop the skills they need to take part in daily activities and reach their developmental milestones.
2. Local Area Coordinator (LAC) Most NDIS participants over 7 years of age will have an LAC to help them understand and use their plan. This includes showing participants how to use the myplace portal and connecting them with funded supports. LACs support participants throughout their plans to monitor how the plan is going, and they can check progress regularly. ECEI Coordinators and LACs come from organisations in your local community, which work with the NDIA to deliver the NDIS. Visit the NDIS website to find ECEI and LAC Partners in your area.
3. Support Coordinator If ECEI or LAC Partners are not available in your area, or you need more help coordinating your supports and services, the NDIA may fund a Support Coordinator in your NDIS plan. A Support Coordinator will help you use your plan to achieve your goals, live more independently, increase your skills and be included in your community and in employment.
Specialist support coordination is a higher level of support coordination. It is an option for people whose situations are more complex and who need specialist help to coordinate their supports and services.
For participants who are self-managing their NDIS plan:
You will be contacted by the NDIS once your plan is approved and we will talk to you or your nominee about the opportunities and responsibilities of self-managing your plan.
How much does plan management cost?
There is no out-of-pocket expense for Trinity Plan Management fee as long as you have plan management included in your plan called “Improved Life Choices” this will cover 100% of our fee. Our fees will always be in line with the NDIS Price Guide so there won’t be any surprises.
Do I qualify to get plan management in my NDIS Plan?
Plan management is all about supporting your choice and helping you regain capacity. You have the rights to ask for plan management to be included in your plan.
I already have a Plan Manager, can I change to Trinity Plan Management?
Yes, you can. NDIS biggest emphasis is on choice and control so you have the choice to decide who gets to be your plan manager. You can also decide to change plan manager in the middle of the plan.
I already have a support worker that I would like to use, can I continue to use them?
Yes, one of the benefits of using Trinity Plan Management as your plan manager is that you can use your preferred provider, regardless if they are NDIS registered provider or non-registered provider.
My current provider does not have an ABN, can I use them?
For your protection, NDIS requires all providers to have an ABN, including unregistered providers. You can encourage your provider to register for an ABN, it’s free and easy to apply for an ABN, for more information go to https://abr.gov.au/For-Business,-Super-funds---Charities/Applying-for-an-ABN/
How do I sign up with Trinity Plan Management?
It’s easy! Go to our register page or you could simply email your plan to contact@trinitybookkeeping.com.au and we’ll contact you within 24 hours. Easy.
How to I get my invoice paid?
We have 2 options that you could use.
1. Use the website to upload the invoice in the claims section (easiest method)
2. Email your invoice to claims@trinitybookkeeping.com.au
Your providers can also upload your invoices on our website. We don't ask you to categorise the invoices, or enter amounts for the invoices. We take care of that for you.
How long is the processing time?
At Trinity Plan Management, we aim to pay your invoice within 4-7 business days after we receive your authorization, provided that there is sufficient funds in your plan, and it is covered as a plan managed area. If you opt-in for Standing Authority method, authorization happen automatically.
I don’t want to authorize each time, can you just pay it?
One of Trinity Plan Management goals is to develop your capacity in making choices and having control, thus we need to obtain your authorization to claim against your funding.
We have multiple ways to do this:
- Standing Authority (Most convenient): This is a privilege that you allow your provider to have, whom you trust will send you the correct invoices. We will treat these invoices as authorised when we receive them. We will always send you a notification of invoices received before any payment is made.
- Manual Authorisation (Most control): This is the default authorisation process, where you are required to authorise every invoice, whether via email, signature, or verbally.
It’s time to review my plan. How does my current plan funding affect it?
There are few important things for you to remember:
Any unspent funds are returned to the NDIA. Because you didn't spend all the money allocated, your new plan might have less funding allocated compared to the current plan.
If your current plan is plan managed, but used only NDIS registered service providers, you might lose your plan managed status and the new plan may be NDIS managed. This will result in you losing the ability to select your own service providers in the future.
What happens when I turn 65?
If you are over 65 at the time your area rolls out the NDIS, you will transition into the aged care system. If you are currently receiving funding under the NDIS and you turn 65, you can either choose to remain with the NDIS or you can transition to the aged care system.