Self-managing your NDIS plan: the pros and cons

Thinking of self-managing NDIS? It may seem daunting at first, but with the right tools and support, this can be a seamless solution which gives you access to better use of funding and a great deal more flexibility.

Find out what self-managing involves, have a look at the pros and cons of self-managing and hear from someone who is trying it for themselves.

What does self-managing involve?

When you choose to self-manage your NDIS plan, you’ll be responsible for managing the funds allocated to you for support with your illness or disability. These funds will be issued directly to you, so you can engage staff directly.

Self-managing gives you the flexibility and choice to decide on, employ and schedule rosters for the support workers you need to meet your NDIS plan goals.

When you self-manage, you will need to take responsibility for keeping records and receipts for payments made to your support staff. You will also need to understand how to stick to a budget so you don’t overspend the money allocated to you by the NDIS.

For more information, take a look at this fact sheet on learning to self manage your NDIS plan https://www.ndis.gov.au/participants/using-your-plan/self-management/learning-self-manage-your-plan.

Self-managing NDIS: The Pros

Whether you are managing your own plan or a plan on behalf of a partner, child or relative, the pros include:

Independence

When you self-manage, there is less reliance on others. You can be in charge of who works with you and when. This can give you greater independence and flexibility as you do not have to liaise with a middle-man provider.

More for your money

Everyone on the NDIS has a finite budget. By choosing to self-manage and self-direct your support, you can make your funds go further. Instead of having to engage a third-party which charges fees, you can pay the people who work with you directly, meaning you have more funds available to purchase more care.  

Choice of Carers

As a self-managing NDIS participant, you’ll be able to work with any carer you wish, and with the person you believe can best meet your needs.

You’ll be the employer so you can contract staff and negotiate on costs yourself. There is a carer award which guides you on rates. If you find this overwhelming, you can choose to access support from service providers to create more balance. However, this will come at a cost.

Self-managing NDIS: The Cons

Are there any drawbacks to self-managing your NDIS support? The big one is responsibility. In return for the flexibility, wider selection of choice and better control over who you work with, you do have to ensure these people are paid correctly and on time for the help they provide.

In a way, you will become an employer. However, because you are spending allocated funds, you will have to keep track of payments and receipts to share how you have used your money.

When you self-manage, you will also need to stay on top of a budget so you don’t overspend and find you have run out of funds before the year ends.

Taking the self-managing approach does take some planning but the pros can outweigh the cons if you are organised and diligent.

Real life self-managing NDIS experience

Jack receives funding to pay for support at home, which enables him to have a full social and work life despite his disability. He finds self-managing enables fairer payment.

He says, “My delivery of support has been in the traditional sense. One observation I’ve made is the layers of unnecessary hidden costs that have come out of my funding. [Instead], it should go to consumers and support workers. I plan to pay well. If support exceeds my expectations, I plan to pay accordingly.”

For Jack, self-managing means he can give his support workers the money he feels they deserve. There is no third-party involved, which means he has a greater budget to spend.

Jack explains that his vision is to build a team that knows his needs very well. “I want to invest in a small team with greater communication between myself and the workers. Provided there is approval in my plan, self-managing funds can also be used to buy services and goods from mainstream services; this will be good as some of my needs can be met by local businesses.”

Real Support Choices: Self-managed NDIS made easy

If you have decided to self-manage your NDIS care, Real Support Choices can save you time and money. This helpful app makes it easy to:

• Book carers
• Create rosters
• Manage payments
• Track your budget
• Update timesheets
• Report on your expenditure
• Manage the secure transfer of funds to your carers
• Meet ATO requirements

Click. Click. Done.

Real Support Choices will save you THOUSANDS.

Visit www.realsupportchoices.com.au to start your FREE 30 Day trial (valued at $99)