The National Disability Insurance Scheme provides funding to people with disability to pay for the supports and services they need to live their best lives and enjoy the same opportunities as other people.
People with a disability want the same things as everyone – to have somewhere to live, to work, to socialise with friends and family and to enjoy hobbies and other activities.
The aim of the NDIS is to give people with a disability as much independence and control over their plan as possible. Which is great but can be confusing as the NDIS can be quite complex. Let’s break it down:
The supports and services funded under the NDIS fall into three main categories:
- Core support – this is something that helps a participant with their daily living activities, transport, consumables and social and community participation
- Capital support – this is investment in things such as assistive technologies, home and car modifications, or funding for specialised disability accommodation where needed
- Capacity building support – this is something that helps a participant increase their independence and skills and covers a range of areas from education and training and help finding a job, to improving health and wellbeing through exercise or physical activities, or even improving your social skills.
What can be funded as a Core support?
Core support funding covers assistance with daily living, transport, consumables and assistance with social, community and workplace participation.
So, it covers such things as support workers to help a person with a disability cook, clean or care for themselves at home, or pay for respite accommodation or long-term supported accommodation. It can also cover taxis or specialised transport services, language support (such as translators or Auslan training), nutritional supplements, health aids, some modified household items and even wheelchair puncture kits.
What about Capital supports?
Capital support includes assistive technology such as smart devices or wheelchairs, and significant home modifications such as ramps or stair climbers, bathroom or kitchen modifications, grab rails and the like.
What can I get under Capacity Building?
Capacity building includes support coordination, improved living arrangements, increased social participation, finding and keeping a job, improved relationships, improved health and wellbeing, improved learning, improved life choices, improved daily living. It can cover things such as someone to help you coordinate all your supports, or packages to help you live in the right home for you – whether that be a group home or individual accommodation support.
It can also fund vacation and out of school hours care, group fitness, work skills training and employment support, behaviour management skills, exercise and therapies to improve your mobility and independence, and training or support to manage your finances, or develop better independent life skills.
How can we help?
LiveBig and AimBig Employment offer a wide range of supports and services that are fully fundable under the NDIS.
LiveBig’s services include occupational therapy, physiotherapy, psychology, exercise physiology, speech pathology, behaviour support, finding and keeping a job, counselling, innovative programs and assessments.
AimBig Employment works with both people with a disability and employers to provide training and support to help people find meaningful work, and be supported in the workplace.
What is NOT covered?
The NDIS will NOT fund supports that are:
- not related to a person’s disability
- already supported through other funding
- likely to cause harm to the person with a disability or others
- better funded through another system such as health or education
If you have any questions or need help, reach out to our experienced team at LiveBig.