Agency-managed
The NDIA pays providers directly. You can only use registered providers. The least admin for you and the least flexibility.
NDIS explained
The NDIS,
in plain English.
No acronyms in the first line of anything. If something here is unclear, tell us and we will explain it a different way.
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What it is
What the NDIS actually is.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme funds supports for people with permanent and significant disability. If you are eligible, you receive a plan with funding in it, and you decide who provides the support.
That last part gets underused. The funding is yours to direct. Providers work for you, not the other way around, and you are allowed to be selective about who you work with.
Registered vs unregistered
What "registered provider" means.
A registered provider has been audited by an approved quality auditor against the NDIS Practice Standards and is registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. Registration covers specific types of support, called registration groups.
Firstlight is registered across 13 registration groups on the certification pathway, which is the more demanding of the two audit routes.
What registration does not mean: that we are endorsed by the government, that we can deliver every support in the scheme, or that being registered makes us the right provider for you. There are excellent unregistered providers, and there are registered ones who won't suit you at all.
Managing your plan
The three ways a plan can be managed.
This decides who pays the invoices and which providers you are able to use. You can also use a combination across different parts of one plan.
Plan-managed
A plan manager handles invoices and record keeping. You can use registered and unregistered providers. Most people find this the practical middle ground, and the plan manager's fee comes out of your plan rather than your own pocket.
Self-managed
You manage the funding yourself. The most flexibility, the most paperwork, and you keep the records. Some people find it liberating. Others find it a second job.
Core vs capacity building
Core supports and capacity building.
Two phrases you will see constantly. Core supports covers day-to-day assistance: personal care, help at home, getting out into the community. Capacity building is aimed at increasing your independence: learning skills, employment support, therapy.
The practical difference is flexibility. Core supports funding can usually be moved around within its own categories. Capacity building is generally tied to specific goals in your plan.
Service agreements
Read it at home, not in the room.
A service agreement sets out what a provider will do, when, and what it costs. Having one is normal and asking questions about it before you sign is equally normal.
Worth checking in any agreement, ours included: how much notice you need to give to cancel a shift, what happens when a worker does not turn up, how you change or end the agreement, and what the cancellation policy actually means in practice rather than in principle.
Never sign a service agreement in the room. Take it home and read it properly. A provider who pushes you to sign on the spot has told you something useful about how they operate.
Choice and control
Choice and control, in practice.
The phrase appears on every provider website in the country, so here is what it means concretely. You can choose your provider. You can choose your support workers. You can ask for a different worker. You can change how support is delivered. You can use several providers at once. You can leave a provider without justifying the decision to anyone.
You do not need to be grateful for support you are funded to receive.
Getting started
Starting with a provider.
Roughly: an initial conversation, a discussion about what you want, a service agreement, then support begins. A decent provider will not rush any of those steps and will happily talk with you before you have decided anything at all.
It is entirely reasonable to speak with three providers before choosing one. Most people do not, and most people should.
Plan reviews
Collect evidence along the way.
Your plan gets reviewed periodically. What helps is evidence gathered along the way rather than assembled the week before: notes on what has worked, what has not, reports from allied health, and specific examples rather than general impressions.
Start collecting it early. A review built on six months of notes goes very differently from one built on memory.
Complaints
Making a complaint.
You can complain to a provider directly, and you can go to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission at any point. You do not need the provider's permission, you do not have to tell them first, and it should never affect the support you receive.
We would like you to tell us so we can fix it. The Commission route is yours regardless of what we would like.
Common questions
Still confused?
That is not a failing on your part.
The system is genuinely complicated. Ask us anything, including questions that have nothing to do with our services.
06 questions
Do I have to use a registered provider?
It depends on how your plan is managed. Agency-managed plans can only use registered providers. Plan-managed and self-managed plans can use either.
Can I use more than one provider?
Yes. You can mix providers across services and even within a single support category. The plan is yours to direct.
What if I am not eligible for the NDIS?
Answer to be written once we have confirmed the current pathways we can point you to. In the meantime, call us and we will share what we know.
Who decides what goes in my plan?
The NDIA makes the final decision, informed by your goals, evidence from your circle of support, and the "reasonable and necessary" test in the NDIS Act.
What does 'reasonable and necessary' actually mean?
A support that helps you pursue your goals, represents value for money, is likely to be effective and beneficial, and is best funded by the NDIS rather than another system. In practice, it is a judgement call the NDIA makes on the evidence in front of them.
How often is my plan reviewed?
Typically every 12 months, though this varies. You can also request a review earlier if your circumstances change materially.
Not sure yet?
Ask us anything.
The system is genuinely complicated. Ask us anything, including questions that have nothing to do with our services.