Plan ExtensionsFrequently Asked Questions ProvidersNovember 2016
Introduction
The National Disability Insurance Agency (the Agency) is committed to ensuring that participants continue to receive funding so they can exercise choice and control over the services they receive and has implemented a number of processes to support this.
Some participants who have scheduled plan reviews due during the months of September, October and November will have their plans extended.
This will enable participants to continue to exercise choice and control over their supports, flexibly utilise their core supports and ensure continuity of supports.
Some participants may have extensions of 130 days, others for 6 or 12 months, depending on their circumstances.
If a participant’s original plan was due to end in June, July or August 2016 they received an initial extension of 3 months in August 2016. These plans have now been extended a second time for an additional 130 days.
If a participant’s original plan was due to end in September, October or November 2016 this plan has been extended for 12 months.
Children who were 0-6 years old at the time of their access decision and have been granted access for early intervention have received a 6 month extension.
What has been added to a participants plan?
Where a shorter term plan has been developed, additional funds have been added to the core and capacity building budgets on a pro rata basis. There is no change to the capital budget, which includes funding for Assistive Technology and Home Modifications.
For a 12 month plan, the participants previous funding has been continued, with the exception of Assistive Technology or Home modifications that have already been acquitted.
How has the additional funding been calculated?
Depending on the plan duration, the supports have been calculated on a pro rata basis.
For example, if the the planis extended for 130 days, the increase to the original funding amount in the plan is 36 per cent.
If the plan budget for core and capacity supports was for example, $30,000, the plan would have increased to approximately $40,800
Will I need to tell the participants who are receiving our services about this extension?
The Agency is advising participants. You shouldn’t need to take any further action unless you also need to update a service agreement. We are encouraging participants to contact providers if they are aware a new service agreement may be required.
What about my service bookings. How will they be extended?
Any service bookings will have also been automatically extendedwhere they had been created in the first place. For services provided that hadn’t had a previous service booking, they will need to be created for that period to enable claims to be successfully made.
Will a new Service Agreement be required?
While service bookings will be extended, where possible,the service agreement may need updating.
What if even with the extra, there are insufficient funds available for the duration of the plan
The Agency funding for a participants plan was based on Reasonable and Necessary decision making. The additional funding should cover the new plan duration. If a participants circumstances have changed which means their plan may need to be reviewed, they are able to advise their Local Area Coordinator, support coordinator or alternatively complete a Change of Circumstances form which is available from
Why has the funding for Assistive Technology not been increased?
Funding for Assistive Technology is primarily for equipment and as this is a fixed cost, the plan extension will not affect this.
What if repairs or maintenance to equipment is required?
At the moment, there is sufficient flexibility for repairs and maintenance to be completed and be drawn from the total budget. If the repair is a significant cost, the participant may need to request an earlier plan review if the budget is insufficient to meet this need.
What if the participant wants to use the additional budget value just for personal care and not community access or visa versa?
At the moment there is sufficient flexibility in the budgets to allow participants to exercise choice in the mix of supports for the core budget including community access and personal care.
The Agency advice to participants has encouraged them to discuss the desired mix of supports with their providers.
ndis.gov.auFrequently Asked Questions – Providers1