The NDIS self-managed myth

There's a prevalent idea around self-managing your National Disability Insurance Scheme plan that if you 'self-manage' then 'self' means 'on your own.' That there are no family members who will give you advice, and no support coordinators or experts to talk to just you and a desk stacked with NDIS paperwork.

This isn’t true whether you’re moving from a Plan Managed arrangement, working with a Plan Manager or choosing to self-manage your NDIS plan for the first time.

'Self' in NDIS self-management doesn't necessarily mean you have to handle every single thing in isolation.

Indeed, the NDIA has been looking into this as part of its Self-Managed Supports Project, to better and more simply support self-managing participants in the future. Most self-managers do build up a network around themselves to support them in managing their plan.

For instance, family members can assist with the claims process, a Support Coordination professional may help clarify what is claimable within the budget and an advocate may be able to help you resolve any issues or disagreements with support providers. Let's look at where this support can be found.

Support with Day-To-Day Administration

It's often the paperwork part of managing an NDIS plan yourself that concerns many participants, and it's also typically the easiest part to pass on to someone else.

Your family and friends

You can delegate the processing of claims, payments and record-keeping to family members or close friends without affecting your self-management arrangements. There's no rule that says you must process every claim personally. It is, in fact, extremely common for self-managing participants to appoint a family member, partner or carer to handle the day-to-day administration, whilst the NDIS participant makes the choices and decisions about how they want their support delivered and by whom.

A Plan Nominee

In cases where the participant isn't able to manage these administrative tasks directly themselves, the NDIS can formally appoint a plan nominee – most commonly a parent, other family member or other individual trusted by the participant, to manage the NDIS funding.

Bookkeepers and financial services

Alternatively, you can pay someone else to handle the financial and administrative side of your plan. You can hire a bookkeeper or an NDIS-specific financial administration service to manage claims and keep records for you.

These providers still keep the participant in control over how they spend their funds and the types of service providers that they use; effectively it's an outsourced administrative service rather than a full plan management solution.

It can be an expense, but the time that it frees up can be well worth it for many self-managing participants. A practical example: you have three support workers on your team plus a cleaning service and want to avoid the stress of manually processing five separate sets of invoices every two weeks.

A bookkeeping service would take this over and provide you with a monthly summary. It would be your decision who you hire, but someone else manages the data entry, taking it off your plate and away from your spreadsheet.

Help with "What Can I Claim?"

"Can I claim this?" is likely the question that self-managing participants ask the most frequently. Thankfully, there are several options to get a reliable answer:

Support Coordinators

If you're funded for Support Coordination in your NDIS plan, this person is your primary point of contact for NDIS advice.

They can assist you to understand the different budgets within your plan and advise what is claimable and why. A Support Coordinator can be your fastest and easiest solution to get clarity on your funding.

The NDIA phone service

Call the National Disability Insurance Agency on 1800 800 110 with your NDIS funding and service queries.

If something feels a little unclear and on the 'cusp,' it's always wise to clarify the issue with them directly beforehand to avoid any issues with payment of the claim.

Your plan documents and the NDIS website

Your plan itself is the document that will show you what services your NDIS plan funds are to be used for, along with the applicable price limits and how those services fall under your goals. You can also use the NDIS Myplace portal to track claims, view invoices and check on plan balance.

Reading these together before you hire a service or make a purchase can often clarify your questions immediately.

Commonly funded items often include support hours from support workers, assistive technologies and home modifications or even assistance with daily life to facilitate increased independence, but the details always depend on your individual circumstances and plan. If you're unsure about whether a purchase falls under the capacity-building or capital budget categories, that's a very valid question to clarify with either a Support Coordinator or the NDIA.

Support for disputes or issues

When something goes wrong – there is a dispute with a service provider, or a decision from the NDIS is unfair there are options for free support.

Disability advocates

Disability advocates can assist people with disability, free of charge, and help them resolve disputes, get their voices heard, understand decisions made by the NDIA or challenge a plan decision by undertaking internal review and, where applicable, appeal to the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART). They can be accessed via the Disability Advocacy Finder at https://askizzy.org.au/disability-advocacy-finder. These services are free for participants.

The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission

The NDIS Commission is the regulator for NDIS services and providers, including any unregistered services a participant may use.

If your concerns relate to the quality or behaviour of any NDIS provider (whether they are registered or unregistered), you can raise a complaint with the NDIS Commission.

Help Finding and Managing Support Workers

Many self-managers want to choose and recruit their own support workers. While this seems overwhelming at first, there are some resources that can make the process simpler.

Support Worker Platforms and Agencies

Numerous platforms facilitate direct employment of self-managed support workers.

These range from informal arrangements to professional agencies that conduct rigorous screening.

Support Network is one example – a national online service connecting NDIS participants with vetted support workers where participants maintain full control over the direct relationship and negotiate rates with support workers.

Personal Referrals

Word-of-mouth is also a popular method for finding reliable workers. Recommendations from other NDIS participants, disability community groups, or local disability support services can often yield excellent candidates.

Checking Prospective Support Workers Thoroughly

It's up to you to check that a potential support worker is suitable. You'll want to check qualifications, insurance details, police checks or working-with-children checks, and references. Many support worker platforms can help facilitate these checks.

If you're doing it yourself, having a checklist of the information you require from all potential hires can streamline the process.

It is beneficial to think about how formal you would like your working relationship with a support worker to be. You can use simple employment agreements to formalise hours, rates, and roles, or you may be happy with a verbal agreement. Either way, clear communication about the employment arrangement is key to preventing issues down the line.

If the very thought of setting up self-management alone feels overwhelming, then know this – you're not alone, and support is there for this exact hurdle. How to do it all is not meant to be a lone wolf task, and frankly, none of us should have to tough it out.

Support Coordination can come into play and actually assist you to set up your processes in the first one or two months. This is all about figuring out the system for tracking your spending, where your notes on support should live, and how the interaction between your support workers will actually play out.

Other self-managers are a treasure trove. Online communities and self-management networks are more than generous about sharing what digital tools will get you tracking your claims efficiently, the best ways to organise your documents, and what the pitfalls were and stumbles during their initial stages. You will be miles ahead of yourself by gleaning information from those that have already walked the walk.

For practicalities, checklists and setup guides can be an invaluable first stop. These take you through what to expect in that very first month of managing yourself and cover every single detail, right from the necessity of opening a new bank account to understanding how the payout of your support budget works. If an item on a checklist seems too vague or daunting, simply start working on it. Before you know it, the huge project becomes a manageable to-do list.

Most self-managers will tell you that the first month of managing your NDIS funds is going to be a sharp incline up the learning curve. Once the systems are actually up and running, you will find the tasks become far easier and a far smaller drain on your time and energy.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Here are a few common pitfalls for newly self-managed clients (even with great support!): It seems the following comes as a surprise to a lot of clients (as no one seems to have been told!).

Burning through a budget category too quickly

As a new self-manager, the temptation to spend through a big category like capacity building (e.g. therapy or training) quickly, can be huge.

Make sure to pace yourself across your entire plan, not just the initial months or you might end up short at the end.

You have to use NDIS registered providers

No! You don't have to. NDIS participants have the right to access support through unregistered providers.

Some clients just think they are tied to using registered providers, and they are unnecessarily out of pocket for a lot of supports!

I'm not keeping up with the paperwork!

A simple physical or electronic folder, into which receipts are filed as they are received, makes tracking expenditure a breeze. Trying to remember details of a support 3 weeks prior is much more difficult, especially if the NDIA makes an inquiry.

Not reviewing the plan before it runs out

It is common for clients to start looking at their next plan 4 weeks prior, or even in the last couple of weeks, which often is too late to make significant changes or include new services. Give yourself around 6 weeks out to review your existing plan to work out what's working and what needs to change.

Who's Actually in the Support System Around You

Before you actually start experiencing problems and desperately seek assistance, it's worth your while to think through this before taking that leap:

Here's how the main sources of help line up against each stage of self-managing:

The bottom line

Being "self-managed" doesn't mean being alone. Whether it is for paperwork, navigating the NDIS guidelines for what you can claim, when disputes arise, or the task of finding support workers, there is help available. Don't fall into the trap of trying to be a solo act – it will likely end in you white-knuckling your way through it all.

You don't have to struggle to get your supports in place. Getting set up isn't meant to be a difficult thing, but rather it's meant to put you in the driving seat and empower you with your support.

Self-management works best when you know where to find help and aren't afraid to ask for it. If you're looking for support workers, services like Support Network are one option that can help you connect with experienced workers while keeping you in control of your supports.