The NDIS is mandated to provide funding for disabled people and enable them to enjoy their support and live independently in society. Whether you are an NDIS participant, an independent support worker, or want to know how NDIS works, you must first understand the NDIS funding categories.
The NDIS identifies three main NDIS support categories. Each support aims to achieve specific goals and the possible outcomes an individual wants.
The NDIS Support Catalogue
The NDIS Support Catalogue has lists, specific supports, and maximum prices. It also states the support definitions and the rules of the same. You can find the complete disability support identified by NDIS in the latest NDIS support catalogue and the description of each support category.
Core Supports Category
The Core Supports category is most common in NDIS plans. Assistance enables disabled people to partake in daily activities, including domestic activities, showering, continence aids, and cleaning.
The core support category has four subcategories:
- Transport involves helping the participants cover their costs associated with education programs, getting to work or getting to a specialised school.
- Assistance with everyday life includes personal care, cooking, cleaning and handling household decisions.
- Consumables are support offered for everyday services like translation or interpretation, continence and nutrition-related items.
- Assistance with social and community participation includes activities to help the participants socialise while connecting with others and developing skills or capacity building.
Capital Supports
This NDIS support category involves buying expensive vehicle modifications or assistive technology for the participants. The support can also include financing (SDA). Capital support is mostly flexible yet restricted to specific items stated in the NDIS Plan.
Some of these items have quotable prices, meaning the NDIS participant has to negotiate a price in an agreement with the help of their support provider and get a written quote before they make a purchase.
NDIS has further divided capital support into:
- Home modifications
- Assistive technology
Capacity Building Supports
Capacity building is the kind of support NDIS participants need for their long-term goals or to help them achieve independence. These types of support come in sync with the core supports. If score support involves delivering meals to the participants’ homes, capacity-building support would be about gaining the necessary experience and skills to help make healthy meals.
Capacity building NDIS support comes in nine subcategories:
- Improves living arrangements
- Support Coordination
- Finding and keeping a job
- Increased community and social participation
- Improved relationships
- Improved life choices
- Improved health and well-being
- Improved learning
- Improved daily living
NDIS participants can only use the capacity-building funding to purchase the approved supports within this list. The Improved life choices category has made it possible for the NDIS to add additional funding to the participant’s plan to enable them to work with a plan manager.