How To Prepare For Your NDIS Plan Review

If you are a part of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) then you may be aware that there is an annual review that will help ensure that your plan is meeting your needs.

It may be a little nerve-racking at first to go through an NDIS review, but it’s essential if you want to make any adjustments to your plan. It’s also helpful if you have questions that you want to ask your National Disability Agency (NDIA) planner, Local Area Coordinator (LAC) or Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI) partner.

When is my NDIS plan review?

In most cases, your first NDSI plan review will take place exactly a year after your plan starts. However, due to various circumstances, the NDIS may be a little slow on contacting you for a participant check. It’s a good idea to get in touch with the NDIA if you haven’t heard anything from them about an annual review after 12 months from your plan start date.

What if I don’t need an NDIS plan review?

If you believe that your support requirements will stay the same for a while and don’t have any questions that you want to ask your planner, then you can actually get in touch with the NDIA and ask them to push your NDIS plan review back another few years. You can delay it by up to three years if you don’t think you’ll be changing anything.

If you change your mind during this period, you can always contact the NDIA to book a review.

What can I expect from an NDIS plan review?

Here’s a full example of what your NDIS plan review will look like.

• Your planner will check in with you. This just means you’ll be contacted to see if you need a review. If you do, then your planner will arrange a date and book you in for a pan review meeting.

• Your planner will ask about your current NDIS plan. As part of the call, you’ll be asked some basic questions about how your NDIS plan is going. You’ll also get a chance to ask any questions that you might have. This will help ensure that you’re prepared for the plan meeting and it allows your NDIA planner to gather any information they need before the plan review.

• You may not need to have a full review. Your NDIA planner may determine that you don’t need a full review. This usually occurs when your planner believes that your circumstances won’t be changing for some time. In this case, you’ll be asked fewer questions and it may be suggested that you push future NDIS plan reviews back a few years.

• You can request how you want the plan review to be carried out. You can choose if you want the meeting to be face-to-face with your planner, if you want it to be over the phone, or if you want to video call instead. You’ll also have the option to invite someone else to the meeting such as a family member or friend.

• You’ll discuss your plan requirements. The NDIS plan review meeting will be different for everyone. During the meeting, you’ll typically be asked a series of questions and will have the opportunities to speak about your circumstances and make suggestions on how the NDIA can better support you. Discussing your plan requirements here is important because it ensures that you can get the support you need.

This concludes a typical NDIS plan review. In most cases, the plan review will be fairly short and can usually be done over the phone for convenience. However, there may be cases where you need to start a longer conversation with your NDIA planner. In situations like this, it’s generally recommended to have a video call or to meet face-to-face. This allows you to have a longer conversation and makes it easier to share documentation.

Getting ready for your NDIS plan review

So now that you have a better idea of the NDIS plan review process, let’s explore some tips on how to get ready.

Be proactive about your plan review

As mentioned before, it’s generally a good idea to get in touch with the NDIA about your plan review if you believe that your support requirements have changed. Although the NDIS plan review is an annual event, you can request it earlier if your circumstances have already changed.

Get a professional health summary

If you believe that your circumstances have changed or will change in the future, then you should check in with a health professional to get a summary of your wellbeing and health. These documents will be helpful during the NDIS plan review. While it’s not always a key document requested by your planner, it can be helpful when it comes to planning future goals.

Review your circumstances

As part of your review, it’s important to go over your current circumstances and see if there have been any changes that may warrant some assistance from your NDIA planner.

Some examples of this include changes to your disability, if you have moved, if your family situation has changed, or if another aspect of your life has been affected. When speaking to your NDIA planner, it helps if you have a list of changes that compares your past circumstances to your current situation. This helps to form the basis of your NDIS plan review.

Review your current and future goals

It’s a good idea to check what your previous goals were. If you’ve saved all the documentation from your initial review, then you can easily look back at what your goals were and if you’ve made any progress towards them.

If you believe that the support you’re receiving does not reflect your goals, or if they aren’t providing you with enough support, then you’ll likely need to request additional or different kinds of support to help you achieve your goals. In this situation, you’ll want to write up a list of new goals and aspirations so that you can present them to your NDIA planner during the review. This will give you plenty of talking points and can help you get organized for your plan review.

If you don’t believe that your current goals have changed much from your previous ones, then you can still request additional support or ask for advice on how to make more progress towards those goals. The NDIA usually asks you to define two to three broad goals that you want to aim for in the next 12 months. If you make these as broad as possible, then it gives you more opportunities to include different kinds of support and services.

Discuss funding options

Funding is a major component of the NDIS. If you’ve used all your funding or if you believe that you need more money to support and reach your goals, then you’ll need to present a case to your NDIA planner. However, you can also let your NDIA planner know if you’ve received too much funding. Keep in mind that these funds will be taken away if they’re not used, so it’s often best to make the most of your funding if you can’t.

Discuss provider options

You’ll also want to speak about the different providers available to you. If you’ve noticed that your current providers are not up to your standards, then you can request to change them. For instance, if your home care provider is constantly late or the staff have been negligent in their duties, then you can let your NDIA planner know and they will suggest changing to a different care provider.

Do you want to pursue any employment, education or training?

If you’re interested in pursuing employment, education or training then you should let your NDIA planner know. Everyone has the right to advance themselves and the NDIS will likely help with funding your endeavours. They won’t be paying for your entire course fees, but they will provide support to help lessen the impact of your disability. If employment, education or training are things that you want to pursue, then it’s a good idea to let your planner know.

Review management options

Lastly, remember that you have three different options when it comes to managing the funding of your plan. You can choose to be self-managed, a registered plan management provider, or the NDIA. Review how it worked for you over the past year and let your NDIA planner know if you’d like to change the way your funds are managed.

Some final words

Your NDIS plan review shouldn’t take very long, but it’s important to discuss any issues with your planner so that you can better reach your goals and aspirations. If you don’t believe anything will change in the next few years, then you can always request them to revisit you in a few year’s time instead.