Sometimes budgeting is challenging for NDIS participants without someone to assist. As a result, it is common for individuals to exhaust their funding within a short period. In other cases, participants may reduce their needs and still have a balance during plan renewal. Both situations are detrimental to NDIS plan management since these participants may miss out on crucial support and services. Here are a few things to avoid a budget blowout with your NDIS funding. In addition, working with a support coordinator or plan manager provides you with added assistance in spending your plan funds.
NDIS Budget Blowouts
NDIS funding blowouts are common among new participants navigating these complex systems. Such a scenario means that a participant overspends within a short time compared to their long-term budget. Therefore, they remain with less or no funds to access support and services before their plan review.
In other instances, an NDIS participant may spend less than the allocated budget. In this scenario, the NDIS may reduce their subsequent plan funding, and they may miss out on essential services and support needed to achieve goals.
How to Avoid Budget Blowouts with NDIS Funding
Maintain a Relationship with Providers
Service providers are key players in your plan management team and should want the best for you by assisting in reaching your NDIS goals.
Therefore, consult them regarding support and services to ensure you are within plan limits. They will also guide you on the costs of the overall services to help you budget for your NDIS funding throughout the year.
Set Up Service Agreements
Service agreements help you manage your NDIS funds by ensuring the service provider covers all your bases. Therefore, setting up agreements when you start working together prevents budget blowouts through a deeper understanding of the full cost of the service you are agreeing to.
These agreements outline the services provided with their respective costs and applicable terms and conditions. Your support coordinator can help you set up service agreements to protect you and the provider by sticking to costs and expectations.
Ensure Everyone Understands Your Plan
Your NDIS journey usually involves many stakeholders, including support coordinators, NDIS plan managers, caregivers, family and friends. Therefore, anyone offering assistance must understand your plan details. These individuals work together with you to ensure you are on track with your funding and not spending too much too soon.
Furthermore, when service providers request information about your plan, it is advisable not to share any details that don’t relate to the service they are providing. Instead, focus on making service agreements with each provider to ensure costs are documented in writing. Your NDIS plan manager will ensure timely payment of invoices while updating you on your spending to avoid blowing out your budget.
Track your Spending
Tracking how you spend your NDIS funds is one way to prevent a budget blowout. After budgeting for the NDIS funding, check whether the remaining amount is enough to cover the remaining months in the plan. Tracking your spending gives you an idea of how much to spend monthly on essential services. NDIS plan managers use various applications, software, and online portals to help participants track their spending and see how much funding is available in each category.
Distributed Expenses throughout the Year
NDIS provides funds to cover services and supports to achieve your goals. Your NDIS budget may be enough to pay for consumables, therapies, and other supports. One way to stay on top of your budget could be to create a budget for ongoing expenses and divide the funds by the remaining months. This technique ensures you stay on budget without spending too much.
Be Proactive
When NDIS participants experience a budget blowout, their go-to solution is to pay out of pocket or forego support and services. However, you can do a few things to salvage the situation. First, communicate with service providers to find alternative solutions to ensure your budget stays on track without interrupting support.
If it means interrupting your support, calculate the remaining NDIS funding and consider shopping around to find cheaper service alternatives to sustain your budget.
Have a Safety Net
Service agreements act as safety nets concerning NDIS costs and funding. Organise a meeting with your service providers and sign an agreement to avoid surprises. The ideal service agreement outlines the services you need, the duration they will be provided, the costs and terms and conditions. This safety net protects you and helps in managing expectations.
How will a Plan Manager Help?
Plan managers with years of experience reviewing budgets and checking invoices can be a great support to help you prevent a devastating budget blowout. A plan manager provides assistance to NDIS participants in the following ways.
- Discussing available funding in the NDIS plan and the best ways to use it. The budget can be broken down depending on the hours you expect to use each support to avoid overpaying for services.
- Some NDIS plan managers may provide you with a portal through your mobile phone, tablet or computer for real-time budget tracking. Using the online portal also provides an overview of your funding, helping to prevent a possible budget blowout.
Taking these steps helps with thinking proactively about using your NDIS funding instead of getting a call from your plan manager that you are out of funds.
Why should you get a Plan Manager?
Irrespective if you know everything about NDIS or have a reliable support coordinator, you may still need an NDIS plan manager to assist you. Plan managers are familiar with NDIS plans and better positioned to help you better understand your plan. Besides plan management, these providers have in-depth knowledge of NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits, which sets outs the guidelines on your NDIS funding.
Consulting NDIS plan managers when starting a new plan ensures you understand the requirements for a better experience with NDIS funding. Maximising your funds and accessing the necessary support without paying out of pocket is advisable. Unfortunately, for many, budgeting and tracking expenditure is an uphill task. Luckily, plan managers are now using various software to allow visibility to reduce overspending NDIS funds.
