Capacity building is one of three support budgets in your NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) plan.
Specifically, capacity building budgets support growing your long-term independence, with potential funding guided by your plan goals. Overall this covers a wide range of therapies, activities and advocacy to grow your independence, including funded supports for:
- Physical, mental health and wellbeing
- Social activities and developing relationships
- Education and training
- Living arrangements and lifestyle choices
NDIS funding types
Supports funding from the NDIS is divided into three sections. These broader sections focus on different areas and have different rules around flexibility of budgets.
1. Core Supports
Core funding is flexible over all four of its categories. A core supports budget includes help with your everyday living activities, your current disability-related needs, and helping you work towards longer term goals.
2. Capacity Building Supports
As per above, capacity building supports are all about building your independence. Unlike your core budget, the funding in each capacity category can only be used in that specific category. You can decide which services or products will become your capacity building supports within these parameters.
3. Capital Supports
Capital supports funding has two areas: Assistive technology, and home modifications. The support budget may also fund one-off support purchases.
Examples of home modification could be a ramp or a bathroom handrail. Assistive tech can range from relevant digital devices to vehicular modifications or walking aids. Funding in capital budgets is generally not flexible and is for specific, justified allocation.
Related:
What does capacity building funding pay for?
There are 9 different capacity building support categories. Each of these possible line items are specific areas of support that dictate how you can spend your allocated funds.
You can choose how to spend your allocated funds within a category, but you cannot take from one category to fund supports in another. For example, if you have budget for CB Employment, you cannot use this to fund CB Relationships supports.
The amount of funding you receive for any or all of these 9 categories will depend on the goals in your NDIS plan. You will need to relate your goals to the funding opportunities.
Capacity Building Supports: Categories
Having different names in the NDIS plan, NDIS support catalogue and the portal itself can be confusing. The new NDIS PACE system should fix these discrepancies. All NDIS participants will be moved over to the new system within the next 12 months.
To learn more about the PACE roll out, see our NDIS PACE Roll Outs Updates page.
In the meantime, where these differ to the line item on the NDIS portal (myplace), we have included the portal version of the name for your reference:
1. Support Coordination
This is a fixed amount for a Support Coordinator to help you use your plan. Support Coordinator funding is approved based on what the NDIA (National Disability Insurance Agency) determines as ‘reasonable and necessary’ for achieving your goals.
2. Improved Living Arrangements
CB Home Living
Supports for you to find and maintain an appropriate place to live. For example, supports in this category may include assistance applying for rental properties, negotiating contracts, meeting tenancy obligations, or otherwise making sure the home is fit for your needs.
3. Increased Social and Community Participation
CB Social Community and Civic Participation
Increasing skills through development and training, so you can participate in community, social and recreational activities. This includes items like:
- Tuition fees or sports coaching
- Community programs
- Camps and classes with capacity-building components
- Activity-based transport funding
This could include any program or activity that helps you to build your social skills, interact with other people, or participate in your community. The types of supports you can engage for this are fairly flexible, so long as you can align it with the relevant goal.
4. Finding and Keeping a Job
CB Employment
Employment related support training and assessments to assist you in finding and keeping a job. Depending what would best help you reach your goal, this capacity building budget could cover:
- A support worker to assist you at your place of employment
- Private recruitment specialists
- Employment mentors
5. Improved Relationships
CB Relationships
Improved Relationships aims to help you develop positive behaviours, and interact with others.
This line item may fund supports like behavioural therapy, a behaviour management plan, body language training, or other training to help you build your social skills – promoting the feeling of belonging and confidence through connection.
6. Improved Health and Wellbeing
CB Health and Wellbeing
This funding is for exercise or diet advice to manage the impact of your disability, focusing on improving health outcomes. Improved Health and Wellbeing could include working with a nutritionist to create a healthy meal plan, or personal training to meet your goals or recover post-injury.
Note: This does not fund gym memberships.
7. Improved Learning
CB Lifelong Learning
Training, advice and help may be funded to help you move from school to further education (i.e. university or TAFE). This focuses on direct support for learning activities; from help with TAFE applications, to learning study skills or having a support worker accompany you to class.
8. Improved Life Choices
CB Choice and Control
The NDIS will fund your plan manager via this category. You do not have to meet any prerequisites to move to a plan managed model; simply request it in your planning meeting or review.
This allows you more choice and control over your plan, including which supports you engage, than agency management. For more information on the differences, see NDIS Self Managed vs Plan Managed vs Agency Managed Explained.
Plan management is a great way to enhance the flexibility of your capacity building NDIS plan without taking on the full administrative burden of managing the financial aspects.
For more information on the basics of plan management, see What is NDIS Plan Management (and is it right for me)?
9. Improved Daily Living
CB Daily Activity
Delivered in groups or individually: Assessment, training or therapy for developing skills, independence and community participation. As the name indicates, the Improved Daily Living category serves to build capacity and confidence in challenges presented by your daily life.
This could include things like occupational therapy, speech therapy, physiotherapy – or more alternative therapies like equine therapy. Other capacity-building examples could be public transport training, assistance with decision making (daily planning, budgeting), or driving lessons.
Managing your NDIS funding
As you no doubt already know, NDIS funding (and the self management of it) can be complex. Managing this yourself can be very time consuming; not to mention, you may risk missing out on crucial funding opportunities if you do not have a high level understanding of the NDIS framework.
Using a third-party plan manager helps reduce the administrative burden of self management, which leaves you free to focus on your goals and progress.
A plan managed approach also allows you to retain autonomy over how your funds are used, including which service providers you would like to engage. You can engage support workers who are not NDIS registered with plan management.
Your NDIS plan manager will make sure you understand your plan, provide you with resources to find providers, and take care of financial aspects like paying provider invoices and record keeping.
Related: How to Choose the Best NDIS Plan Manager for Your Situation
NDSP: Your plan management specialists
NDSP helps NDIS participants make the most of their funding. Our team are experts in plan management, offering quality and comprehensive services to ensure you can focus on accessing the supports you need to reach your NDIS goals.
Are you ready to make your NDIS plan management easier? Get in touch with NDSP and find out how we can support you.
