It’s essential to prepare for NDIS review meetings since they can determine the course of your future with NDIS. These meetings are the best opportunity you’ll have to review your supports with the NDIS and to request more funding if needed.
Changes can be made outside of reviews, but requesting alterations at other times can interrupt your funding and may disrupt your services.
Instead, follow this guide before your next review so that you’re 100 per cent confident that you’re asking for everything you need. We recommend gathering documents and preparing about four months before your plan ends so that you’re 100 percent ready for your review.
5 Considerations for NDIS Plan Reviews
1.Goals
Helping participants meet goals is the main point of NDIS funding, so the NDIS may want to see assessments and feedback from your providers during your review. As you look over these documents, think about what has worked well in your plan, what needs to be changed, which goals require more attention. Consider other people or resources you might need to achieve your goals, and what you want to be different moving forward.
There’s no need to pick new goals unless you want to make changes - you can just assess your progress on current goals and reflect on anything that ought to be different. In the reports that you provide during reviews, make sure that your providers point out any supports you may require in the future so that the NDIS is aware of changing needs.
2. Research
There are many resources and items available to help people with disabilities. If there’s something that you need to make day-to-day living easier, research solutions and be ready to present these in your NDIS review.
If you can make a compelling case to demonstrate why an item is needed, NDIS will give it serious consideration. They’ve been known to fund alterations to participant-owned properties and cars to include ramps, additional access points, and other modifications. Come prepared to the review to demonstrate why certain supports are needed.
3. Budgeting
It’s essential to look over your budget before an NDIS review. Our online dashboards can provide reports to show your spending for a given time period, so you can access these resources if you haven’t been tracking the numbers on your own.
If you’re unsure about the costs of a product or service, look at the NDIS price guide for help. Try to map out your costs throughout the year so that you can provide an accurate picture to NDIS. The more information you can provide, the better. Come to the meeting prepared to request the dollar amount that you need to provide adequate supports for your current needs and for any expected changes that may require further supports.
4. Documentation
Getting your documentation in order is necessary to a successful review. Gather all reports from your support network, provide receipts, and anything else that you think is relevant to describing your NDIS needs.
Organise the documentation in a clean, easy to understand format and bring it with you to the review so that the NDIS coordinator can look through it. Don’t hesitate to highlight important areas or to draw attention to certain documents that the NDIS should see. It’s especially helpful to include a summary letter at the beginning of the documentation to outline what’s included and why it’s important.
5. Request Plan Management
For many NDIS participants, plan management is essential to managing funds and supports with NDIS. If you rely on plan management, let NDIS know that you want to continue using this service during your review.
Show how plan management has benefited you and explain why you need to continue utilising it.
What to bring to your review
Whether your review is in-person or over the phone, you’ll want to be prepared before it begins with the following:
- A copy of your NDIS plan
- All documentation in a presentable format that’s easy to read, explain, and navigate
- Any reports from service providers
- A decision maker, if you have one
- A family member or friend to help support you if you’d like to have extra help during the review
The review shouldn’t feel like a test - you do need to be prepared and ready to explain what you need, but ultimately NDIS’s goal is to help participants and to ensure they have all the tools to succeed.
To get prepared for your review, gather all the relevant information you can from your All Disability Plan Management dashboard. If you need further help, get in touch with your support coordinator for assistance.