Having an NDIS Plan can open up opportunities for many. It can provide financial support to help you achieve your life goals, but it also allows you to connect to people that can impact your life for the better, such as support workers and therapists.
When looking at your NDIS plan, it’s important to understand what your funding can do for you. You need to ensure you’re getting the correct supports for your level of needs. And this might only be obvious once you’ve met with local providers, or spoken to your Support Coordinator.
So, if you’re not too sure of whether your NDIS plan suits your needs and your goals, then you might need a Plan Review meeting. But, what do we need to do for a Plan Review meeting?
Let’s have a look.
Is it still called an NDIS Plan Review?
First thing’s first, the NDIS has listened to the Participants of the scheme. Finally.
As with many things that fall under NDIS terminology, a Plan Review meeting confused people. What if people didn’t want to review their plan? Why do we need another meeting? What is going ON? So, they’ve broken it down into two things (with two names): a Plan Reassessment, and to make it even more confusing: a Plan Variation.
So, while both are still reviews of the plan, they’re different in how you need to prepare for them.
Sometimes, we can scratch our heads wondering why the NDIS calls certain things something, but it’s best to work with them – and find an NDIS translator like us.
Let’s break these two types of plan reviews down, shall we?
Plan Variation
This is a plan review which only requires a small change, or a ‘light touch’ as our friends at the NDIA call it.
A light touch could be:
- Changing how the funding is managed i.e. from self-managed to agency-managed
- Changing provider
- Changing the date of reassessment
A Plan Variation is something that can be processed very quickly, but just remember you will still need to justify the change so putting it all down in writing is key.
Plan Reassessment
So, an NDIS Plan Reassessment is a full review of your plan and usually this requires a meeting with an NDIS Planner.
Sometimes this is scheduled i.e. when your plan is due to end and the NDIS want to catch up with you and collate further information to ensure the funding is still sufficient for your needs. But, you can also request a full plan review at any time. This is an unscheduled Plan Reassessment meeting.
Why do I need a Plan Reassessment meeting?
Not everyone will need a Plan Reassessment meeting, but if you received your NDIS plan and wondered whether it had everything you needed to help you in your day-to-day life, or your needs have changed due to further impairment or you no longer live with somebody, then you will need to have it re-looked at.
Remember, though, even the slightest change in your life, due to age or your living arrangements changing can impact you. So don’t be afraid to ask for a Plan Reassessment meeting if you believe further funding will help you to achieve your NDIS goals more.
How to prepare for your a full plan review (or as it is now known, a Plan Reassessment meeting)
The best thing to do when you have a meeting in sight is ask yourself why your current plan isn’t working for you.
What goals did you not achieve due to the limitations of your plan? What didn’t work well in your current plan? This could be anything from not enough Core supports to allow for regular support workers or not enough in your Capacity Building budget for regular physiotherapy to truly improve your mobility.
But remember, with all the reasons why your plan didn’t work as well for you as expected, you need: evidence.
One of the hardest things we can do is ensure we have enough documentation to prove our needs level. We might not have a folder or keep track of all our medical reports, therapeutic reports or school reports, but we need formal documents to show someone at the NDIS – someone who doesn’t know you and might be sitting in a different state on the phone and can’t see you – how your days are affected by your disability.
You can speak to your Support Coordinator to make sure you have all your:
- Medical reports
- Therapeutic reports
- End of plan progress reports from providers involved with your NDIS plan
- Incident reports
Another thing to think of is what you’d want to see from your next plan. Do you have any new goals? Have your goals changed? Have your needs changed, and if so, how? Who can help you achieve your goals?
Knowing what you want to achieve and having supporting evidence from those you’ve engaged with will ensure you get the best plan after your Plan Review meeting.
Key takeaways
Making your NDIS plan work for you is how you’ll see the greatest impact on your life with a disability. But we understand sometimes it can feel like jumping through hoops which is why it is important to lean on those around you for support.
If you have a Support Coordinator, reach out to them to see if there’s any wiggle room in your current plan, or if you need to get some more formal documentation to justify why a Plan Reassessment meeting is needed.
In your area, you can also find LACs (Local Area Coordinators) who can help guide you through the complexities of the NDIS.
One thing we can always help with at Kimberley Care Group is ensuring you’re connected to great quality support workers. Support workers are key to helping you achieve your NDIS goals; they can support your independence inside and outside the home; encourage you to participate in the community; implement therapeutic strategies as taught by your therapy team and be that companion to lean on.
Reach out today if you need a bit of extra support in your life.