New to the NDIS? Here's what plan management actually means
No jargon, no assumed knowledge. Just how the money side of your plan works, and what a plan manager takes off your hands.
- NDIS Registered Provider
- Australia-wide service
- Real people, not a call centre queue
- Secure participant budget portal
- Registered and unregistered providers, where permitted
- Invoices processed in 1–2 business days
How does NDIS plan management work?
Your NDIS plan includes funding for plan management as a separate line item. Your providers send their invoices to your plan manager instead of to you. The plan manager checks each invoice against your plan and the current NDIS price limits, claims the funding from the NDIA, pays the provider, and records the spend against the right budget so you can see what is left.
- You choose your providers and agree the supports you want.
- Your provider delivers the support and sends us the invoice.
- We check the invoice against your funding and the current price limits.
- We claim from the NDIA and pay the provider.
- You can see the spend and your remaining budget in your portal at any time.
Valid, correctly submitted invoices are processed within 1–2 business days. Processing is the step we control. Final payment timing can also depend on NDIA processing and whether we need to clarify details with a provider. For a fuller explanation of the money side, read what plan management is, what a plan manager actually does and what plan management costs and who pays. If you're weighing up providers, how to choose an NDIS plan manager is a neutral checklist you can apply to any of them.
The three ways an NDIS plan can be managed
Your plan can use one of these, or a combination across different support categories.
NDIA-managed (agency managed)
The NDIA pays your providers directly. You can only use NDIS registered providers, and you have limited visibility over claims as they happen.
Plan-managed
A registered plan manager holds the plan management funding in your plan, checks and processes provider invoices, keeps the records and reports your budgets back to you. You can use registered and unregistered providers where the NDIS permits it, at no cost to your support funding.
Self-managed
You pay providers, claim from the NDIA and keep your own records. Maximum flexibility, and the most administrative responsibility.
Plan management is funded separately by the NDIA. Plan management is funded by the NDIA in your plan — it does not come out of your support budgets and there is no cost to you.
What we do once your plan is with us
- Receive invoices from your providers so you don't have to handle them
- Check invoices against NDIS pricing and your plan budgets before claiming
- Valid, correctly submitted invoices are processed within 1–2 business days
- Keep the records the NDIS requires
- Show your balances and transactions in your participant portal
- Explain, in plain English, when something can't be processed as submitted
Processing is the step we control. Final payment timing can also depend on NDIA processing and whether we need to clarify details with a provider.
Already have a plan manager and want to change? See how switching works.
What should you expect from a good NDIS plan manager?
Use these criteria on us, and on anyone else you are comparing. Written answers are more useful than reassurance.
Responsiveness
Can you reach a person who knows your plan, and do you get a reply when you leave a message?
Invoice processing
Ask for the service standard in writing. Ours is: valid, correctly submitted invoices are processed within 1–2 business days.
Budget visibility
Can you see your balances and transactions yourself, or do you have to ask and wait for a report?
Explanation when something stalls
When an invoice can't be processed as submitted, are you told why and what needs to change?
Provider choice
Plan-managed participants can use registered and unregistered providers where the NDIS permits it. Your plan manager should support that, not restrict it.
Registration and governance
Check the provider is an ndis registered provider and that privacy, complaints and service agreement information is easy to find.
Switching support
A good plan manager makes leaving as easy as joining. Look for a clear transition process, not pressure.
Fee clarity
Plan management is funded by the NDIA in your plan — it does not come out of your support budgets and there is no cost to you.
We have turned these into a scored checklist you can take to any provider: how to choose an NDIS plan manager.
Get started, or just ask a question first
You don't need to understand everything before you contact us. Tell us where you're up to and we'll explain the rest.