ACT NDIS Awareness Package Element 5: Assistance and Supports Plan Management

Agenda – Plan Management  Introduction  Key issues  How are plans managed?  What are ‘nominees’?  What are ‘registered plan providers’?  What does this mean for our clients and consumers?  Where can I get more information ?

Key issues  People with disability make choices about how their plans are managed.  This might mean changes for participants, their families and carers, and providers.  There are options for who manages a participant’s plan.  People’s opportunities to exercise choice and control should be at the front of everyone’s minds.  You may be able to give people with disability information about the options for plan management that are available for them.

Fund Management Managing the funding for supports in a plan means:  Paying for the supports identified in the plan.  Receiving and managing funding provided by the NDIA.  Accounting for how funding provided by the NDIA was spent.

Choices about managing funding for plans  Clients and consumers can choose their provider and manage how and when they get services.  Clients and consumers can choose how to manage their funding in line with their plan.  Funding can be managed by:  The person with disability themselves ominee  A plan ‘ominee registered plan management provider  A registered plan management provider  The NDIA

What is a ‘nominee’?  Nominees are appointed if the person with disability asks, or if it is necessary.  If a person has a guardian, the guardian is normally the ‘nominee’. correspondence nominee  A correspondence nominee can do all the things that a participant would, except:  Prepare, review or replace the participant's plan.  Manage funding for supports in the participant's plan. plan nominee  A plan nominee can do all the things that a participant would under the NDIS including:  Prepare, review or replace the participant's plan.  Manage funding for supports in the participant's plan. Except  Except anything excluded when the nominee was appointed.

What is a registered plan management provider?  A registered plan management provider manages funds for the supports in a client or consumer’s support plan.  A client or consumer can ask for a registered plan management provider to manage some or all the funding in the plan.  Things a registered plan provider can do include:  organising providers  paying for services  doing monthly statements  claiming from the NDIA  finding support providers  negotiating how and when supports are provided

What does this mean for our clients and consumers? (Discussion Points)  How do we think our clients and consumers will want to manage their plans?  Do we think we can answer the questions our clients and consumers might ask us about plan management?  Are we likely to be a registered plan provider?  What sorts of conflicts of interest might arise for us?  How might we manage those?

Where can I get more information on fund management?  Link to the ACT Disability, Aged and Carer Advocacy Service. Link to the ACT Disability, Aged and Carer Advocacy Service  Link to the Mental Health Consumer Network, which offers advocacy and self-advocacy and consumer representation training. Link to the Mental Health Consumer Network, which offers advocacy and self-advocacy and consumer representation training self-manage self-manage  This link tells you how people can self-manage their plans. This link tells you how people can self-manage their plans nomineesnominees.  Here is a link to information about nominees. Here is a link to information about nominees registered plan providers registered plan providers  Here is link to information about registered plan providers. Here is link to information about registered plan providers