Core supports
The day-to-day help that gets the week done. The most flexible budget in your plan.
- Assistance with daily life
- Social and community participation
- Consumables
- Transport
Flexible across most categories
Resources · Funding explained
How NDIS funding actually works
Three budgets, one plan, and a lot of jargon. This page explains what each part of your plan pays for, who can spend it, and what to do when the money does not match the support you need.
Fill Form now- BudgetsStandard to complex
- Plan managementAll three types
- RegisteredNDIS Provider
The three budgets
Every plan is split into Core, Capacity Building and Capital. The rules for moving money between them are different for each.
Capacity building
Supports that build a skill or set something up, funded per category and not transferable.
- Improved living arrangements
- Improved daily living (therapy)
- Finding and keeping a job
- Support coordination
Fixed per category
Capital supports
Equipment, technology and home changes. Quoted, approved, then paid against the quote.
- Assistive technology
- Home modifications
- Specialist disability accommodation
- Vehicle modifications
Quote required before spending
What it covers
Funded, and not funded
The test the NDIA applies is whether a support is reasonable and necessary, related to your disability, and not the responsibility of another system like health or housing.
- Support workers for personal care, daily tasks and overnight rosters.
- Therapy that relates to your disability — OT, physio, speech, psychology.
- Assistive technology, from a shower rail to a communication device.
- Transport where your disability prevents you using public transport.
- Support coordination to find and manage the providers in your plan.
Paid another way
Out of pocket
These are everyday costs every Australian carries, so the NDIS will not fund them — even inside a supported home.
- Rent, mortgage, bills and food — including in a SIL home.
- Day-to-day costs unrelated to your disability, like a phone plan.
- Medical and hospital treatment, which Medicare and health cover.
- School tuition and fees, which the education system covers.
- Anything that duplicates a support already funded elsewhere in your plan.
Who holds the money
Three ways a plan can be managed
You can mix these across budgets. Caring Buddy invoices whichever way your plan is set up, including split arrangements.
You hold the funds
Self-managed
The NDIA pays you, you pay providers and keep the receipts. Most freedom, most admin, and you can use unregistered providers.
You choose any provider
A plan manager holds the funds
Plan-managed
A registered plan manager pays invoices on your behalf and tracks the budget. Funded on top of your plan at no cost to you.
Most common arrangement
The NDIA holds the funds
NDIA-managed
Providers claim directly from the portal. Simplest option, but you can only use NDIS-registered providers like us.
Registered providers only
Not sure which one you have? It is written on the first page of your plan under “How your plan is managed”.
Ask us to checkPlan reviews
Going into a review with evidence
Most funding shortfalls come down to missing paperwork, not a missing need. We prepare review packs for participants at no charge.
- 01
Log what actually happens
Keep four weeks of notes on the support you used and the support you went without.
- 02
Collect the reports
Current OT, physio or nursing reports carry the most weight. Ask for them early — they take weeks.
- 03
Cost the roster
We write a roster of care that prices the hours you need against the current price guide.
- 04
Bring someone with you
A support coordinator, advocate or family member in the meeting keeps the conversation on record.
Funding questions
Frequently asked
Still stuck on a line item? Call 1300 001 615 and we will read the plan with you.
Call your plan manager first to confirm the balance, then request a plan reassessment through the NDIA on the grounds of changed circumstances. We can supply usage records and a revised roster of care to support the request. In the meantime we will work with you on a reduced roster rather than stopping support.
Free plan check
Send us your plan and we will tell you what it covers
No obligation, no sales call. A care manager reads the plan, marks the lines we can deliver against, and flags anything that looks underfunded.
- Plan on a pageOne-page summary of the three budgets · PDF
- Roster of care templateFor SIL and high intensity requests · XLSX
- Plan review checklistWhat to gather before your reassessment · PDF
- Current price guideNDIS pricing arrangements · External link