Frequently Asked Questions
If you are eligible for the NDIS, you will receive funding on an annual basis to purchase the services, aids and equipment you need from the service provider/providers of your choice such as Aidacare.
You can choose to either self-manage your own funds, in which case you make claims to NDIS personally, or else ask the NDIA – the agency established to administer the NDIS – to manage your funding for you.
As individual circumstances, conditions or needs change, NDIS participants will be able to apply to have their funding plan adjusted accordingly.
NDIS plan is a document that is based on your goals and describes the disability-related services and support that will help them to achieve those goals. It describes the funded supports you will receive from the NDIS.
All reasonable and necessary disability care, equipment and support services will be funded through the NDIS.
Generally, the supports and services that will be provided, if eligible, need to assist you to:
- work towards achieving your goals
- become as independent as possible
- develop skills for day-to-day living
- participate in the community
- work and earn money
In practice this means providing support, as and if required, in areas including:
- mobility
- communication
- self-care and self-management
- social interactions
- learning
- building skills and capacity for social and economic participation
Blue Star Homecare can support you to prepare for your NDIS planning meeting, to help you to make the most of the NDIS. We can also help you understand and implement your NDIS plan once you receive it.
Our Community Engagement team can answer your NDIS questions no matter what stage of your NDIS journey you are at.
When you receive your NDIS plan Blue Star Homecare can support your NDIS goals with our wide range of tailored, flexible and quality services. We are a specialist disability provider, and we know the NDIS.
Well, that’s entirely up to you. The most important thing is to find a provider that not only offers the services you are looking for but that feels like a good fit for you.
Some things you might like to consider or questions you could ask are:
- Do they offer the services you are looking for in your area?
- Do they take into consideration your preferences for support and how it is delivered e.g., what you like to do, how you prefer to be showered, how you prefer to be fed etc?
- Do you feel like you’re being respected as an individual?
- What are their values as an organisation?
- How do they measure quality? What will happen if I’m unhappy with anything?
- Can I pick a different support worker if I feel the ones that I have is not a good fit for me?
- Can I come in and see where the services are delivered (if relevant) e.g., employment, day services etc.
At the end of the day, it’s totally your choice!
Depending on your goals, the funding in your NDIS plan may include capacity funding which supports skill-building, training, learning, capacity building, accessing employment, improving health and wellbeing and support coordination.
A Service Agreement is a contract between you and the service provider, which will outline how they will deliver the supports in your NDIS plan.
If you currently have a mobility allowance or are under the taxi subsidy voucher scheme, once you have an approved plan these will cease and be replaced with the assessed level of transport you need within your NDIS plan.
The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIS) can connect you with community and mainstream supports to help you pursue your goals and aspirations and participate in daily life. You will continue to have access to mainstream services, such as health, education, transport, and housing. There will be continuity of support provisions if you are not eligible for the NDIS and currently receive disability supports from the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services.
The funding for reasonable and necessary supports in your plan is divided into separate support budgets that relate to areas of your life where you might have certain goals. For example, one part of your plan might be for “increasing my community engagement’, one might be for ‘improving my communication skills” and another might be “getting a job”.
Each of these areas of your life has its own support budget, which is an allocated amount to be spent in that area of your life. You have a choice and control as to how you spend each support budget on its associated goal, but you can’t use funding from one support budget for another goal. For example, you can’t use funding that’s set aside to help you get a job for purchasing equipment. This means you can’t transfer funding between support budgets before your plan review. At your plan review, you can talk about adjusting your goals and how you prioritise them.
No. As you go through your life and your ability and choice change you can adjust the management of your plan as you want. For example, someone may choose to self-manage at the beginning and then decide later they are too busy in their life to do so and then choose to have the NDIA manage their plan for them. Another person may choose to have their plan managed for them at the start and then when they become more comfortable in understanding the NDIS and how it all works they may wish to take over the management of their plan themselves.
Yes, the NDIS will ask you to think about what your goals are and what support you need. Goals are ideas you have about what you want to do in your life. They can be big or small and cover many parts of your life. For example, goals can be becoming more independent, going to schools, spending time with friends or being healthy. This will be easier if you do some planning. Blue Star Homecare can help you figure out what you already get, and we have people who can help you to figure out what you want.
You can also find my info on planning at the NDIS website.
Increased flexibility and choice is what is encouraged under the NDIS. This means that many people can access different support from many services.
You may find as you transition through to the NDIS that you identify goals and ambitions in areas where Blue Star Homecare can support you to achieve your goals, and some areas where another provider is better able to assist you.
We are here to help you achieve your goals. You tell us what you need, and we can tailor it for you.
You do! Your NDIS plan will tell you how much funding you will receive for each support but it’s your decision how funds are managed. You can choose to manage your funds yourself or nominate the NDIS, a registered provider or someone else you trust to do it for you. With the NDIS you’ll always retain control over how, when and where your supports are provided.
Plan Management supports you in managing your NDIS funds. We can connect you with plan managers that can handle the day-to-day administration that comes with an NDIS plan, such as processing invoices and keeping track of your fund balance.
Plan Managers deal with all the tricky paperwork and administrative tasks related to your plan – like keeping track of your spending, maintaining accurate financial records, handling claims with the NDIS and making sure your providers get paid, tracking your spending, and keeping a note of all your paperwork. They can even help you with a list of service providers in your area.
That means you can focus on the more important stuff, like realising the goals in your plan.
Support Coordination helps you get the most out of your NDIS plan, so you can realise your potential and achieve your goals. Support Coordination can take the stress out of organising your supports. It is what the NDIS calls a ‘capacity building’ support – designed to give you the skills and confidence to handle this yourself in future.
Your first Plan is the key to gaining entrance to the National Disability Insurance Scheme. It is designed to ensure you, as an NDIS participant, remain at the centre of the planning process.
Your first NDIS Plan will provide the supports and assistance you need now, including any additional supports for your unmet needs and your goals.
When preparing for your first Plan, you should think about:
- What support you have and what activities you do now
- Whether these are meeting your needs and support the things you want to achieve in future
- What is important to you
- How all these things will be reflected in your Plan
Blue Star Homecare can provide you with support through the planning process, and then connect you with the services you require.
Nothing at all. Your current supports will continue and will only stop once you have an approved NDIS plan.
Blue Star Homecare charges customers at or below the price limit in the NDIS Support Catalogue for all supports. You can find a copy of our latest price guide as well as support information here: NDIS price guides and information.
If you are not happy with your plan you can contact your planner or the NDIA and discuss the things that you are not happy with. You can also go through a review process with the NDIA, called an internal review.
It is very important that you review your plan very carefully to make sure it has all the supports you need.
Throughout the NDIS process, our dedicated NDIS team can help you every step of the way. No matter your question or support needs, you can contact them at any time on 0406 004 716 or via info@bluerstarhomecare.org
Well, that’s entirely up to you. The most important thing is to find a provider that not only offers the services you are looking for but that feels like a good fit for you.
Some things you might like to consider or questions you could ask are:
- Do they offer the services you are looking for in your area?
- Do they take into consideration your preferences for support and how it is delivered e.g., what you like to do, how you prefer to be showered, how you prefer to be fed etc?
- Do you feel like you’re being respected as an individual?
- What are their values as an organisation?
- How do they measure quality? What will happen if I’m unhappy with anything?
- Can I pick a different support worker if I feel the ones that I have is not a good fit for me?
- Can I come in and see where the services are delivered (if relevant) e.g., employment, day services etc.
At the end of the day, it’s totally your choice!