What Can You Spend NDIS Funding On?
- First2Care Team
- 5 days ago
- 8 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
If you have ever wondered what your NDIS funding can actually be used for, you are not alone. It is one of the most common questions participants ask, and the most important to get right.
Your NDIS funding exists to support your independence, your goals, and your participation in everyday life. It can be used for supports that are related to your disability, meet the reasonable and necessary criteria, and fall within the categories in your plan.
This guide explains what NDIS funding can be used for, what each support budget covers, and how to check whether a specific support is included in your plan.
What Can NDIS Funding Be Used for Across the Support Budgets
Every NDIS plan has four support budgets:
Core Supports
Capacity Building Supports
Capital Supports
Recurring Supports.
Not every participant has funding in all four budgets. Your plan only includes the budgets and support categories that match your needs.
Most participants use Core Supports, Capacity Building Supports, and Capital Supports. Some participants also have Recurring Supports usually covers transport that is paid to you on a regular basis.
There are two words you will see throughout this guide. Here is what each one means.
Flexible funding. You can choose how to spend it. You can also move it between support categories inside the same budget.
Stated funding. You must use it for the exact purpose stated in your plan. You cannot move it to another support category.
What can Core Supports funding be used for?
Core Supports is usually the largest budget in your plan. It is also the most flexible. It pays for supports that help you with everyday life and with taking part in your community. These are the main Core Supports categories.
Assistance with Daily Life
This pays for help with personal tasks during day to day life so you can live as independently as possible. It may include personal care, help at home, and support with everyday routines.
Assistance with Social, Economic and Community Participation
This pays for supports to take part in community, social, recreational, or work-related activities.
Consumables
This pays for everyday items you need because of your disability. The NDIS gives two examples: continence products and low-cost assistive technology.
Transport
In the Core Support budget, transport means transport provided by a provider. For example, a provider drives you to an activity or to another support.
Everyday transport is different. If you have funding for taxis or public transport, this is usually paid from the Transport category in your Recurring Supports budget.
What can Capacity Building Supports funding be used for?
Capacity Building Supports help you build or keep your skills and independence over time. This funding is stated. which means you must use it for the purpose written in your plan. You cannot move it to another support category.
Your Capacity Building budget can have up to nine categories. These are the ones most often included in plans.
Support Coordination
A support Coordination helps you understand your plan, connect with providers, and use your funded supports. Some participants have Specialist Support Coordination instead. This is for participants with more complex support needs.
Improved Daily Living Skills
This is one of the most used Capacity Building categories. It pays for therapy and skills-based supports that build your independence. It can include:
occupational therapy
speech pathology
physiotherapy
psychology and counselling, where it is related to your disability
behaviour support
skills training to help you manage daily tasks on your own
Improved Health and Wellbeing
This sub category pays for supports that improve your physical and mental wellbeing, where the need for that support is related to your disability. It can include:
exercise physiology
dietetics, where it is related to your disability
personak training, where the trainer holds the qualifications the NDIS requires
This categoty does not replace the healthcare system. Services covered by Medicare are not paid for by the NDIS. This category only pays health supports that are connected to your disability and are not covered by Medicare.
Gym membership are not funded. The NDIS treats a gym membership as an everyday cost. If you are on a PACE plan, this category may appear in your plan as Health and Wellbeing. It is the same category.
Improved Learning
This pays for support to move from school into further education or adult life. It is most often included in plans for younger participants.
Improved Life Choices
This category pays for plan management. When you choose a plan manager like First2Care, the cost is paid from your Improved Life Choices budget. It is not taken from your Core Supports or from your other Capacity Building funding.
This is why plan management does not cost you anything. The NDIS adds this funding to your plan, on top of your other supports. Read more: Is NDIS Plan Management Really Free?
Improved Relationships
This pays for behaviour support and social skills support. These supports help you build positive relationships and manage situations you find difficult because of your disability.
Improved Living Arrangements
This pays for support to find and keep suitable housing. It also covers help when you move to a new home.
Finding and Keeping a Job
This pays for employment supports. For example, help to look for a job, supported employment, and building skills for the workplace.
What can Capital Supports funding be used for?
Capital Supports pays for higher cost items. These are usually one off purchases, or equipment you will use for a long time.
This is the least flexible budget. The funding is tied to specific approved items. You cannot move it to another support category.
Assistive Technology
Assistive technology means equipment, devices and tools that help you do everyday things more independently. The rules depend on how much the item costs.
Low-cost, under $1,500). This is usually paid from your Core Consumables budget. You do not need a quote, written evidence, or approval before you buy it.
Mid-cost $1,500 to $15,000. You need written evidence from a qualified assistive technology advisor. It does not have to be a formal assessment, but it does have to be in writing.
High-cost over $15,000. You need an assessment from a qualified assistive technology assessor, and a formal quote, before it is approved.
Home Modifications
If your home is not safe or accessible for you, Capital Supports can pay for changes to your home. For example:
ramps and accessible pathways
bathroom and wet area changed
grab rails and safety supports
wider doorways for wheelchair access.
other changes recommended by an occupational therapist
Home modifications usually need an assessment from an occupational therapist, and quotes from qualified builders, before they are approved.
Specialist Disability Accommodation
Specialist Disability Accommodation, also called SDA, is housing designed for participants with very high support needs. SDA funding is only included in a small number of plans.
What NDIS funding cannot be used for?
Your NDIS funding cannot be used for the things listed below.
Everyday living costs that are not related to your disability. Rent, food, bills, and general household costs are not covered. If a cost is one that a person without disability would also have, it is usually not funded. The exception is when your disability creates an extra cost on top of the usual cost.
Events and holidays. The NDIS specifically states that funded supports cannot include attending events or going on holidays.
Supports that another service already provides. The NDIS works alongside other government services. Hospital care, appointments covered by Medicare, and mainstream school education are paid for by other government programs.
Anything not related to your disability. Your NDIS funding is only for supports you need because of your disability.
Items or services that cost more than the NDIS price limit. The NDIS Pricing Schedule sets maximum prices for most supports. Services priced above those limits usually not funded.
Anything illegal or unsafe. Any support that involves illegal activity, or that creates an unreasonable safety risk, cannot be funded.
Income replacement. NDIS funding cannot be used to replace income or wages.
What are the reasonable and necessary rules?
Every support in your NDIS plan has to meet reasonable and necessary rules. This is not an exam and it is not something you have to pass. It is set of rules the NDIA uses to decide what NDIS funding can be used for in your plan.
The NDIS says a funded support needs to:
relate to your disability
help you work towards your goals
help you work, study, and take part in social activities
be value for money, which means the cost is reasonable
for the benefit you get be likely to work well for you.
work with mainstream services and the people who can
support you be a NDIS support or an agreed replacement support
These rules are applied when your plan is made. The supports already in your plan have met them.
If you want to add a new support, or use your funding in a new way, your plan manager can help you understand whether it is likely to meet these rules. They can also explain the steps to request a change to your plan.
How do you know if a support is covered by your plan?
The safest way to check is to ask your plan manager before you book a service or buy something.
As your plan manager, First2Care can tell you:
whether the support fits one of your funded support categories
whether the price is within the NDIS Pricing Schedule
whether you need a service agreement in place before an invoice can be paid
This step matters. If you start with a provider and the support turns out not to be covered, you may have to pay for it yourself.
Checking first avoids that. Your plan manager is there to help you use your funding with confidence, not only to process invoices after the money has been spent.
Frequently Asked Questions About NDIS Funding
Can I spend my NDIS funding on anything I want?
No. Your funding can only be used for supports that relate to your disability, fit the support categories in your plan, and meet the reasonable and necessary rules. Your plan manager can explain what is covered and what is not.
Can I move funding between NDIS support categories?
Sometimes. If your Core Supports funding is flexible, you can usually move it between Core Supports categories. Capacity Building and Capital funding is stated, so it has to stay in the category it was funded for. Your plan manager can explain how this works in your plan.
What happens if I spend funding on something that is not covered?
If a purchase or service turns out not to be covered by your plan, the NDIA may not pay for it. In some cases you may have to pay the money back. This is why it helps to check with your plan manager first.
Can my plan manager help me understand what is in my plan?
Yes. At First2Care, helping participants understand their plan is part of our service. It is not an extra. If you are not sure what your funding covers, call us and we will go through it with you step by step.
Does plan management funding come out of my other supports?
No. Plan management is paid from a separate Improved Life Choices budget. The NDIA adds this to your plan on top of your other funding. Choosing a plan manager like First2Care does not reduce the funding available for your other supports.
What if I need a support that is not in my plan?
You can ask the NDIA for a plan reassessment or a plan variation. A plan reassessment is a full review of your plan. A plan variation is a smaller change to the plan you already have. Your Local Area Coordinator, the organisation that helps you use your plan in your area, can help you start this. Your plan manager can help you understand what evidence may support your request.
Can I use NDIS funding for a support worker who is not registered with the NDIS?
If you are plan managed, you can use both registered and unregistered providers for most supports. This gives you more choice than agency management. Your plan manager can help you set up a service agreement with an unregistered provider, and process their invoices correctly.
Know your funding and use it with confidence.
Your NDIS plan is there to support your independence and your goals. Understanding what your funding covers makes a real difference. So does having a plan manager who helps you use it.
At First2Care, we take time to help every participant understand their plan. We check budgets through the Plan Magic portal, and we answer questions whenever they come up. Whether you are new to the NDIS, or you have had a plan for years, we are here to help.
