When to Use your Core Funding for Capacity Building Supports

NDIS funding is there to help you work towards and achieve the goals identified in your NDIS plan. That means your NDIS funding can be used on supports and services in line with your goals. However, there may be instances where you are running low on funding or are out of funding altogether. In certain circumstances, you may be able to use your Core Support funding to ensure you keep receiving the supports you need.

Man holding a phone and talking with another man in a wheelchair with limb difference

NDIS Support Categories

NDIS plan funding is broken into three support categories – Core Supports, Capacity Building Supports and Capital Supports.

Core supports are the main support category which can help you with everyday activities, and support access to and participation opportunities within your community. Funding in your core supports category is flexible.

Capital supports focus on assistive technology and home modifications. Funding in this support category is not flexible and funds must be used for their intended purpose.

Capacity Building Supports are designed to help build skills and independence in your daily life, and to help you pursue your goals. Capacity building support budgets are somewhat flexible. Participants can choose how to use their capacity building funding within capacity building subcategories but cannot use this money to pay for supports in other capacity building subcategories.

Any service listed as a ‘stated support’ in your NDIS plan is not flexible. If the item is listed as a ‘stated support’, it means the funding must be used for its intended purpose.

When to use Core Funding for Capacity Building Supports

Typically, your core funding would be used within the core supports categories Assistance with Daily Life, Transport, Consumables and Assistance with Social and Community Participation. However, in certain circumstances it may be possible to use your core funding on capacity building support categories. The crossover for this is between core support category Assistance with Daily Life and capacity building Improved Daily Living.

Assistance with Daily Life is designed to help you live your best life, with as much independence as possible. It can help you cover the cost of hiring someone to supervise or support you with any activities (including personal care) in your daily life. And it doesn’t just mean you’ll be supported while at home. You could access support out in the community for social or work reasons, at school, TAFE, or university, or even at a hotel while on holiday.

Improved Daily Living (or CB Daily Activity) helps to build your capacity to engage within your community or to be more independent at home by providing assessment, training, or therapy to help increase your skills.

Currently the NDIS does not have a hard rule within the Pricing Arrangements that prohibits the use of core funding to pay for therapies that would typically fall under capacity building. Although the option to use core funding for capacity building supports is available, the recommendation is to only use this option if there is an urgent need. The reason for this is that therapies can be expensive and using core support funding to pay for them could put unwanted pressure on your core support funding.

If you do have plenty of funding in your core support category and your capacity building funding is tight, using your core funding to cover the cost of expensive reports for assistive technology, functional capacity or change in circumstances.

Case Study

Jane has been seeing an Occupational Therapist (OT). Initially, Jane and her OT discussed having three sessions, however, the number of OT appointments she needs is higher than expected. The issue Jane has now is that her capacity building Improved Daily living budget has almost run out and she still has one month left before her scheduled plan review date.

Jane does have plenty of core funding remaining, so rather than missing her OT sessions, she elects to have the sessions paid from her core support budget. Taking this course of action can also be useful information to share at her next plan review meeting to support having increased funding in her next plan under Improved Daily Living budget.

If you have any further questions or need more clarification on using your core support funding for capacity building, contact your personal First2Care client manager or contact our support team.

Read more about the benefits of working with an independent, professional Plan Manager. Alternatively, contact our friendly team on 1300 322 273 or support@first2care.com.au.