The NDIS have recently announced additional information on the changes to support co-ordination the key points are highlighted below;
· If you already have support coordination in your plan but need more hours to help you manage everything, you can pay for those hours out of your core budget (assuming you have enough money in your core budget of course).
· If you don’t already have support coordination in your plan, you can now get support coordination (without requesting a review). You can pay for it out of your core budget (assuming you have enough money in your core budget of course).
· This will be allowed for at least the next six months.
· If you are worried about running out of funds you should contact the NDIA and request a review (make sure you ask to speak to the special team who are dealing with all the Coronavirus issues).
This is good news for all those who need some more help to reorganise their supports as a result of the Coronavirus.
The new support coordination line items are available to both participants who have support coordination in their plans and those that do not.
For those with support coordination already in their plan, the change enables them to access funds for additional hours of this support where they may need it due to coronavirus (COVID-19).
For those participants without funded support coordination in their plan, their local area coordinator (LAC) or Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI) partner is their first point of contact. Where an LAC is not available to change to change the plan to include support coordination, participants who do not usually have access to support coordination can only access the new items through their Core support budget.
Participants without support coordination as a reasonable and necessary support in their plan cannot claim support coordination from their Capacity Building budget. These participants can only access the new items through their Core budget.
Only participants with support coordination included as a reasonable and necessary support in their plan are able to claim support coordination from both their Capacity Building and Core support budgets.
Read the full NDIS announcement here: https://www.ndis.gov.au/coronavirus/providers-coronavirus-covid-19/support-coordination