What are Funding Periods in the NDIS?
Major changes are now in effect which change how NDIS funds will be made available in NDIS plans.
Categories of NDIS funding will be split into instalments over the life of the NDIS plan, with a specified amount made available in “Funding Periods“.
Participants can spend up to the amount of funding available in each Funding Period.
Funding periods can apply to either the total amount (e.g. 12 months for your whole plan) of funding in participant’s plan, or funding component amounts for specific support categories (e.g. quarterly for CORE funding).
These changes, introduced under Section 33 of the NDIS Act, will affect HOW and WHEN Participants can access their NDIS plan funding budgets.
What are these NDIS changes and who do they affect?
These changes will affect how and when Participants can access their plan budgets.
Instead of receiving the full budget upfront, Participants will now have their funding released in smaller instalments over the duration of their plan, called ‘funding periods‘.
These changes will be applied to new NDIS plans and to current Participants’ NDIS plans when they are reassessed.
What are Funding Periods in the NDIS?
Funding Periods break the availability of your NDIS funds into instalments.
How often you receive an instalment depends on the type of support. The 3 main Funding Periods are:
- Quarterly (every 3 months): funding for most supports will be released quarterly.
- Monthly: Home and Living supports like Supported Independent Living (SIL) will be usually be released monthly
- Up front: Funding for supports like Assistive Technology or Home Modifications will be released up front to pay for the item. Also for assessments.
For example:
Your new 1 year NDIS plan includeds $48,000 for Assistance with Daily Life. You want to use this to pay for a support worker.
You will have $12,000 available when your NDIS plan starts and then an additional $12,000 each quarter until the NDIS plan period ends. Any unspent funding will be carried forward and made available in addition to the next instalment.
When does a Funding Period start?
The Funding Period starts when your NDIS plan starts. It’s important to note that it is not linked to a calendar month.
For example:
If your NDIS plan starts on 27 March, this will be the start of your Funding Period. If you have quarterly funding, the next instalment you receive for a support will be 27 June.
What happens if you don’t spend your funds in the funding period?
Unused NDIS funds rollover into the next period – they will keep adding up and will be available for the duration of your plan.
But any unused funding at the end of your plan will not be carried over into your next NDIS plan.
For example:
You have $21,000 of funding for Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy in your 1 year NDIS plan. The Funding Period is quarterly.
When your NDIS plan starts, you have $5,250 available. You are unable to find a speech therapist for the first 3 months, so the next Funding Period you have $7,875 available ($5,250 + unused funds of $2,625)
How do I view my Funding Periods in my plan?
Where can I see the dates of my Funding Periods?
You will be able to see the Funding Periods in your NDIS portal as part of your NDIS PACE plan.
They will also be printed on your NDIS plan – you receive this by email as a PDF and can share it with providers to show them your funding periods.
Your endorsed Plan Manager (if you have one) and your endorsed Support Coordinator (if you have one) will also be able to see all of these breakdowns in your NDIS plan.
Other NDIS providers CANNOT see them, so it is VERY important that you share this information with providers that you engage. This is to make sure your services match your available funding.
How will the funding periods appear in my NDIS plan?
Your NDIS plan will state each specific support category and under these categories you can view:
- the funding period (e.g quarterly)
- the funding period schedule (the date when each period begins)
- funding amount (how much is released at each period).
Here is an example of part of a funding period schedule for a ‘Choice & Control’ budget.
The funding period is monthly, the funding amount is $336.80 the first month and then $104.45 per month after that for the rest of the plan.
How can I view funding periods in myparticipant portal/PACE?
In PACE each support category will show:
- It’s management type (e.g. plan-managed)
- The total amount funded over the plan (e.g $1,485.75)
- The funding periods (e.g the date each month).
Under the details table you can simply click ‘More’ and view the ‘funding period schedule’ (see example below)
Funding Components
Funding Components group together related types of supports in an NDIS plan.
Each Funding Component will have their own ‘funding period schedule’ which will include the dates and length of each funding period (see example below) and the amount that can be used to buy supports that are included in this component.
Can my Providers see my Funding Periods?
No, most NDIS providers cannot view your Funding Periods in PRODA. Only Plan Managers and Support Coordinators can see them.
Should I share my Funding Periods with my NDIS providers?
Absolutely yes! Providers need to match the delivery of their supports to your Funding Periods.
They also should include your Funding Periods in your Service Agreement.
Claiming for Supports with Funding Periods
When must I claim for my supports?
Claims must match the funding period. If a support spans two periods, it may not need two separate claims or split invoices if you have sufficient funds to pay for it..
The funded amount is made available from the start of each Funding Period so that you can pay your invoices during the funding period.
What happens if I run out of funds?
Each funding period you will have the amount of funding allocated + any rollover funds from the previous period. If you ‘spend’ more than this amount, you can only pay the overspent amount in the next funding period.
For example:
You have $12,000 of therapy funding in your plan.
This amount will be released quarterly, so you will have $3,000 available for therapy each quarter. If your therapy costs $3,500, you will not be able to pay the full amount, You will only be able to payn $3,000 in the current period and then the remaining $500 in your next funding period.
NOTE: If you spend more than this in even one funding period, your funding will not last for the duration of your NDIS plan.
Ask for a reassessment if you need to change the frequency of funding periods or the amount of funding.
Can I ‘borrow’ from future Funding Periods?
No. You can only spend the amount you receive in a Funding Period + any rollover funds from previous periods.
Key Points
- All new NDIS plans will include funding in instalments.
- If you don’t spend the whole instalment during its funding period, it is added (rolled over) to the next Funding Period.
- Unspent funds are not rolled over to your next plan.
- You can only claim for the amount you have available in your funding period.
- Ask for a reassessment if you need to change the frequency of funding periods or the amount of funding.
- You can see the Funding Periods in your portal, in your NDIS planand so can your Plan Manager and Support Coordinator. No other Providers can see them.
What do you need to do
- Update your Service Agreements and advise your NDIS providers
Let your NDIS provider know your funding periods for each service they provider.
Make sure that your service agreement matches your funding periods.
For example, don’t commit to spending more during a funding period than you are receiving for the period. - Do you need funding for Assessments or Assistive Technology?
Check you have funding for this upfront. - Contact the NDIA
If you need help, be sure to contact the NDIA.
If you are having trouble matching your support needs to the Funding Period, contact the NDIA and ask for a plan reassessment.
Definitions
- Funding Amounts – This is the total dollar value of a Participants NDIS plan.
- Funding Components – These are the categories that make the Participants plan, like Core Supports, Capacity Building, and Capital (assistive technology, home modifications, etc.).
- Funding Periods – This is the new part. Funding periods control how much of a Participants plan budget you be accessed at a given time over the course of the plan. You might only be able to use 3 months’ worth of that funding at a time. This restricts when a NDIS Participant can spend their NDIS Plan Funds.
- Section 33 – Section 33 of the NDIS Act sets out the core requirements of a participant’s plan. Changes to the NDIS Act in 2024 introduced funding periods. The main concept of funding periods is a way for the NDIA to set how often participants can access part of their funding, across the length of their plan, in simple terms its to limit the ability for Participants and their service providers to draw down on big chunks of their funding in very quickly.
