If you’ve ever looked at your NDIS plan and thought, “What do all these support categories mean?”, this cheat sheet is for you.
Every NDIS support category fits into one of three main budget categories: Core Supports, Capacity Building, and Capital Supports. Together, these budgets aim to provide the right mix of support to help you live your best life.
Here’s a simple breakdown for each budget category and the types of NDIS supports it covers.
Core Supports
Purpose:
Everyday activities to help day-to-day life easier, like personal care and household tasks. Core supports are the only category where you have flexibility to move funding between sub-categories.
What’s covered:
- Assistance with Daily Life: help with personal tasks like showering, dressing, cleaning, cooking.
- Transport: funding to get you where you need to go, like appointments or work.
- Consumables: everyday items such as continence products or low-cost assistive equipment.
- Assistance with Social & Community Participation: support to get involved in your community, join groups, or try new activities.
- Respite care: short breaks for up to 14 days, so you, your family or primary carer can recharge.
Think of Core Supports as the “essentials” that keep your daily life running smoothly.
Capacity Building Supports
Purpose:
To build your skills, confidence, and independence over time. Capacity Building Supports are not flexible, so you can’t move budget from one category to another; you need to spend it on the agreed services.
What’s covered:
Support Coordination: a registered support coordinator to help you find the best supports and manage them efficiently.
- Improved Living Arrangements: support finding a home, applying for rental properties, and meeting tenancy obligations.
- Increased Social & Community Participation: programs to build your independence and connection, like joining a sports club or taking a class.
- Finding & Keeping a Job: help with job searching, skills training, vocational activities, and on-the-job support.
- Improved Relationships: behaviour support and strategies to strengthen your social skills and relationships.
- Improved Health & Wellbeing: supports that help you build better physical and mental health, such as exercise physiology, dietetics, nutrition planning, or personal training.
- Improved Learning: training and support to help you reach your study or work goals, like going to TAFE or uni, applying for courses, or planning your studies.
- Improved Life Choices: funds plan management to handle your plan’s admin and finances, making it easier to manage budgets and payments while you stay focused on your goals.
- Improved Daily Living: helps you build independence through therapies and training that support everyday life, such as occupational therapy, speech therapy, psychology, and physiotherapy.
Capacity Building supports are all about growth, building the skills you need for more independence and choice.
Capital Supports
Purpose:
To fund larger, one-off purchases or investments that help with mobility, safety, or independence. Capital supports are typically approved as exact items or modifications and the funding is earmarked for that purpose only.
What’s covered:
- Assistive Technology (AT): equipment and devices that make everyday tasks easier, from small items like a modified spoon to advanced tools like a powered wheelchair or communication aid.
- Home Modifications: changes to your home to make it safer or more accessible (like ramps, rails, or bathroom adjustments).
Think of Capital Supports as big ticket, one-off items that require quotes and evidence by a health practitioner like an occupational therapist (OT).
Understand your NDIS plan and what it covers with My Plan Support
With My Plan Support, you get your very own NDIS plan administrator who will guide you through your plan, explain your support options, and empower you to use your funding with confidence.
Plan Management is added to your funding under Improved Lifer Choices in your NDIS plan at no extra cost to you, so why not join My Plan Support today?