What happens at an NDIS plan review?
The short answer
An NDIS plan review, now usually called a plan reassessment, is a meeting where the NDIA looks at how your current plan has gone and decides your funding for the next period. You talk about what has changed, what your goals are now, and what support you need. The decision rests mostly on evidence — recent reports from your doctors and therapists, and a clear picture of what you can and cannot do on an average day. Most of the work happens before the meeting. Gather reports early, write down what a hard day looks like, and check how much of your current funding you have actually used.
A plan review sets your funding for the next year or more. It is a short meeting that carries a lot of weight, and most of what decides the outcome happens before you walk in.
What actually happens
The NDIA calls it a plan reassessment now, though most people still say review. Someone from the NDIA, or from the partner organisation that helped you join the scheme, goes through:
- How your current plan has gone
- What has changed since last time
- What your goals are now
- What support you need to reach them
- Whether the funding is still right
It usually takes about an hour, on the phone or in person. Your funding can go up, down, or stay the same.
Three things to do before the meeting
1. Get your reports in early
This is the big one. Decisions are made on evidence, and old evidence carries less weight. Ask your doctor, occupational therapist, physiotherapist or psychologist for a current report a good month or two ahead — they are busy, and a report that arrives after the meeting is no use at all.
A useful report says what you can and cannot do, and what happens without support. "Needs assistance with showering" is weak. "Cannot stand unsupported for more than two minutes and has fallen twice in the bathroom this year" is evidence.
2. Check what you have spent
Log in and look at how much of your current funding you have used. This matters more than people expect.
If you have used very little, that can be read as proof you do not need as much. If the real reason was that you could not find a provider with capacity, or you did not know you were allowed to use it, say so at the meeting. That is a completely reasonable explanation, but only if you give it.
3. Write down what a hard day looks like
People almost always describe their best day. It is human, and it costs them funding.
Write it down beforehand instead. What takes the longest. What you have stopped doing. What you need someone else for. What happens when nobody comes. If a family member is filling the gap, write down how many hours a week that is — informal support that is not sustainable should be on the record.
Goals: be specific
Vague goals get vague funding. "Be more independent" is hard to fund. "Learn to catch the train to my TAFE course on my own by the end of the year" points directly at life skills and travel training.
Bring two or three goals you actually care about, and be ready to say what support would help you reach each one.
Take someone with you
You are allowed to bring a family member, a friend, an advocate, your support coordinator or a provider. Do it. The meeting moves quickly, and it is much easier to remember things when you are not the one answering every question.
A free, independent advocate can be found through the National Disability Advocacy Program.
If the decision is wrong
You can ask for an internal review of the decision. There is a time limit, so do not sit on it — the NDIA must be asked within three months of you receiving the decision. If the internal review does not fix it, the next step is the Administrative Review Tribunal.
Plenty of decisions are changed on review. Being told no once is not the end of it.
How we can help
If VSG Home Care supports you, we can write up how your supports have been going and what we have seen change — the kind of practical, day-to-day evidence that is often missing from a file full of clinical reports. Just ask, well before your meeting. Our help with change support also covers getting ready for a review.
Common questions
Yes, it can go up, down or stay the same. Funding is most often reduced when a participant has not used much of their current budget, or when there is no recent evidence showing the need is ongoing. Both of those are worth checking well before the meeting.
Recent reports from your doctor, occupational therapist, physiotherapist or other treating professionals. Your current plan. A note of what you have spent. A written list of your goals. And a plain description of what a difficult day looks like — not your best day.
Yes. You can bring a family member, a friend, an advocate, your support coordinator or a provider. It is genuinely worth having someone there — meetings move quickly and it is easy to forget things when you are the one being asked about.
Looking for an NDIS provider?
VSG Home Care is a registered NDIS provider in Craigieburn serving Melbourne's northern suburbs. The first conversation is free and commits you to nothing.