Plan Management is a way to manage your budget and funds, it allows you to:
Have choice and control over the providers you use; use both registered and unregistered providers; negotiate pricing to pay less than the NDIS Pricing and arrangements document and make value for money decisions in line with your plan.
Some of the benefits of having a plan manager, and being with Orange Plan over other types of funds management for your NDIS plan are listed below:
What does a Plan Manager do?
Think of Plan Managers as the accountants of your plan. We are responsible for ensuring your providers are paid and that your budget is on track, including ensuring that your providers are charging the correct rates. Being plan managed also allows you to use providers that are not registered with the NDIS.
In a lot of cases we will work closely with a participant’s Support Coordinator to ensure our customers get the most value from their plan without being under or over budget.
How can a Plan Manager help you?
If you make the decision to be plan managed, a Plan Manager is funded in your plan and must be an NDIS registered provider.
They claim directly from the budgets in your plan to pay your providers on your behalf.
A Plan Manager will:
• Pay your providers for the supports you purchase;
• Help you keep track of your funds; and
• Take care of financial reporting for you.
Depending on your circumstances, they can also help you choose your providers.
Self Managed, Agency Managed and Plan Managed… What’s the difference?
Self Managed means that you are solely responsible for managing your budget, including paying all of your providers and coordinating any paperwork. The NDIS will usually provide an initial ‘estimated float’ for you to pay providers. You will then need to claim directly from the NDIA as you receive invoices from your providers.
Agency Managed means that your funding is managed by the NDIA (National Disability Insurance Agency). Your providers will submit invoices directly to the agency via the MyPlace Portal. When your plan is Agency Managed, you are restricted to NDIS registered providers for your services. If you have any questions regarding using your funding in an agency managed plan it is best to speak with the NDIA.
Plan Managed means that you have elected a Plan Manager like Orange Plan Management to manage your NDIS Plan on your behalf. You can nominate for either full Plan Management or partial Plan Management over different budgets in your plan. We are responsible for paying and liaising with your providers with regards to invoices and claim on your behalf to pay these from the NDIA. Plan Management allows you to use your provider of choice regardless of if they are registered as long as they charge in accordance with the NDIS Price Guide.
Plan Managers also act as a resource to answer any questions you might have about your Plan and the NDIS while assisting you and your support team to make the most of your plan.
Plan Management allows you to maintain control of your plan
You still have complete control over your plan and budget.
You are still in charge, we are simply responsible for taking much of the administrative overhead of self-managing your plan (record keeping, cost coding, liaising with your suppliers and claiming from the agency), while still enabling you access to your choice of providers on top of greater control of your plan.
At Orange Plan Management we are flexible with how you want to be in control. Some participants wish to approve or reject each individual invoice through utilising our Plan Management Portal, while others wish to only screen providers they have not already allowed previously.
We also have many participants that opt for full hands-off Plan Management of their plan beyond the regular reporting that we provide.
How Plan Management affects your budget
If you have Plan Management in your plan the funding for Plan Management is provided in addition to any of your other supports. Opting for Plan Management does not reduce your NDIS budget in anyway.
Orange Plan Management is here to help
You can request Plan Management at any point in your plan or request it during your plan review.
If you would like to nominate Orange Plan Management as your plan managers, let us know via email, phone or through our website by clicking on ‘sign-up’ at the top right of the page. We will then be in touch with the next steps.
Alternatively, just let your representative, Support Coordinator or LAC know that you want to nominate Your Plan Partner and give them our details!
