Easy read: NDIS planning meeting

Our guide to preparing for your first NDIS planning meeting

If you’ve been approved by the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), you will need a NDIS plan. A NDIS Plan will explain what supports you need to achieve your goals. To work out what’s in this plan, you need a NDIS planning meeting. Here we explain what this meeting is and how to prepare for it.

What is the NDIS planning meeting?

The NDIS first planning meeting is where the NDIS gets to know a bit more about you. Your meeting will be with your early childhood partner, local area coordinator (LAC) or National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) planner. They will contact you to make a time for your meeting.

You can have someone to come with you to help you. This might be a trusted friend or family member.

Or you could ask for an advocate to come with you. An advocate is someone who can help you say what you want. You can ask your early childhood partner, LAC or NDIA planner to help find an advocate for you.

What to think about before the NDIS planning meeting

In the meeting, they may ask you some questions. It’s best to think about your answers before the meeting. They might ask about your current life situation, your future goals, how you want your money managed and other details.

Your life right now

In your planning meeting, you will talk about how you live right now. They will ask you:

• What is your disability?
• How does it affect your day-to-day life?
• What support do you have right now? Family, friends or service providers?
• Where do you live? Who do you live with?
• What things do you like to do right now? Do you have social or recreational activities you enjoy?
• Do you have a job or do you study?
• Do you use assistive technology?

Your goals for the future

In your NDIS planning meeting, they will also ask you about the future. What goals do you have?

This might include short-term goals. These are things you might do within a year. For example, you might like to join an exercise class. Or you might need support so you can join a book club.

You might think about some long-term goals. These are things that take longer to reach. Examples might include learning to drive. Or moving out of a group home into somewhere you can live by yourself. Or getting a job.

When you plan goals, think about:

• What you like to do
• What you want to change
• What you want to try

How do you want to manage your money?

You will have to decide how you want to manage your NDIS funding. This means you will have to decide whether you self-manage, use a plan manager or have the NDIA managing your funding for you.

You can read more about the differences on the NDIS website.

Other details

They may ask you if you are receiving compensation from anyone. Compensation is money you might have received if your disability is from an accident. You should also think about questions you want to ask. Is there anything you’re confused about? Or do you need more information about something?

What should you bring to your NDIS planning meeting?

You will need to bring some specific information to your NDIS planning meeting. You will need:

• Any letters from the NDIA
• Your bank account details. This is if you are thinking about self-managing your NDIS funding.
• Your myGov login and password. You can talk to your early childhood partner, LAC or NDIA planner if you need help with this.

Another helpful thing to bring is the NDIS Booklet 2. This booklet gives you a space to write information about your life and your goals. If you write it down, then you will not forget any important details when you get to your meeting.

You can download the NDIS booklet 2 here. There are also easy read and braille versions you can download.

What happens next?

After your NDIS planning meeting, you will receive a NDIS plan. This plan is based on what you talked about in your meeting. You can read our guide to understanding your NDIS plan here.

If you’d like to learn more, get in touch with us at Five Good Friends. Our friendly team can talk to you about what support would work best for you.

Learn more: Our easy read guide to who can help you with the NDIS