When would we decide not to change your plan?

There may be several reasons why we might decide not to change your plan by doing a plan reassessment or variation when you ask us to.

When would we decide not to do a plan reassessment?

If you ask us to do a plan reassessment, we need to think about whether your current plan can meet your support needs, and the reason you are asking for a plan reassessment.

We would decide not to do a plan reassessment, for example:

If you don’t have any new information or evidence

We generally won’t change your funding if there’s no new information about how your support needs have changed.

For example, we generally won’t do a plan change if:

  • you changed your mind about the supports you want, after we approved your plan
  • there’s no evidence your support needs have changed, that is, you can still do the same things you could do when we approved your plan
  • there’s not enough evidence to show you need changes to your funded supports, such as more therapy.

If your request is only about wanting more funding, or supports that other participants have

We generally won’t change your funding just because you want more supports, or the same supports as others.

This may include where you want:

  • more funding because you’ve used all the funding in your plan, even though your situation hasn’t changed
  • other supports because another participant has these supports
  • supports added to your plan without enough evidence on why you need them
  • funding for supports that don’t relate to your disability. 

If informal, community or mainstream supports can meet your needs

We generally won’t change your funding if friends, family or other services can meet your needs.

For example, if you ask for things we:

  • don’t fund, like medical treatment, school fees or childcare
  • would reasonably expect family or friends to do for you, such as short-term care if the family members who usually support you are sick.

If your plan is suspended

We also can’t do a plan change if your plan has been suspended.

This usually happens after:

  • you’ve been overseas for more than 6 weeks – there are some situations we can extend the 6 week period
  • you don’t claim compensation you’re entitled to after we ask you to, for example after you’ve had an injury.

Learn more about plan suspensions.

When would we decide not to do a plan variation?

There are reasons outlined in the NDIS Act when we would decide to do a plan variation. These are outlined in this guideline in What is a plan variation.

We would decide to not do a plan variation if it doesn’t meet the NDIS funding criteria, or the reasons outlined in this section.

For example:

  • your plan is suspended or ceased 
  • you have flexible funding left in your plan that can be used
  • we can’t look at the variation without looking at the other supports in your plan
  • your situation has changed significantly, and a reassessment is required
  • you are wanting more funding to help with a new or changed goal, and the request is not minor
  • it is to avoid or replace an existing review or appeal pathway
  • we don’t have enough evidence to support a variation
  • we have varied your plan several times and your plan isn’t meeting your need so a reassessment is needed
  • your needs can be met by your informal, community or mainstream supports 
  • you have used all the funds in your plan more quickly than specified in your plan.

How can we support you?

If we decide not to change your plan, we can link you with other services who may be able to help. Talk to your my NDIS contact or, support coordinator about how they can help you get other supports you may need.

If you don’t agree with our decision not to change your plan, you can ask us for an internal review of that decision. This means another one of our staff, who wasn’t involved in the original decision, will look at whether we made the right decision.

If you don’t agree with our decision not to either do a plan reassessment or plan variation, you can ask us for an internal review of that decision. This means another one of our staff, who wasn’t involved in the original decision, will look at whether we made the right decision.

Learn more about reviewing our decisions.
 

This page current as of
27 October 2023
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