Everyone has different goals, living situations, and circumstances. So, we’ll work with you to decide how long it will be before we create your next plan. This will be based on your individual situation.
We think about how long you want your plan to go for. We’ll try to make the plan length what you want, where we can.
We think about how long you want your plan to go for. We’ll try to make the plan length what you want, where we can.
If you’re not happy with how long your plan goes for, you can ask for a variation to your plan.
Learn more about changing your plan.
Your plan will say when we must do a plan reassessment, if we haven’t reassessed your plan before this.
This is called the ‘plan reassessment due date’. We could write this as:
- a date, for example ‘1 January 2021’
- a circumstance or milestone, for example ‘when Constantine starts school’
- both a date and a milestone, for example ‘when Macey starts her new job, or 1 July 2021: whichever happens first’.
We have more information on how long we usually make your plan.
When will we give you a longer plan?
If your support needs are stable and your situation will likely stay the same, we generally give you a 3-year plan. Your plan can be up to 5 years if:
We can give you a 36 month plan if:
- you know how to use your NDIS plan
- your disability support needs are stable
- you have strong informal supports and living arrangements
- your work or study situation is stable.
Example
Sarah is 35 years old and has had several plans. Her previous plans worked well. She has the Core supports she needs and it’s unlikely her support needs likely will change soon.
She asks for a longer plan as she knows what supports she needs. Her planner decides to approve a 5-year plan.
When will we give you a shorter plan?
We’ll only give you a shorter plan if your needs might change over the next year or two. This includes if you:
- are likely to leave the NDIS in the next 3 years, including if you were eligible for the NDIS under the early intervention requirements
- are younger than 7
- have changing support needs, such as if your disability gets worse over time
- might change your work or study in the next year or two
- don’t have a strong support network, or there are risks to your safety or your personal money
- have very high support needs, or need behaviour supports
- need assessments to determine your disability support needs
- need high cost assistive technology or home modifications
- need disability-related health supports.
See Appendix A for when we might give you a shorter plan.
We might also give you a shorter plan if you need extra help to link in with supports. Or you might need extra help to use your funding according to your plan.
For example, we could give you a shorter plan and include funding for support coordination. A support coordinator could help you use the right amount of funding each month. When we next change your plan, we can check if you’re linked in to the supports you need. And, we’ll check if you’re using the right amount of funding.
If you’re a younger person in residential aged care, we usually give you a one year plan and we’ll check in with you regularly. We’ll discuss how we can help you move out of aged care if you want to, or whether your supports work for you if you want to stay. We may be able to give you a longer plan if you want one.
Remember, you can always talk to your support coordinator or My NDIS Contact if you want to move out of residential aged care.
Example
Joe is 16 and will finish school in 18 months. We give Joe a 17-month plan. He’ll have the chance to set new goals before he gets his next plan.
When it’s time to create his next plan, we can have another look at his supports. His next plan will include his goals and support needs after he leaves school.