All you need is love
Or is it?
Have you ever listened to the well-known Beatles song ‘All you need is Love’ and wondered if that statement is actually true?
While being loved and accepted as a human no matter who you are (or what disability you have) is worth more than all the money in the world, is it really all you need?
Unfortunately, life can be expensive and money really does have a role to play in our lives. To some extent money does “make the world go ’round”. If you or a family member have a disability then it can be even MORE expensive and all the love and good intentions in the world won’t change that fact.
In the world of the NDIS at the moment there are many of changes being discussed, controversies over what should be funded, talk of budget cutbacks and upset participants. We are hearing of more and more participants receiving large cuts to their NDIS funding packages. There are also more people asking the question, “Well what should I do now?!” when they receive their plan back from the NDIS and there is less money in it than they hoped for.
In some situations it may be possible to put in for a review of your plan by the NDIS, as long as you complete the necessary paperwork within 30 days of the plan being handed down. Sadly though, in some cases, the only thing that can be done is to look at what funds have been provided and then get creative to find other ways to meet the goals of the participant.
Some tough choices may need to be made. The first step involves budgeting and planning with the funding level provided in the plan and making sure you know exactly how much things are going to cost prior to starting to use the funds, otherwise you could find yourself running out of money.
Budgeting has traditionally been a very difficult thing to do for NDIS plans. The NDIS pricing system is one of the most complicated areas of the entire NDIS program. Often this means many participants do not know where to start or may not understand what their funding even lets them purchase, let alone how much it’s going to cost!
This is where our NDIS Budget Buddy tool can come in handy. If you haven’t looked at it yet, it's more than worth the time!
We have made it easier for you to work out how much your supports will cost. You can use the Support Item Wizard to find the correct prices and let the system help you to work out your estimated funding based on your needs.