A plan manager is a professional disability service provider whose primary responsibility is to assist National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants in Australia in managing their plan funding. Plan managers support participants by monitoring their budget, disbursing payments to service providers, updating participants on the financial status of their plan, among other necessary functions. Participants can also seek advice from their plan managers about the best ways to maximise their plan funding.
If you’re an NDIS participant seeking to hire a plan manager, simply inform the NDIS and they’ll allocate the necessary funding for one as part of your plan. You can find and connect with potential candidates from anywhere in Australia through a variety of channels, including your Local Area Coordinator and the NDIS myplace participant portal. Whether you’re on the lookout for an NDIS plan manager Perth residents trust or a go-to person for NDIS participants in the state of Western Australia, rest assured that there are plenty of options available to you.
Naturally, in your search for the right plan manager, you’ll need to keep an eye out for certain essential qualifications. Read on for an in-depth look into five of the most important factors to consider when choosing an NDIS plan manager.
Financial Management Background
Because NDIS plan management relies heavily on accounting, you should look for someone with extensive experience in the industry. At the minimum, you’ll want a plan manager who has completed an official bookkeeping certification course. It may also help you to search for candidates affiliated with organisations like the Association of Tax and Management Accountants (ATMA), the Association of Certified Bookkeepers (ICB), the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA) and other similar entities.
NDIS Registration and Expertise
Selectability NDIS says it’s important to bear in mind, however, that you can’t simply hire your local accountant or bookkeeper to act as your NDIS plan manager. This is because plan managers are required to be NDIS-registered. Only registered plan managers can access the NDIS portal, the platform on which they make claims and disburse payments on their client’s behalf. Working with NDIS-registered plan managers also gives participants access to a wide network of both registered and unregistered disability services providers.
In addition, because NDIS plan managers are meant to help participants get the most out of their plan, you want to work with someone who is intimately familiar with NDIS guidelines and procedures. They’ll be able to offer you the best quality services for your budget and process your payments and claims most efficiently.
Project Management Skills
The role of an NDIS plan manager also extends beyond basic financial management. Other important tasks plan managers are expected to perform include liaising with service providers, providing participants with detailed and accurate reports on their funding status, processing incident forms to be sent to the NDIS and other paperwork.
In light of the above responsibilities, an NDIS plan manager should be confident handling large amounts of information. Look for someone with superior organisational and management skills like writing reports, editing, spreadsheeting, research and the like. You also want someone who clearly understands how to work within the specific procedures and policies of the many organisations they answer to.
Communication Skills
NDIS plan managers can expect to work with a vast variety of individuals and groups, including people with disabilities. They should thus be capable of clear, effective, and ethical communication in both written and oral forms. You can assess written communication skills, for instance, by asking potential plan managers to provide you with written responses to set selection questions. Verbal communication skills, meanwhile, can be assessed through interviews over the phone or in person.
You’ll also want to ensure that your NDIS plan manager will be easy to reach whenever you need them and will process your requests in a timely fashion. It will be especially helpful, for example, if they can define the specific days and hours you can contact them by phone, how quickly you can expect to receive an email response and other communication protocols. Ask especially about the number of days it takes them to process invoices to make sure that they’ll be able to stay on top of your payments.
Full Transparency
Choosing to work with an NDIS plan manager does not entail completely giving up control over your plan. In fact, the best plan managers will offer you more choice and control over what services you utilise and how your plan is implemented.
Your plan manager should give you a way to track your payments and check your funding status. Some plan managers, for example, provide their clients with reports and financial statements on a set schedule. Some have developed online platforms or applications to allow their clients to view any changes made to their invoices and budget in real time.
Plan management is a multidimensional role with many different demands and responsibilities, and you can’t count on just anyone to do the job of moving your plan forward. Understanding what makes a good NDIS plan manager will help you hire someone with the necessary skills, knowledge, and attitudes to support and empower you.
