What is Self-Management?
November 3rd, 2023 
Self-management will allow the care recipient to hire any provider. They do not need to be registered and can charge more than the hourly rate in the price guide. This means that literally anyone with an Australian Business Number (ABN) can be hired, even if they don’t have specialist disability experience. However, if a higher rate is paid the recipient will still need to make sure their budget will last the whole year. Due to the fact their budget only considered the NDIS hourly rates.
Some support providers have complained NDIS prices are set too low. Therefore, self-management is great if the care recipient wants to hire a provider that charges above the price limit. Buyer beware! Some providers charge the maximum price possible. They have little regard to what the fee should be delivering in terms of value and quality of service. When this happens, the recipient does not get value in their plan. Consequently, they lose hours of service and might have their self-management status reviewed.
Downside of Self-management
Another downside of self-managed plans is the administration, including, record keeping, segregating funds, claiming and paying providers. The care recipient is responsible for keeping records of every transaction on the plan for five years. If they lose a few receipts, or the ink on them fades away, there will be trouble if the agency decides to conduct an audit. While recipients can hire support to help manage their plan, this will come out of their budget. Overall, for people who don’t mind being their own accountant and who need to pay above the price limits, self-management is a good option.
Self-Management offers similar benefits to Plan Management, including greater control over day-to-day decision making, more flexibility, and greater choice in how to use the funding.
The key differences between Plan Management and Self-Management is that Self-Management:
- Do their own administration for claims and payments. Also, the NDIS participant is responsible for claiming NDIS funding and paying the invoices related to the products and services received through an NDIS plan.
- Can pay whatever they choose to service providers, and Plan Managers have prices caps, similar to Agency Management.
