NDIS Self-Management Tips and Tricks.
Guide To Report Keeping, Recording Records, Payroll, Claiming through the NDIS Portal.
Hi, I am Paul and I have been self-managing through the NDIS for 4 years. In this time I have managed every aspect of my support from my costing, plan goals, the hiring and mangament of my own staff and the ability to live independently. Which is all thanks to the NDIS. Having the freedom to work with people and providers of my choosing, means that I am not locked into a box. I have complete freedom over my care and my life. Before I was on the NDIS I was self-managed through ‘Your Life Your Choice’ with Disability Services QLD. This helped prepare me for self-managing under the NDIS. Here are some tips and tricks I use to get the most out my NDIS experience. If you would like any guidance with your journey, I’m just an email away. My email is paul@paul.im
It is a NDIS requirement that if you self-manage to keep accurate and up-to-date records for 5 years. I would recommend that you have a dedicated bank account used for NDIS transactions only. This makes it very easy to track all payments and expenses.
This process is easy for me as I keep all my records on my computer and name the folders according to the year, month, and the weekly payment request. A digital copy of all receipts, invoices, claims, and wages reports are kept in the date that the payment request was made through the NDIS Portal. It is easy to access and produce copies and reports with ease. I also print and keep all documents in a folder so if ever I need to access or produce amounts claimed with the claimed reference number it is easy to find. I have a template with supports and services breakdown and all cost incurred during the weekly claims. The NDIS is broken up into categories each with a separated amount of funding, this is different for everyone depending on support required/disability
Assistance with Daily Life also known as Daily Activities
For me this is my most used category. I use it for having staff help me with daily activities such as personal care, swimming, appointments, cooking, washing, cleaning, outings, shopping, social and community participation, studying, volunteering and going on holidays. Having a staff roster and keeping a daily log of what I achieved in relation to my goals is important. It is also eaiser to have a weekly roster so that both you and your staff have an outline of want you want to achieve during the week in relation to your goals and their part in the program. Having consistent staff rosters helps with everyone working together as a team and minimizing confusion that results in limiting the risk of complications. I have a private facebook group which I post the roster into each week. All staff have access and can post any changes or concerns they have so we all work as a team. Using the information from the weekly roster, with staff hours worked, I then process the payroll in Myob Accounting Program. Staff who work for me are employed as casual or permanent part time employees. They have an hourly rate plus super. This cuts out any 3rd party making money off of my budget so I can pay my staff more and get better mileage out of my funding. The award “Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010”, which dictates the pay rates, is available on the QLD Fair Work awards link. This changes in July each year. I live in Queensland; each state and territory have their own award.
QLD Award link : https://awardviewer.fwo.gov.au/award/show/MA000100
Some self-managed participants choose to have their support workers on ABN and do not pay their Tax, Super or Workcover. This is a very grey area and should be investigated before choosing to employ or contract staff on ABN. Having staff work for me directly helps me to retain good staff and leads to a less transient environment for me. I choose to directly employee staff because I am able to work with people I get along with and trust which leads to a better outcome for both of us. You can Apply for WPN through the ATO because you are not a business under the NDIA. You just use the Withholding Pay Number in your name. The ATO are aware of NDIS participants doing this and it’s not unusal or hard.
Application to register a PAYG withholding account link: https://www.ato.gov.au/forms/application-to-register-a-payg-withholding-account/
| I have set up payroll in an accounting program that tracks super and tax, my preferred choice is MYOB and I use internet banking to pay my staff weekly. I claim through the NDIS Portal each Sunday, and the payment is in my bank account on the following Tuesday. I then transfer the wages and invoices once the funding is in my bank account. I pay the PAYG tax weekly to the ATO via internet banking and Super Monthly through the ‘Small Business Clearing House’ reporting system on My Gov through the ATO. This is very simple once set up. I generate an Invoice in my Accounting Program from the staff hours used during the week. This shows a total staff cost including Super and PAYG amounts. This is the amount you request in the NDIS portal. (The super amount is kept in your bank account until the end of the month when it will need to be paid) This is another reason the keep a separate bank account for the NDIS payments and record keeping. |
Consumables
The consumables category can be used for continence products. It may also be used for low-cost assistive technology. Consumables are also used for equipment to help improve mobility. I use consumables to pay for hygiene, PPE for the staff, continence’s aids, accounting software, printer ink, stationary (for record keeping), lower cost equipment and technology such as drink holder on wheelchair or a table modification for wheelchair and equipment maintenance. I keep a copy of all invoices and a photocopy of any receipts.
Transport
This category helps you to travel to and from work or other places that will help you achieve the goals in your plan. How transport funding is paid will be different for each person (it may be paid as fortnightly payments into your bank account). You do not need to keep records or initiate a payment request for the payment. I transfer the amount into to my personal bank account as it comes into my NDIS account. This money goes to petrol, car maintenance, taxis or go cards. I do put the payment amounts in my accounting program so that everything balances with the NDIS portal amounts.
CB Daily Activities
This support could be assessment, training or therapy. It is used to help build up your skills, independence and community participation. These services can be in groups or one-on-one. I use this category for my reports for equipment and assessments, physio appointments, OT and staff training.
Capital Supports
This category includes higher-cost pieces of assistive technology, equipment, home or vehicle modifications and Specialist Disability Accommodation. Capital supports funding cannot be used to pay for anything else. It is important to remember that funds within the Capital supports budget can only be used for their specific purpose and cannot be used to pay for anything else. My OT helps me with all applications and equipment needs. Having good supports is critical for applications as you will need to have a knowledgeable expert to help with these applications.
Please have a look at the templates I have created and see if they work for you to make self-managing easier. Feel free to email me paul@paul.im