How NDIS plans work
Plans, budgets, and three ways to manage them.
An NDIS plan is the document that lists the supports a participant is funded for, organised into budgets. There are three ways to manage how the money flows.
Self-managed
You (the participant or their nominee) handle the money yourself — paying providers, keeping receipts, claiming back from the NDIS. The most flexibility, the most paperwork, and access to the widest range of providers (including unregistered ones).
Plan-managed
A plan manager (a third-party business) pays your providers and handles the admin. You still choose the providers and direct the supports — they just do the bookkeeping. This is funded by the NDIS on top of your other supports, so it costs you nothing extra.
For most families dealing with serious illness, plan management is a sensible default — it gives you flexibility without the administrative load.
NDIA-managed
The NDIA pays your providers directly. You can only use NDIS-registered providers, but there’s no admin for you. The least flexibility — but the simplest.
You can mix them
A plan can have different management types for different budgets. You can also change management type at a plan review.
See all 53 guides in Care & end of life →
From bluetulipco.com/library/end-of-life/plan-management — printed 1 October 2026.
General information only — not a substitute for legal, medical, financial, or therapeutic advice. Read the full disclaimer.
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