What are the most important areas of information you should have handy for your first few meetings with your new provider.
Your NDIS Plan
First and the foremost, when looking to fund your support services through your NDIS plan, service providers will be looking to confirm a few areas from the plan to ensure they are aptly suited to supporting you with your desired goals. Thus, funding information such as funded categories, plan dates, who is managing the fund (plan-managed, self-managed or agency managed), and the remaining budget are some of the key considerations that the provider will take into account when reviewing your plan.
Beyond the funding information, the provider will mainly look to confirm the participant’s NDIS goals, and the ‘about me’ section detailed towards the beginning of the plan. These two pieces of information would assist the provider to set out a support plan which is in line with the relevant goals and ensure the highest likelihood of success is delivered through your care. This information would also be made available to the participants Care Team so that everyone that is there to provide care and services knows how and what to plan for, through their support services.
Goals for your support
Whilst during step 1 the provider would have received the participants NDIS goals, they may look to dig deeper into what the participant would like to achieve in both the short-term and long-term, as this relates to the support services that will be provided by the provider as well as the type of staff with relevant skills required to help you achieve these goals.
These goals may be personal (i.e. building self-confidence or independence), or may include others (building and maintaining relationships at the local rec-centre). Whatever the goal may be, the provider is there to ensure they can assist you to meet these goals to the best of their ability.
Personal Contact Details
Possibly an obvious area, personal contact details are vitally important to be on file for both everyday changes such as amendments to support schedules etc, as well as having someone to reach in the event of an emergency.
Emergency contact details that can be provided could be that of your family, NOK, advocate, friend, neighbour, or NDIS contact such as a LAC or support coordinator. You may specify who to contact in the event of an emergency (i.e. neighbour if nobody is home, father for medical emergencies etc).
What Supports You Want
While going over this again may be repetitive as this is usually discussed during the initial enquiry, it is important so that all details are covered before support services start. Ensuring to get down to the fundamentals will ensure that by the time services commence, there will be no surprises or unexpected events that occur as they were not covered prior.
You may wish to discuss the length of services, how regular they will be (weekly, fortnightly etc), what activities or tasks will be completed during this time, and who will be involved in the support.
Background Information
Discussing background information with the provider is a good idea as it provides the support team that will be organised a depth to the support that may not otherwise be informed of.
Going over the past history, work experiences, cultural/ethnic considerations, family etc is great as it will provide the support team with an overview of the support and topics that can be discussed during the service time, whilst also making note of any areas to be considerate about.
This information will also be used to form the basis of support documents such as care plans, risk assessments and WH&S checks through the plan period.
Being sure to make the provider aware of any areas or topics you are not comfortable discussing is also within your right as the service is being designed around your goals. If the information is not directly relevant to your support services, then this information does not need to be shared.
Allied Health Reports
Not all participants will have any allied health reports to make available to the provider, however if you engage with an Occupational Therapist (OT), Speech Therapist, Behavioural Practitioner, Dietitian, Exercise Physiologist, Physiotherapist etc, then any reports or plans that are drafted by them would be best passed on to the provider.
This is due to the fact that specialised information would be made available within these reports that the provider can then adapt and incorporate into their own support services for you to ensure a tailored service for you.
Once this information is passed on to the provider, more often than not Allied Health Professionals would be more than happy to work with the provider to receive feedback, questions or concerns that will inform their own support of the participant, whilst also being able to offer training and insights to the support team that will ultimately benefit the participant.
Personal Preferences
Last but not least, ensuring that your personal preferences are raised and considered by the provider is the last touch required to ensure your NDIS funded support services are tailored to you directly.
Preferences such as your likes and dislikes on the type of food you prefer or the profile of the support staff that you’ll prefer to be provided to your service, the approach they may use with you, the time and day or supports, your dislikes and so on, all play a part in making the service more personalised and comfortable for the participant.
Please note that the above is not an exhaustive list. The NDIS follows a risk-assessment based approach towards support services, so depending on the type of support services that are required, additional information may be required to be shared with your provider from time to time.
Remember, your Service Provider is there to tailor their services to meet your care needs. The more you’ll feel comfortable sharing your preferences as well as likes and dislikes, the better they’ll be able to cater to you.
