NDIS plan management explained
Your NDIS plan can be managed three different ways. The right choice depends on how much admin you want to handle and which providers you want access to.
Your three plan management options
- Plan-managed: a plan manager pays your providers and tracks your budget
- Self-managed: you receive funds and pay providers directly
- Agency-managed (NDIA-managed): the NDIA pays NDIS-registered providers on your behalf
Plan-managed
A plan manager is a registered provider who pays your invoices, tracks your budget and gives you monthly statements. You can use both NDIS-registered and unregistered providers, which gives you more choice.
Plan management is funded separately in your plan, at no cost to you.
Self-managed
You receive funds from the NDIA and pay providers directly. You have the most choice and flexibility — including non-registered providers — but you handle invoices, claims and record-keeping yourself.
Agency-managed
The NDIA pays your providers directly. You can only use NDIS-registered providers, which limits choice in some service categories.
Agency-managed is sometimes called NDIA-managed. Because the NDIA handles payments directly, there are no invoices for you to pay and no claims for you to lodge — the provider claims from the NDIA against your plan budget after delivering a support.
The trade-off is choice. Agency-managed funding can only be used with providers registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. In some service categories that is most of the market; in others, such as support workers and some allied health, a large share of providers are unregistered and would not be available to you.
Day-to-day visibility also works differently. Rather than the monthly statements a plan manager prepares, you track your remaining budget yourself through the myplace participant portal.
Worth weighing up: how much admin you want to take on, whether the providers you already have in mind are registered, how closely you want to watch your budget, and whether you want the option of unregistered providers later. You can ask the NDIA to change how your plan is managed — it does not have to stay as it started.
How My Care Link Australia can help
Whether you're on an agency-managed NDIS plan, self-managed or plan-managed, we can match you with providers that fit your plan type and your area — at no cost. If you also want help putting the plan into practice, read our support coordination guide.
About this guide. Written and reviewed by the My Care Link Australia team as general information for NDIS and aged care participants, families and support coordinators. Read our editorial guidelines and provider review process.
This guide is general educational information only. It is not medical, legal or financial advice. For decisions about your individual situation, please speak with the appropriate qualified professional.
Frequently asked questions
Can I change plan management mid-plan?
Yes — you can request a plan variation through the NDIA to change how your plan is managed.
Does plan management cost me anything?
No. Plan management is funded separately in your plan and doesn't come out of your support budgets.
Which option gives me the most provider choice?
Self-managed gives the most choice, followed by plan-managed. Agency-managed restricts you to NDIS-registered providers only.
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Sources and further reading
Rules, funding amounts and wait times change. We check these primary sources when we update this page, and you should confirm current details directly with them.
- National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)(opens in a new tab) — National Disability Insurance Agency. Official scheme information, eligibility and current processes.
- NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits(opens in a new tab) — National Disability Insurance Agency. The current price limits that govern what providers can charge.
- NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission(opens in a new tab) — NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. Provider registration, practice standards and complaints.
- NDIS Commission provider register(opens in a new tab) — NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. Check whether a provider is registered.