PLAN MANAGED: Hiring your own support worker checklist

Posted by Kevin J Davis on May 19th, 2021

One of the many benefits in choosing to be Plan Managed is the wide array of service providers a participant can choose from. This means, choosing to hire anyone as long as the support worker has his or her own ABN. As plan managed participant, he or she can hire an independent support worker as a contractor with the premise that he or she has an ABN.

Benefits of hiring your own support worker

• Flexibility on hours
• Gives the participant to negotiate on the hours of work required
• Flexibility on rates
• Gives the participant the opportunity to negotiate on rates most especially on weekends ( lower than the NDIS support catalogue)

Allows you to work with someone you are emotionally at ease

• As you will have the opportunity to hire someone you are already familiar with.
• An example will be a participant will be able to hire a good friend or a close door neighbour to help him or her with personal tasks at home.

Checklist in hiring your own support worker:

1. Identify the current challenges you are encountering:

• Personal care
• Cooking and preparing your meals
• Attending therapy appointments
• Accessing the community

2. Support worker profile

Take into consideration the support worker you will be hiring, will you be okay to hire your close friend or someone who has just been referred to by a common friend, a neighbour? It is important to note that, the NDIS will not pay for the support given by your family member as they are not considered reasonable and necessary.

3. Take into account your funding allocation

 Part of the responsibilities of being Plan Managed is for the participant to ensure that he or she stays on track with his or her NDIS funds. That is why once needs are established, it is best to allocate the funding according to the needs identified. In the event that the funding is not enough, you may decide according to priority while waiting for another plan review. The funding is important as this will dictate the hours of work you can pay for your hired support worker. This funding falls under CORE- assistance with daily life.

5. Finding Support Workers

If you do not have somebody in mind to hire as a support worker, you can alternatively post an ad to all the social media platforms which are NDIS related. There are many existing FB and IG groups about NDIS related services, and the members of the community are welcoming, helpful and are a great resource. One of my known ndis service providers south Australia is Yogi Care NDIS Plan Management.

Requirements for your support worker

1. They need an ABN
2. Service Agreement
3. An invoice containing the support worker information, the participant’s info, support item number, duration of the support, date of the support rendered, description of the support given and the fees incurred.
4. Insurance
5. Police Check and or  Working with Children Check

Do you have an NDIS plan and you wish to be Plan Managed? Choose Yogi Care and allow us to help you navigate a stress-free NDIS journey.

Reach us on the web by ndis service providers Adelaide, ndis plan management provider, ndis plan management Adelaide, specialist support coordination Adelaide

Reference: https://bit.ly/3fw1Nto