What a plan manager does
A plan manager is your bookkeeper for the NDIS. Day to day, they:
- Receives your providers' invoices and checks they match your plan, the right support items and the price limits
- Claims the funding from your plan and pays your providers
- Gives you regular statements showing what you have spent and what is left, including in each funding period
- Keeps records of invoices and payments, which plan managers must keep for 3 years
- Helps you understand your budgets and, if you want, build your own skills in managing your plan
What a plan manager does not do
A plan manager does not usually find providers, set up services or solve problems with your supports. That is the job of a support coordinator, if you have one, or yourself. Some organisations offer both services, so ask how they keep the two separate and avoid conflicts of interest.
A plan manager also cannot approve spending that is outside your plan or above the price limits, even if you ask them to.
The rules plan managers must follow
- They must be registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, under the registration group for management of funding for supports
- They must be recorded as a my provider on your plan before they can be paid
- They cannot pay more than the NDIS price limits, whether your provider is registered or not
- They have been told to only pay SIL invoices from providers who are registered or applied for registration by 1 October 2026
- From 1 December 2026, claims must be made within 90 days of the support being delivered
What a plan manager costs
Nothing out of your support budgets. If you choose plan management, the NDIA adds separate funding to your plan for it. In 2026/27 the price limit is a monthly fee of up to $104.45, the same everywhere in Australia, and it was held at the previous rate. There is no separate set up fee in the current price limits.
How to choose a plan manager
Plan managers differ more in service than in price. Ask:
- How quickly do you pay providers once you get an invoice?
- How can I see my balance, and how often do I get statements?
- Who do I talk to when something goes wrong, and how fast do you reply?
- How do you handle an invoice above the price limit?
- How will you make sure claims are made within 90 days?
- How do I end the agreement if I want to change?
Changes coming for plan managers
From 1 October 2027, the NDIA will set up a panel of approved plan managers. If your plan manager is not on it, you will have 6 months to move to one that is. Under new framework plans, from 1 April 2027, plan management can be added to your plan separately from the assessment of your support needs if you ask and are eligible.
Changing plan managers
You can change at any time. Check the notice period in your service agreement, choose a new plan manager, record them as your my provider and end the relationship with the old one. Ask the old plan manager to pay any outstanding invoices before you switch, so providers are not left waiting.