When you have a planning meeting
Your first planning meeting comes after you are accepted into the NDIS. The NDIA says it will start making your plan within 21 days of you becoming a participant, and aims to approve your first plan within 56 days.
You also have a similar conversation, often called a check in, before a plan reassessment. People use several names for these: plan meeting, planning meeting, planning conversation and first plan meeting all describe the same kind of conversation.
Who you meet with
Depending on your age and where you live, the meeting is run by an NDIA planner, a local area coordinator (LAC), or an early childhood partner for children younger than 9. You can bring someone who knows you well, such as a family member, friend, advocate, support coordinator or recovery coach. If someone makes decisions for you, such as a plan nominee or child representative, they should be there too.
What they will talk to you about
Expect questions about:
- Your goals and what matters to you
- Your day to day support needs at home and in the community
- Who already supports you, including family, friends and community or mainstream services
- Any equipment, therapy or home changes you use or need
- Work, study and social activities
- How you want your funding managed: self managed, plan managed, NDIA managed or a mix
- How long your plan will last
How long it takes and how it is held
You can choose to meet in person, by video on Microsoft Teams, or by phone. For a phone or video meeting the NDIA suggests finding somewhere quiet for up to an hour. Some meetings take longer, especially a first plan or a complex situation, and it is fine to ask for a break.
It is okay to ask the person to stop, repeat or explain anything. Take notes, or ask the person you bring to take them.
What to bring
Sharing evidence before the meeting can speed up approval. Useful things to have ready:
- Reports and letters from your doctors, therapists or other professionals
- Any assessments, such as a functional capacity assessment
- A list of the supports you use now and how often
- Draft goals
- Quotes for equipment or home changes you need
- Your questions written down
After the meeting
The NDIA can make changes to your draft plan based on the conversation, but may ask for more evidence first. Sometimes a plan is approved at the meeting itself. Once approved, you get a copy within 7 days and can see it straight away in the my NDIS portal and app. Your plan starts on the day it is approved.
The NDIA will offer you a plan implementation meeting to help you start using your funding. It recommends one for your first plan or when your plan has changed a lot. If you disagree with a decision in your plan, you can ask for an internal review.
What changes from April 2027
From 1 April 2027 participants start moving to new framework planning. Instead of the current planning conversation, a trained NDIS assessor will run a support needs assessment, a semi structured interview about your functional capacity, life stage and environment. Your budget will be worked out from that assessment. Everyone will have moved by 31 December 2030.