NDIA Accountability Project

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Change the draft budget

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FOI 24/25-1912 DOCUMENT 18

Change the draft budget SGP KP Publishing

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FOI 24/25-1912 SGP KP Publishing – Change the draft budget

Table of Contents

1 Recent updates …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4

2 Before you start …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5

3 Check for ART orders during a plan reassessment ………………………………………………… 6

4 Understand when there’s an active housing application …………………………………………. 8

5 Check the draft budget information is up to date ……………………………………………………. 9

6 Develop a draft budget from a $0 budget ……………………………………………………………… 10

7 Use the plan conversation support tool to develop the draft budget …………………….. 11

8 Add a support category ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 12 8.1 Select support items and check plan comments …………………………………………………….. 13 8.2 Review and submit …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 13

9 Update a support category …………………………………………………………………………………… 15 9.1 Select support items and check plan comments …………………………………………………….. 16 9.2 Review and submit …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 16

10 Remove a support category ……………………………………………………………………………… 18

11 Add the plan conversation support tool to the case ………………………………………….. 19

12 Next steps ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 20

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This article provides guidance for a planner delegate, planner (non-partnered area) or review officer to:  check for ART orders during a plan reassessment  understand when there’s an active housing application  check the draft budget information is up to date  develop a draft budget from a $0 budget  use the plan conversation support tool to develop the draft budget  add a support category  update a support category  remove a support category  add the plan conversation support tool to the case.

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1 Recent updates

6 November 2024 New section added to upload the Plan Conversation Support Tool (PCST) to the case after the draft budget has been developed. 4 November 2024 Guidance updated to reflect legislation to start a new body called the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART). The ART replaced the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) on Monday 14 October 2024. Updates include Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) changed to Administrative Review Tribunal (ART). 3 October 2024 Guidance updated to advise all plans must be 12 months or less until PACE is updated to enable funding periods. 12 August 2024 Guidance updated to advise the Plan Conversation Support Tool (PCST) must be used for all new plans and plan reassessments.

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2 Before you start

You have:  understood the draft budget. Go to article Understand the draft budget  understood the support categories included in the draft budget. Go to article Support Categories  used the Plan Conversation Support Tool to develop the draft budget. Go to article Understand and update the plan conversation support tool.

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3 Check for ART orders during a plan reassessment

If you’re doing a plan reassessment, you should check for any current (in effect) or previous Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) orders, decisions or notices. You’ll also need to check if there’s an ART application in progress.

There’ll be an alert on the Person Account when an ART application is in progress. AAT alerts are closed once the matter is finalised, the decision or order has been received and a plan implemented. If there isn’t a current alert, you still need to check for any previous ART orders and decisions on the Documents tab of the Person Account.

To check for ART decisions, orders or notices:

  1. In the Person Account, select the Documents tab.

  2. To help locate an ART related document, you can select the Category heading and look for any documents with the Authorisation category. You can also select the Sub Category heading and look for documents with the Legal Orders sub category.

  3. Once you’ve located the ART related document, select the document from the list.

  4. Select Download from the Document Details pop-up.

  5. A copy of the document will be downloaded to your personal files to view.

When there’s an ART order or decision recorded, you need to make sure the effect of the order or decision is maintained when you develop and approve subsequent plans.

Note: If the order or decision is still in effect you should not make any changes to the supports in the plan that relate to the order or decision. The order or decision will usually state the length of time it applies for. The Justification in the Plan Approval case will also reference that the plan was completed as the outcome of the ART order or decision and the period of time it’s in effect for.

When you reassess the plan, think about ART orders or decisions as evidence when you make the decision to approve the new plan. A support will usually remain in the new plan if there’s no evidence to suggest changes are needed because of an ART order or decision.

You should check:  if the decision or order has a specific time period the support will be in place  if the decision or order relates to a particular life stage or transition  if there’s evidence the participant’s situation has changed and the intent of the support no longer applies.

If you’re changing or removing a support which is included in the plan because of an ART order, you’ll need to include the reasons for changing this support in your justification.

Once an order or decision is no longer in effect, you may build and approve a plan which varies from ART orders or decisions when:  there’s been a change in the participant’s circumstances which has a substantial impact on the participant’s disability support needs; or  the participant’s goals and objectives have changed and the support in question would no longer assist them in achieving those new goals and aspirations; or  the available evidence clearly demonstrates the support no longer meets the NDIS funding criteria (external).

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If you’re not sure what the ART order, decision or notice means, you should check with a senior planner or team leader. If you need to, you can contact the ART Case Management Branch by email at 47E(d) - Certain operations of and make a request for contact with the ART case manager responsiblei for the ART matter, or their supervisor.

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4 Understand when there’s an active housing application

When there’s an active Housing Application case on a Person Account, you’ll need to check with a senior planner or team leader whether you can proceed with the Plan Approval case.

There will be an Alert on the Person Account when a housing application is in progress. The Plan Approval case will also show a banner on the Draft Budget tab.

The banner will say The participant has a home and living application in progress. Please don’t work on the plan approval case until the home and living application has been completed.

Note: The banner will only appear on the Plan Approval case when the Notify Planning checkbox has been selected in the Housing Application case.

The Plan Approval case owner will receive a notification in PACE when a housing application is created or completed. If the housing application is completed, the notification will tell you to review the housing application decision before continuing.

If there’s a risk to the participant or their support needs, you’ll need to progress with the Plan Approval case. Please review the risk matrix to confirm if the plan approval meets the criteria to progress. You’ll need to talk to your senior planner or team leader for guidance on how to proceed, this includes if you won’t meet the Participant Service Guarantee (external) timeframes for approving a plan.

Note: If you complete the Plan Approval case in error, or it was agreed with your team leader or senior planner you needed to, before the Housing Application is finalised, you’ll need to create a Plan Change case. You should create a plan change request for a CEO’s own initiative reassessment (s48) as soon as the plan is approved. Go to article Create a plan reassessment (s48) request. You should explain this to the participant at the plan meeting.

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5 Check the draft budget information is up to date

Note: This section is only for SAP CRM plans that are transitioning to PACE.

For plans already in PACE or TSP generated budgets for new participants, go to section Use the plan conversation support tool to develop the draft budget in this article.

For draft budgets with a $0 TSP, go to section Develop a draft budget from a $0 budget in this article.

When a participant’s plan transitions from SAP CRM to PACE, you’ll need to check when this budget information was last synced. This will make sure that you have the most up-to-date draft budget in PACE.

  1. In a Plan Approval case, select the Draft Budget tab.

  2. You’ll need to check the date under Last calculated date from SAP.

o If the date is older than 48 hours (2 days) from today’s date, the data has not been able to sync with the case. Go to step 3.

o If the date is within 48 hours (2 days) from today’s date, you can continue to develop the draft budget. Go to section Add a support category in this article.

  1. You’ll need to check the participant’s current plan in SAP CRM for any changes to their budget that isn’t reflected in PACE.

  2. If you need to make changes to supports to reflect the current SAP CRM budget, go to the section Update a support category in this article.

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6 Develop a draft budget from a $0 budget

A $0 draft budget means no support categories have been generated. You’ll need to manually add funding to the budget.

There are different circumstances where a PACE first plan will generate a $0 budget. To help you understand the participant’s support needs and what information needs to be captured in PACE, go to article Action a plan approval case when access is granted without pre-access information gathering.

Once you’ve gathered all the information you need, use the Plan Conversation Support Tool to help you to develop the draft budget. This tool helps make sure you’ve generated the right budget, based on supports you’re adding to the plan. You must use the PCST for all new plans and plan reassessments.

When you’re ready to start developing the draft budget, go to section Use the plan conversation support tool to develop the draft budget in this article.

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7 Use the plan conversation support tool to develop the draft budget

The Plan Conversation Support Tool (PCST) is mandatory for all new plans and plan reassessments. If a participant or their authorised representative would like to know more details about their total budget amount, they can ask for a copy of their NDIS budget breakdown which is generated from the PCST.

The prices in the PCST are current and updated according to the NDIS Pricing and Price Limits.

Use the PCST to understand what to include in the draft budget. Only include support in the PCST after you make a decision to fund supports using:  the Our Guideline – Reasonable and necessary supports (external)  relevant Our Guidelines (external)  article Support Categories.

For more information, go to article Understand and update the plan conversation support tool.

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8 Add a support category

You can add funding in a support category when:  you have evidence the supports in that category meet the NDIS funding criteria (external)  you need to add an in-kind, direct commissioning or periodic support category back into the budget after you removed it  you’re developing a draft budget where a TSP didn’t generate.

To learn more about what you need to consider when funding support categories, go to article Support Categories.

You’ll need to have determined the amount of funded supports by using the PCST before changing the draft budget. You must use the PCST for all new plans and plan reassessments and attach it to the participant record. Go to section Use the plan conversation support tool to develop the draft budget in this article.

You’ll need to think about if you have enough information or evidence to make a reasonable and necessary decision to add supports in the draft budget. If you don’t have enough information, you’ll need to ask for further information from the participant (or their authorised representative). Go to article Request for information for a plan approval case.

Note: If you’re adding recurring transport to the draft budget, check if the participant has an active bank account recorded. Where you’re adding a bank account for the first time, you won’t be able to do this until after the plan has been approved.

Note: Check bank details are correct for participants who self-manage any part of their funding or receive recurring payments. To do this, go to article View bank account details. If they have a nominee or child representative with manage plan funding authority, make sure their bank account details are up-to-date and assigned to the participant. To learn more, go to article Before you update bank account details.

  1. From the Plan Approval case, select the Draft Budget tab.

  2. Select New Support Category.

  3. In the Support Category field, enter the support category name.

  4. Select the Budget Type from the drop-down list. To learn more, go to article Understand the draft budget.

  5. Select the Instalment Type.

  6. If the Instalment Type is:

o Recurring, the Amount will be the annual amount for this support. o Regular, the Amount will be the monthly amount for this support. o Once-off, the Amount will be the total amount for this support. 7. Plan Duration field will be locked. The default duration for new plans will be 12 months (1 year) and plan reassessments or variations will be 36 months (3 years). All plans including new plans, scheduled and unscheduled reassessments must be 12 months (1 year) or less until PACE is updated to enable funding periods. To change the plan duration, go to article Change plan duration. Note: The funding period will be applied to the Total Funding Amount of the participant’s plan and will be the same length as the plan duration until PACE is updated.

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  1. Enter the Amount for the support using the amount recommended by the Plan Conversation Support Tool.

  2. TSP generated budgets only: Select TSP Variance Reason from the drop-down list.

  3. If the support meets all of the NDIS funding criteria under the Justifications heading, select the checkbox to confirm this.

  4. Record Justification in the free text field. For some supports, this might automatically populate. You can edit the justification to make it specific to the participant’s support needs. For more information about recording justifications, go to article Add budget justifications. Note: This field has a limit of 3000 characters. Certain special characters in this field may cause an error, this is generally caused when copying justifications from SAP CRM into PACE. If you see the characters |% you’ll need to change these before you can select save.

  5. If you’re using evidence to support your justification, select the Evidence Used checkbox.

  6. Select the Evidence Type from the drop-down list:

o If you select Document, go to step 14. o If you select Other, go to step 15. 14. Enter the Evidence Link. To bring up a list of evidence that’s linked to the case, press the spacebar. Select the correct evidence document to link to the decision. You can view linked evidence on the Evidence tab of the Plan Approval case. To learn more about linking evidence, go to article Add and link evidence to a case.

  1. Enter the Evidence Explanation into the free text field.

  2. If you need to add more evidence to support your justification, select the checkbox Add further evidence links and repeat from step 13.

  3. Select Next.

8.1 Select support items and check plan comments

Plan comments will print on the participant’s plan. You’ll need to select which support items you’re funding under each support category.

  1. Check the plan comments for each support item in the support category. Go to article Understand and check plan comments. Note: Support items can’t be added when there’s no funding in a support category. Please add funding to the support category if you want to identify support items. If you add a $0 support category for flexibility of Core supports, you don’t have to add support item. You’ll receive an error message if you select Yes to any support item.

  2. Select Next.

8.2 Review and submit

  1. On the Review and Submit screen, you’ll be able to view the Base Description and the Plan Comments for the support category.

  2. The support category Base Description and Plan Comments will print to the participant’s plan. The Base Description can’t be edited. Note: If you’ve added a $0 support category, only the base description will be displayed. Continue from Step 3.

  3. Review the support category plan comments.

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o Check that comments are objective, include facts based on evidence, and avoid personal opinions or feelings.

o Keep the text short, simple and in plain conversational English. o Check your spelling and grammar. o Avoid jargon. o Introduce all acronyms before using them. For example, ‘Assistive Technology (AT)’.

o Avoid the use of special characters, such as < > or % as this will cause an error or the comment to appear blank.

  1. If you need to make changes to any of the plan comments, select Previous.

  2. Once you’ve confirmed the base description and plan comments are correct, select the checkbox to confirm this.

  3. Select Submit. If you need to add another support return to section Add a support category in this article.

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9 Update a support category

You can update a support category when you need to:  change the way funding is made available  change the budget type from flexible to stated  decrease the budget if you have evidence the participant needs less support in their new plan  increase the budget, if you have evidence, because the participant’s needs have changed and they need more support to work towards their goals.

To allow flexibility, you can’t remove Core support categories. If the NDIS funding criteria isn’t met, update the Amount to $0.00 for this support. This will make sure that Core supports can continue to be flexible. To understand more about Core support categories, go to article Understand the draft budget.

You’ll need to have determined the amount of funded supports by using the Plan Conversation Support Tool before changing the draft budget. You must use the PCST for all new plans and plan reassessments and attach to the participant record. Go to section Use the plan conversation support tool to develop the draft budget in this article.

  1. From the Plan Approval case, select the Draft Budget tab.

  2. Select the budget item from under either the Flexible Budget or Stated Budget heading. Note: If the support has been generated by a Typical Support Package (TSP), a TSP message will appear under the Support Category name.

  3. Change the Budget Type if needed. Think about the impact on plan flexibility for the participant and their providers. Go to Support Categories for more information.

  4. Select the Instalment Type.

  5. If the Instalment Type is:

o Recurring, the Amount will be the annual amount for this support. o Regular, the Amount will be the monthly amount for this support. o Once-off, the Amount will be the total amount for this support. 6. Plan Duration field will be locked. The default duration for new plans will be 12 months (1 year) and plan reassessments or variations will be 36 months (3 years). All plans including first plans, scheduled and unscheduled reassessments must be 12 months (1 year) or less until PACE is updated to include funding periods. To change the plan duration, go to article Change plan duration. Note: The funding period will be applied to the Total Funding Amount of the participant’s plan and will be the same length as the plan duration until PACE is updated.

  1. Enter the Amount for the support using the amount recommended by the Plan Conversation Support Tool.

  2. TSP generated budgets only: Select TSP Variance Reason from the drop-down list.

  3. If the support meets all of the NDIS funding criteria under the Justifications heading, select the checkbox to confirm this.

  4. Record Justification in the free text field. For some supports, this might automatically populate. You can edit the justification to make it specific to the participant’s support needs. For more information about recording justifications, Go to article Add budget justifications. Note: This field has a limit of 3000 characters. Certain special characters in this field may cause an error, this is generally caused when copying justifications from SAP CRM

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into PACE. If you see the characters |% you’ll need to change these before you can select save.

  1. If you’re using evidence to support your justification, select the Evidence Used checkbox.

  2. Select the Evidence Type from the drop-down list:

o If you select Document, go to step 13. o If you select Other, go to step 14. 13. Enter the Evidence Link. To bring up a list of evidence that’s linked to the case, press the spacebar. Select the correct evidence document to link to the decision. You can view linked evidence on the Evidence tab of the Plan Approval case. To learn more about linking evidence, go to article Add and link evidence to a case.

  1. Enter the Evidence Explanation into the free text field.

  2. If you need to add more evidence to support your justification, select the checkbox Add further evidence links and repeat from step 12.

  3. Select Next.

9.1 Select support items and check plan comments

Plan comments will print on the participant’s plan. You’ll need to select which support items you’re funding under each support category.

  1. Check the plan comments for each support item in the support category. Go to article Understand and check plan comments. Note: Support items can’t be added when there’s no funding in a support category. Please add funding to the support category if you want to identify support items. If you add a $0 support category for flexibility of Core supports, you don’t have to add support item. You’ll receive an error message if you select Yes to any support item.

  2. Select Next.

9.2 Review and submit

  1. On the Review and Submit screen, you’ll be able to view the Base Description and the Plan Comments for the support category. Note: The support category Base Description and Plan Comments will print to the participant’s plan. The Base Description can’t be edited. Note: If you’ve added a $0 support category in Core, this will be the only information displayed. Continue from Step 3.

  2. Review the support category plan comments. You’ll need to make sure to:

o Check that comments are objective, include facts based on evidence, and avoid personal opinions or feelings.

o Keep the text short, simple and in plain conversational English. o Check your spelling and grammar. o Avoid jargon. o Introduce all acronyms before using them. For example, ‘Assistive Technology (AT)’.

o Avoid the use of special characters, such as < > or % as this will cause an error or the comment to appear blank.

  1. If you need to make changes to any of the plan comments, select Previous.

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  1. Once you’ve confirmed the base description and plan comments are correct, select the checkbox to confirm this.

  2. Select Submit. If you need to update another support, return to section Update a support category in this article.

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10 Remove a support category

You can remove a support category when the evidence shows the support:  doesn’t meet NDIS funding criteria (external)  isn’t required by the participant, this may include Capital supports that were funded in previous plans  needs to be recorded as in-kind, direct commissioning or periodic support.

You won’t be able to remove Core flexible supports. If the NDIS funding criteria isn’t met, record $0.00 in the Amount for this support. This will make sure that Core supports can continue to be flexible.

If you’ve removed a support category to record it as in-kind, direct commissioning or periodic support, go to article Add or remove in-kind supports.

To remove a support from the draft budget:

  1. In a Plan Approval case, select the Draft Budget tab.

  2. Select the support category from under either the Flexible Budget or Stated Budget heading.

  3. In the Budget Item Update screen, scroll to the bottom and select Remove Support From Budget.

  4. Select Yes to confirm you want to remove the support category.

  5. Select Save.

  6. Record your reason for removing the support category in the Handover Notes tab. Go to article Add handover notes for a plan approval case.

If you’ve decided not to fund a support the participant has asked for, you’ll need to record a declined support. Go to article Record a declined support.

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11 Add the plan conversation support tool to the case

Once you’ve made changes to the draft budget in PACE and are ready to progress to the next step, you must upload a copy of the plan conversation support tool (PCST). This will act as a record of how the draft budget was developed. Also, it can be used to generate a budget breakdown if requested by a participant or authorised representative.

The PCST must be added as a complete excel workbook. Saving a single excel worksheet or as a PDF will not allow a budget breakdown to be produced if it’s requested. Make sure you’re adding the complete PCST to the person account.

  1. From the Plan Approval case, select the Documents tab.

  2. Select Add Documents. The Documents Details pop-up window will appear.

  3. At Please select a Document Category, select Supporting Information.

  4. At Please select a Document SubCategory, select General.

  5. At Does the document contain any Personal identifiable information (PII)?, select No. Note: Please make sure you’re on the correct person account before adding a document.

  6. Provide any further information in the Description free text field.

  7. Select Next.

  8. Select Upload Files.

  9. Find and Open the file to upload. All documents in the table should be Ready for upload.

  10. Select Save. All files should now show as Uploaded successfully. Note: If a document fails to upload, select Retry.

  11. Select Close. The documents tab will now show the document that was uploaded to the case. Note: When you’ve uploaded the document, confirmed it’s in PACE and can be opened, you must immediately delete all saved copies of the document to protect participant privacy.

If you need to delete a document, go to article Delete a document from PACE.

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12 Next steps

  1. To progress towards a plan meeting, next you’ll need to make a fund management decision. Go to article Make fund management decision.

  2. If you’ve changed the budget after the plan meeting and are ready to approve the plan, go to article Approve and generate a plan.

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