NDIA Accountability Project

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Conduct the plan meeting - Discuss the proposed budget

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FOI 25/26-1985 OFFICIAL Document 6

Create and action a request for a replacement support. The contents of this document are OFFICIAL.

Conduct the plan meeting - Discuss the proposed budget

Guidance in this document is not approved for use unless you view it in PACE.

This article provides guidance for a planner delegate or planner (non-partnered area) to:

  • discuss the proposed budget
  • change the proposed budget.

Recent updates

15 December 2025

Link updated to article Understand, create and action a request for a replacement support

Before you start

You have:

  • completed steps in article Conduct the plan meeting – Complete the participant profile
  • read and understood Our Guideline – Creating your plan (external)
  • read and understood Guide – Conversation style guide
  • read and understood Understand funding periods.

Discuss the proposed budget

Explain to the participant, or their authorised representative, how you developed the budget, the evidence you used, and the support categories included.

  1. In the Plan Approval case, select the Funded Supports tab.
  2. Explain to the participant how you developed the overall budget. You can use information from the Plan Conversation Support Tool( PCST) to help with this conversation.

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  1. You might need to explain:
    • flexible and stated supports, and what this means
    • funding periods and what this means for how funds become available. Select the Funding Periods tab for more information
    • the total support amounts, the level of support we’ve included and how we worked that out
    • the home and living application, if applicable. Talk about what this means for the home and living supports in their plan. Explain that other home and living supports may be added with a plan change if their current situation changes
    • supports pending decision (if needed)
    • which Our Guidelines (external) you used to make reasonable and necessary decisions
    • what information, assessments and reports you used to include the supports in their plan. Note: new NDIS laws came into effect on 3 October 2024. All claims for NDIS supports must be submitted within 2 years of the date the support was provided. Under NDIS law, payments must be made within the funding amounts and periods set out in the participant’s plan. However, under section 45(5) there are very limited circumstances when we may pay for supports outside of the participant’s plan. To learn more about these go to section Understand section 45(5) amendments in article Complete the claim review delegate decision case for a section45(5) request. There is detailed information in section What if I spend my funding before the end of the funding period? in Our Guideline – Your Plan (external).
  2. Ask the participant if there’s any new information they want to provide. Note: if the participant or authorised representative requests a replacement support, go to article Understand, create and action a request for a replacement support.
  3. Discuss any declined supports with the participant.

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You’ll need to communicate all declined supports to the participant at the plan meeting.

Declined supports will also be included on the plan approval cover letter once the plan is approved.

  • You can view declined supports on the Record a Declined Support tab of a Plan Approval case. Explain why this support wasn’t included, how you made your decision and the evidence you used.
  • You can find declined supports in previous plans in the Statement of Supports on the Decisions tab of the Person Account. This will help you understand the reason why a support was previously declined. You’ll need to decide whether the participant’s situation has changed and if the support should now be looked at.
  1. Discuss how long the plan will go for and why.

Let the participant know the plan reassessment date will show on the plan. Tell them they can contact us if their situation changes before the reassessment date. The plan duration will determine the plan reassessment date.

  1. Record key things you discussed in Plan Meeting Notes. Go to article Add plan meeting notes.
  2. The participant or authorised representative might ask for a copy of how the draft budget was developed. You can generate a budget breakdown once the plan has been approved. For more information, go to article Record and action a request for a budget breakdown.

Determine if there are changes to the proposed budget

After your discussion with the participant, you’ll need to determine if there are changes to the proposed budget.

Make sure you have discussed:

  • the participant’s current situation
  • the proposed budget and how the participant can use their funding to meet their needs
  • any new information we have received.

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If there are no changes to the proposed budget

From the Plan Meeting tab, select the Confirmed checkbox. Select Next and go to article Conduct the plan meeting – Discuss fund management.

If you need to change the proposed budget

Go to section Change the proposed budget in this article.

Change the proposed budget

Participant provides new information or has a change in situation

You can change the proposed budget if you have evidence to support the change:

  • For minor changes, it’s likely you can make the changes to the proposed budget and approve the plan during the plan meeting.
  • For major changes, you should approve the proposed budget at the plan meeting. You’ll need to create a CEO-initiated plan change request to make the changes to the plan. You’ll need to decide if this is a s47A variation or a s48 reassessment. Go to article [Prepare to submit a plan change request](/foi-library/releases/3030d180d277-foi-23-24-1198-disclosure-log-documents/document-015__prepare-to-submit-a-plan-change-request/).

To make changes, you’ll need to update the draft budget in PACE and the PCST.

Sometimes a participant may request a support in a plan meeting without the appropriate supporting evidence for you to make a decision. If you don’t have the evidence, the participant needs to provide this evidence before we can create a plan change case. Go to article Prepare to submit a plan change request.

If a High Decision Delegate (HDD) previously checked the proposed budget and there are changes, the HDD will review these before they approve the plan. You’ll need to let the participant know:

  • the plan needs to be checked by someone else
  • it will be approved within the timeframes in the Participant Service Guarantee (external).

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You can check the Approve Participant Plan Milestone on the Plan Approval case to check the time remaining.

Requested support doesn’t meet the NDIS funding criteria

When the participant requests a support at the plan meeting that doesn’t meet NDIS funding criteria, record this in the Record a Declined Support tab. Go to article Record a declined support.

Explain your decision and any declined supports to the participant. It’s important to communicate all declined supports to the participant in the plan meeting. There’s an attachment in the plan approval letter that provides the justification and sub-justification for supports we declined.

Record any new and declined supports in Handover Notes. Go to article Add handover notes for a plan approval case.

Request for a replacement support

If the participant or authorised representative requests a replacement support, go to article, Understand, create and action a request for a replacement support.

Next steps

  1. Discuss fund management. Go to article Conduct the plan meeting – Discuss fund management.

Article labels

PACE user role names

No change.

Topics

No change.

Case names

No change.

Ownership

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No change.

Version control

Version Amended by Brief Description of Change Status Date
8.0 UFEX8 Class 1 Approval Link updated to article Understand, create and action a request for a replacement support APPROVED 2025-12-02

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