FOI 25/26-1615 DOCUMENT 5

Identify and record a change in situation during a check-in

SGP KP Publishing

Exported on 2026-02-04 01:32:10

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FOI 25/26-1615 SGP KP Publishing – Identify and record a change in situation during a check-in

Recent updates …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4
Before you start …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5
Identify a change in situation…………………………………………………………………………………. 6 3.1 Informal supports or living arrangements ………………………………………………………………… 6 3.2 Employment status ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 7 3.3 Financial arrangements ………………………………………………………………………………………… 7 3.4 Health and wellbeing ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 7 3.5 Supports …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 7 3.6 Abilities and function …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 8 3.7 Participant at risk or vulnerable ……………………………………………………………………………… 8 3.8 Life stage ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 8 3.9 Nominee changes ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 8
Record a change in situation during a check-in ……………………………………………………… 9
Next steps …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 10

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FOI 25/26-1615 SGP KP Publishing – Identify and record a change in situation during a check-in

This article provides guidance for a planner delegate, review officer, planner (non-partnered area), quality officer, participant support officer, local area coordinator or early childhood partner to:

identify a change in situation
record a change in situation during a check-in.

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FOI 25/26-1615 SGP KP Publishing – Identify and record a change in situation during a check-in

1 Recent updates

15 December 2025 Guidance updated to:

explain you need to have the participant or their authorised representative’s consent to submit a participant-initiated plan change request.
link relevant plan change articles.

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2 Before you start

You have:

read and understood article Guide – Conversation style guide
read and understood Our Guideline – Your plan (external)
read and understood Our Guideline – Changing your plan (external)
completed the budget and funded supports step of the check-in case using article Record the budget and funded supports during a check-in.

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FOI 25/26-1615 SGP KP Publishing – Identify and record a change in situation during a check-in

3 Identify a change in situation

When you talk with the participant or their authorised representative, ask them how they’ve been since their last check-in. You can then discuss any changes in their situation. The information they give you will help you decide if they need a referral to other supports or services. Also, the information you record will impact the participant’s confidence level in PACE which is calculated daily.

A high confidence level may indicate the participant’s plan can be continued. A low to medium, not set or not suitable confidence level may indicate that a plan reassessment is needed. However, when thinking about if the participant’s plan can be continued, consider any changes to their situation, risks and vulnerabilities, and any other new information. To learn more, go to article Understand types of check-ins.

Encourage the participant to provide any supporting evidence during the check-in. For example, recent assessments or progress reports from allied health professionals. If you need to add evidence, go to article Add evidence during a check-in.

Use your knowledge of the participant to tailor your questions to their situation. You can discuss:

if they’re doing well
if they’ve built capacity in any areas
if they have any concerns about their current situation
any changes in their situation
any risks to the participant
their current budget and how they can use their funds flexibly
if they can access services in their community
if they are accessing suitable mainstream services
any barriers to accessing services
strategies to improve access to the community
possible referrals to other areas of the NDIS or external services.

The following topics and suggested questions can guide your conversation.

If you identify the participant’s situation and need for NDIS supports have changed they may need a change to their plan. You need to talk to the participant or their authorised representative and confirm they understand what this means for them and get the relevant consent. To learn more, go to article Prepare to submit a plan change request.

3.1 Informal supports or living arrangements

To guide your conversation, go to article Discuss informal, community and mainstream supports.

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FOI 25/26-1615 SGP KP Publishing – Identify and record a change in situation during a check-in

3.2 Employment status

You could talk with the participant about:

any changes to their work or volunteering
the reason for any changes.

3.3 Financial arrangements

If the participant has concerns about their financial management, you can talk to them and find out if they need support to manage their money. Be mindful this may be a sensitive topic. You could talk with the participant about:

how they manage their money
if anyone else uses their bank account or money
if they have recently changed their bank account. If the participant makes a request to update their, or their nominee or child representative’s bank account details, go to article Add, update or remove bank account details
if they often give money or possessions to anybody else
if they can buy the groceries they need, and any barriers that prevent them from doing this.

Note: you can still check bank account details for participants who self-manage their funding, have recurring payments, or have a nominee or child representative managing their funding. Go to article View bank account details.

3.4 Health and wellbeing

You could talk with the participant about:

how they access health services like doctors and specialists
how often they use health services
how they feel about their current health services
how they can make changes to their health services and supports.

3.5 Supports

You could talk with the participant about:

how they feel about their funded supports
if they’re waiting on any assessments or requests for supports
their equipment and technology
their informal supports
how they can use their plan flexibly to buy supports they need.

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3.6 Abilities and function

You could talk with the participant about any changes to their disability-related health support needs.

3.7 Participant at risk or vulnerable

To identify any new risk factors or vulnerabilities, go to articles Identify risks and vulnerabilities and Record risks and vulnerabilities during a check-in.

3.8 Life stage

Think about any upcoming life transitions for the participant. For example:

are they a child approaching 6 years? Consider if they might need an eligibility reassessment
are they about to start or leave school?
do they have informal supports who can’t support them anymore?
are they approaching 65? Consider if you need to talk about aged care supports working alongside NDIS supports.

Learn more in article When to refer the participant for an eligibility reassessment. Or go to Our Guideline – Mainstream and community supports (external) and Our Guideline – Applying to the NDIS (external).

3.9 Nominee changes

When you talk with the participant, think about:

if they want to change their authorised representative arrangements
if they still need support for decision making
if they’d benefit from more support to build their decision-making skills
if the authorised representative or any relationships have an upcoming end date, for example if the participant is nearly 18
if they still have capacity to request a nominee, or whether a legal referral to consider their options may be appropriate, such as appointing a guardian.

Learn more in Our Guideline – Appointing a nominee (external) and Our Guideline – Child representatives (external).

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4 Record a change in situation during a check-in

At Changes in situation:

Select what has changed:
- if there haven’t been any changes to the participant’s situation, select No changes identified. Go to step 3
- if there have been changes to the participant’s situation, select the relevant options. Go to step 2.
A free text field will appear. For each option you selected, Record the strategies you’ve used to manage the participant’s change in situation, and help them continue to use their plan.
At Confirm that you have discussed eligibility requirements and the eligibility reassessment process with the participant or their family, select Yes or No

Note: this question will only display if you select Yes to question Is the participant likely to need their eligibility reassessed during the Check-in Preparation step.
At A new plan with similar supports is suitable?, select Yes or No.
At A longer plan duration is suitable for the participant?, Select Yes or No.

Note: check for a plan duration internal note. Learn more in article Complete a desktop review before a check-in.
Select Next.

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5 Next steps

To continue with the check-in, go to articles Identify risks and vulnerabilities and Record risks and vulnerabilities during a check-in.

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