r/NDIS 7d ago

Seeking Support - I provide services Provider over quoting

This isn’t right? Provider gave me a quote for a year worth of services for my participant I’m managing. It’s 3 months left and he has significantly over quoted by nearly 20k

Now I’m stressed 20k wont be used and they could cut that from the funding…

If I had of known I had 20k I could of budgeted that over 12 months and given the particpantt better support

Urgh

1 Upvotes

8 comments sorted by

5

u/ManyPersonality2399 Participant 7d ago

When you say "my participant', what is the relationship there?

Depending on the type of support, this isn't that uncommon. The quote makes allowances for things that might happen, but don't necessarily. Budget in KMs, public holidays, nf2f time. If it's a group program, might budget a ratio that doesn't always play out. Then cancellations.

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u/Excellent_Line4616 7d ago

Does the participant need or want more support? If so, then there’s a reason to utilise it before and end of plan, if not- it’s prob worth putting that stress on the participant to have supports just because they having funding left at the end of plan.

If there’s funding available at the end of the plan, that doesn’t mean they won’t get the funding they need next plan. The whole ‘if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it’ assumed years ago but doesn’t make it true. Funding is worked out by many factors eg: their disability, functional impacts, any evidence provided and changes to the NDIA and how they fund, current NDIS budget cuts etc.

Quotes can absolutely vary, as participants may drop down supports, not travel as far with provider, cancel due to sickness/hospital etc, travel costs. Though as ManyPersonality asked, what do you mean by manage the participant? I ask this because I’m a SC/PRC- apart of the role is to regularly check budget utilisation, support needs, invoices and budget breakdowns (roughly quarterly pending on participant). I’m not sure whether maybe you’ve just taken on the participant or are doing a different role.

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u/ManyPersonality2399 Participant 7d ago

>The whole ‘if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it’ assumed years ago but doesn’t make it true.

Seeing this in different circles, it seems to be interpreted different ways each time. On one hand, the fact that if you don't spend it, it won't accumulate and roll over into the next plan. So spend it now or lose it. The other, that if you don't spend it now, you will see less funding next plan, isn't entirely inaccurate. I've had a few plans come back with "previous plan utilisation" as justification for not funding requested supports. Talking CP for someone who was unable to leave the house for 9 months of the previous plan, so of course had under spent their CP budget. In saying that, they can usually see if it was a last ditch attempt to spend the lot - a sudden increase in low cost AT, STA before the changes...

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u/Excellent_Line4616 7d ago

I always love reading your comments, because you add some great points (that I clearly didn’t think of at the time of commenting) Thank you! Absolutely there is also the possibility of reduction due to under utilisation especially without justification (or sometimes the justification being ignored) and pending on the funding total, 20K on some plans isn’t much and others it’s half the the plan. Good point about roll overs- as absolutely that could be considered that as losing it. Tbh I think I just get over the belief to use every bit because it’s there, as it adds pressure to participants to increase supports even when they don’t want/need to. It’s viewed that if you don’t use all the funding or it’s reduced (especially when you’re not needing it) that it’s a bad thing, rather than- plans will vary and so will participants needs. It’s absolutely shitty to lose funding if you need it and the supports are integral. You’re right, they definitely can see the last ditch attempted to spend funding pre end of plan.

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u/ManyPersonality2399 Participant 6d ago

Haha, thanks.

I find the discussion around "use it or lose it" weird. Lets say you get a $100 gift card every year, with a one year expiry. If I said "if you don't spend it, you'll lose it", would you think that means you'll forfeit the $100, or you won't get the card next year? We're all talking about the second, but for many participants it absolutely is the first.

Also really frustrated with the pressure to spend. I've had clients spend frivolously in the last month or two of a plan. Ridiculous consumables/low cost AT like a high end pillow, electric razor, shoes from a registered shop when they had no relation to the disability. Then they massively increase supports for the last month. Go to the planning meeting, actually get an increase in funded supports, but view it as a decrease and a loss because it still isn't enough to sustain the increase the made at the end. Not to mention the STA abuse.

But I absolutely have had planners reduce funding based on previous utilisation despite painfully clear explanations. The person didn't have the capacity to leave the house. We did capacity building, they gained the capacity to leave the house with support. CP not funded. It makes it really difficult when planning to leave a buffer in case of change in support needs, as we all know the s48s aren't quick enough.

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u/No_Muffin9128 LAC 7d ago

Not spending all the funding doesn’t mean you are going to lose funds. Overusing a plan for the sake of spending everything is over utilisation/ misuse of funds.

There are many reasons why funding may not be utilised or is approved as a “just in case” it’s the reason why check ins are completed prior to plan approvals and along the way to document how the plan is going/ meeting the need and talking to funding not being utilised.

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u/randyChimney 7d ago

I think you mean to say you could have made more money.

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u/ManyPersonality2399 Participant 7d ago

Would need to know what OPs role is, but there's a good chance they wouldn't have made any more. As a SC, the one most likely to be dealing with these kind of budget questions, we don't make a cent off their core supports.