NDIS participants will no longer need to pay upfront using their own funds.

CommBank has partnered with the National Disability Insurance Agency to build a new point of support channel. This is to help make NDIS claiming accessible, fast, and secure. In this proposal, the NDIS will allow participants to pay for support using the new terminals. This will avoid paying upfront using the participant’s own funds.

Last week, Commbank (CBA) announced the new partnership with the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) to build the new claims ‘point of support’ (C-POS) channel for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

This new channel will not replace the way providers and participants make claims. However, it will be in addition to current claims channels.

CommBank Health CEO Albert Naffah said “Creating a more streamlined claims experience, payments using the new NDIS C-POS channel will be made simply and directly with participants no longer needing to pay up front using their own funds,”

It will make accessing supports much easier

Justin Martin was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2011, underwent three heart surgeries, then had three primary cancers at once. being told she would never work again by a medical professional. But that was never an option for her. Justine is a NDIS participant and also a provider, providing Art wellness classes through her studio, JUZT art. She says, the stress around dealing with the NDIS is uncalled for.

She has experienced the impact paying upfront has on families. Also, she has been on the receiving end as a participant, waiting for reimbursements from the NDIS. Justine says it really depends on when you upload the claim to when the reimbursement actually is received.

“Depends on when in the week I upload into the portal. I hate doing it on the Thursday afternoon as often it takes until Tuesday to get my money back. Public holidays are even worse”

Justine also thinks this new system will assist providers like herself. It will mean that payment will be instant.

“Some plan mangers take up to a month to pay invoices, that then impacts on my business cash flow. We still offer support, why should the client be punished when their hold up for payment is their poor plan management”

Learn more about Justine and her art wellness classes.

The problem with paying Upfront for NDIS support.

Currently self-managed NDIS participants feel that choice and control over providers best suits their needs, however there can be some downsides.

• The out-of-pocket expenses.

Self-managing your plan requires you to pay upfront for any products, services, or resources you utilise through the NDIS. This means you will be out of pocket until you lodge a claim in the NDIS portal. Then, the money can be reimbursed back via your bank account. This may be problematic if budgeting is an issue or income fluctuates weekly or month to month.

• Budgeting.

You will need to keep track of your existing budget and all outgoing expenses. This may mean planning supports around your income and pay cycle. Because of this it may be difficult to factor in surprise expenses or emergencies.

The new payment channel intends to give participants better control over their NDIS plan while making claims quicker and accessible.