Your NDIS plan is not a single pool of money you can spend however you like. It is divided into distinct support categories, each covering different types of supports and each operating under its own rules about what can be funded and how flexible your money is within it.
Every support or service funded in your plan sits within one of these categories, and each category has an assigned number that appears on invoices, in the NDIS Pricing Arrangements, and in your plan document itself. Understanding how the categories work – and what sits inside each one – makes it significantly easier to read your budget statements, track your spending, and make confident decisions throughout the year.
Why NDIS Categories Matter
The total plan value shown in your plan document is the sum of all category allocations. That total number can be misleading, because it implies one big pool of money. In practice, each category – and in many cases each subcategory – operates as its own separate budget. Funds generally cannot be moved between categories.
For example, if your therapy budget runs out but transport funding remains, you cannot redirect the transport money to cover therapy sessions. Knowing which category each of your supports draws from, and monitoring each separately throughout the year, is essential for managing your plan effectively. Your plan manager will track all categories simultaneously in real time and provide you with a clear breakdown at any point during the year.
Jump to Category:
- Category 01 – Assistance with Daily Life
- Category 02 – Transport
- Category 03 – Consumables
- Category 04 – Assistance with Social, Economic and Community Participation
- Category 05 – Assistive Technology (AT)
- Category 06 – Home Modifications
- Category 07 – Support Coordination
- Category 08 – Improved Living Arrangements
- Category 09 – Increased Social and Community Participation
- Category 10 – Finding and Keeping a Job
- Category 11 – Improved Relationships
- Category 12 – Improved Health and Wellbeing
- Category 13 – Improved Learning
- Category 14 – Improved Life Choices
- Category 15 – Improved Daily Living
- Category 16 – Home and Living (within Category 01 – Assistance with Daily Life)
- Category 17 – Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA)
- Category 19 – Assistive Technology Maintenance, Repair and Rental
- Category 20 – Behaviour Support
Core Supports
Core Supports is typically the largest and most flexible part of your plan. It is designed to fund the everyday supports you need to live your life and work toward your goals. There are four active Core subcategories.
Category 01 – Assistance with Daily Life
Category 01 covers support with daily personal activities such as showering, dressing, meal preparation, and household tasks. This includes in-home support workers and Short-Term Accommodation (respite). Category 01 is also where Supported Independent Living (SIL) funding sits.
SIL covers the 24/7 or high-intensity support that allows participants with significant needs to live in shared or individual accommodation. SIL is almost always listed as a stated support in your plan – meaning it is locked to that specific purpose and cannot be redirected to fund other Core activities.
Category 02 – Transport
If your disability affects your ability to use public transport independently, this funding helps cover the cost of getting to work, appointments, therapy sessions, or community activities. Transport funding is often pre-loaded into your plan as a set amount rather than an hourly support, and is one of the few Core subcategories that can be locked or be flexibly redirected to other areas depending on how the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) have constructed your plan.
Category 03 – Consumables
This covers low-cost everyday items you may need as a result of your disability, such as continence aids, wound care supplies, and assistive technology items under $1,500. Items under this threshold can generally be purchased without a full formal assessment, though a supporting letter from a health professional is sometimes required.
Category 04 – Assistance with Social, Economic and Community Participation
Category 04 funding can help you access and participate in community activities, social events, recreational programs, and employment-related activities. A support worker accompanying you to a social group, sporting activity, or community event may also be funded under Category 04.
Category 16 – Home and Living (within Category 01 – Assistance with Daily Life)
Home and Living supports are an important part of many participants’ plans, and while they technically sit within Category 01, it is worth understanding how the supports are treated in your plan.
The primary Home and Living support is Supported Independent Living (SIL), which covers the ongoing support you receive to live in shared or individual accommodation with 24/7 or high-intensity support. SIL is typically one of the larger components of a plan and is almost always listed as a stated support, meaning it is locked to that specific purpose and cannot be used to fund other Core Support activities.
Flexibility across Core Supports
In most plans, funding can be moved between Category 01, 03, and 04 as your needs shift throughout the year. If you have unspent Category 04 Community Participation funding, you may be able to redirect it toward Daily Living supports under Category 01. Transport (Category 02) can be locked or flexible depending on how the NDIA have constructed your plan, while stated supports like SIL are locked to their specific purpose and cannot be redirected.
Your plan manager can confirm exactly which Core line items are flexible in your specific plan, as this may vary depending on how your plan was written.
Capacity Building Supports
Capacity Building is designed to fund supports that build your skills, independence, and ability to achieve your long-term goals. Where Core Supports help you get through each week, Capacity Building invests in your future. Unlike Core, Capacity Building funding is ring-fenced by subcategory – funds cannot be moved between subcategories.
Category 07 – Support Coordination
A support coordinator can help you understand and implement your plan, connect with providers, navigate the NDIS system, and get the most from your funding. There are two levels to Category 07: standard Support Coordination and Specialist Support Coordination for participants with more complex needs or situations.
Category 08 – Improved Living Arrangements
Category 08 supports can help you find and maintain suitable housing. This is particularly relevant for participants looking to transition out of the family home or move into more independent living arrangements.
Category 09 – Increased Social and Community Participation
Programs and supports aimed at building your ability to engage socially and within your community over time. This is distinct from Core Category 04, which funds a support worker accompanying you – Category 09 funds the skill development itself, helping you participate more independently over time.
Category 10 – Finding and Keeping a Job
Employment-related supports including employment support services, job coaching, assistance with job searching, and workplace modifications or adjustments.
Category 11 – Improved Relationships
Specialist behaviour support and positive behaviour support services to help manage complex behaviours and improve interpersonal connections.
Category 12 – Improved Health and Wellbeing
Category 12 funds supports such as dietetics, exercise physiology, or personal training where there is a direct and documented relationship to your disability. A gym membership alone is not fundable – there must be a clear therapeutic justification provided by a health professional, and it must be explicitly included in your plan.
Category 13 – Improved Learning
Supports to assist with transitioning from school to further education or employment, including planning and preparation for that transition.
Category 14 – Improved Life Choices
This is the specific subcategory that funds your plan management fees. The cost of your plan manager is covered entirely from Category 14. It does not come out of your therapy budget, your daily activities funding, or any other part of your plan.
Choosing a plan manager does not reduce your NDIS budget. Category 14 is additional funding the NDIA provides specifically to cover the cost of your plan manager.
Category 15 – Improved Daily Living
This category funds therapeutic supports including occupational therapy, speech pathology, physiotherapy, psychology, and behaviour support. This is often the largest Capacity Building subcategory for participants accessing regular allied health services.
Category 20 – Behaviour Support
Category 20 covers specialist Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) services delivered by a qualified behaviour support practitioner. This is specifically for participants whose disability-related behaviours are causing significant risk or impact to themselves or others, and where a specialist, evidence-based approach is required.
Capital Supports
Capital Supports funds significant, one-off investments that are designed to last for several years. This is the least flexible category – funding is allocated to specific approved items and cannot be redirected to other purposes.
Category 05 – Assistive Technology (AT)
Assistive Technology includes equipment that helps you with mobility, communication, daily living, or community participation, ranging from power wheelchairs and communication devices to home automation systems. Items over $1,500 generally require a formal AT assessment from a qualified assessor and at least one quote from an approved supplier before the NDIA will approve the purchase.
Category 06 – Home Modifications
Structural changes to your home to improve accessibility and safety can be funded under Category 06. This includes ramp installations, widened doorways, grab rails, ceiling hoists, and bathroom modifications. These require an assessment from a qualified Occupational Therapist confirming necessity, builder quotes, and often explicit NDIA approval before work begins.
Category 17 – Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA)
For participants with extreme functional impairment or very high support needs, SDA funding covers purpose-built or significantly modified housing. Specialist Disability Accommodation requires a separate NDIS assessment and eligibility determination – it is not automatically included in a plan and must be specifically applied for.
Category 19 – Assistive Technology Maintenance, Repair and Rental
This is a dedicated budget for the ongoing upkeep of assistive technology that has been funded through your NDIS plan. This category recognises that equipment like power wheelchairs, communication devices, or home ventilation systems requires regular servicing, occasional repairs, and sometimes temporary replacement. Category 19 covers:
- Maintenance: scheduled servicing of AT items to keep them functioning safely and effectively (for example, annual wheelchair servicing)
- Repairs: fixing or replacing components that have broken or worn out through normal use
- Rental: hiring a temporary replacement item while your primary AT is being repaired or assessed
Category 19 is separate from Category 05, which covers the purchase of AT items. Not all plans automatically include Category 19 funding. For participants with complex or high-value AT, ensure maintenance and repair funding is explicitly discussed and included at your next plan review.
Our team tracks your budget across every category in real time and reviews every invoice before it is paid. Get in touch with Orange Plan Management today.
