NDIS Plan Review: 7 Things to Prepare Before Your Meeting

Plan reviews are stressful. That is not just you — most participants find the process daunting, especially if their last plan left them underfunded, confused, or chasing invoices with no clear answers. The good news is that preparation makes a genuine difference. These seven NDIS plan review tips take around two hours to work through in total, and they give you the best possible chance of leaving your review with a plan that properly reflects your needs and your life.

7 things to prepare before your NDIS plan review

A plan review is not something that happens to you — it is something you participate in. The planner or Local Area Coordinator (LAC) you meet with will base their decisions largely on what you bring to the room. The more specific, documented and evidence-backed your preparation, the stronger your position. Work through each step below before your review date. The NDIS also publishes guidance on what to expect at a plan review if you want the official overview alongside these practical steps.

1. Gather all invoices and receipts from your current plan period

The most useful piece of evidence you can bring to a plan review is a clear record of what you actually spent your current funding on. Invoices and spending statements show the planner exactly which supports you used, how often, and what they cost. They make it significantly harder for a planner to reduce funding for a support you demonstrably relied on throughout the year.

How to do it: If you are plan managed, contact your plan manager and ask for a full spending statement for the current plan period. A good plan manager will have this ready promptly — producing it is part of what your Improved Life Choices budget pays for. If you are agency-managed or self-managed, gather all provider invoices from the past 12 months and sort them by support category: daily activities, therapy, community access, transport, and so on.

Pay particular attention to any gaps — supports you needed but ran out of funding for mid-plan. These gaps are evidence of underfunding and are worth raising directly at your review. Write them down before you go in.

2. Write a short “day in my life” description

Planners spend a lot of time reading clinical assessments and NDIS terminology. What tends to cut through most clearly is a specific, human account of what an ordinary day actually looks like for you. A “day in my life” description is not a clinical document — it is plain-language evidence of the support you need to function.

How to do it: Think about a typical Tuesday. Write 150 to 200 words describing it in plain language. What time do you get up? What can you not do safely or reliably without support? Who helps you and with what? What happens in the afternoon or evening? What would have gone wrong without that support in place?

Be specific. “I need help showering because I cannot safely transfer from my wheelchair without assistance and have fallen twice this year” is far more compelling than “I have personal care needs.” You do not need to write this perfectly — the point is specificity. Real examples from real days carry more weight than general statements about functional limitations.

3. List every provider you used, including unregistered ones

Bring a complete list of every provider you engaged during your current plan — not just registered providers, but unregistered ones too. This gives the planner a clear picture of the full scope of support you depend on and demonstrates how actively you have been using your plan.

How to do it: For each provider, note: their name, what they provide, how often you see or use them, and approximately what each session or service costs. If you used unregistered providers — a private occupational therapist, an independent support worker, a community-based allied health practitioner — flag this clearly in your list.

Using unregistered providers is only possible under plan management or self-management. Agency-managed participants cannot pay unregistered providers at all. If your planner suggests switching you to agency management, your list of unregistered providers is direct, concrete evidence of why that arrangement would not work for your situation.

4. Document what goals you achieved — and what you did not

Every NDIS plan is structured around goals. At your review, your planner will want to understand what progress you made toward those goals during the current plan period. Coming prepared with documented evidence of both achievements and setbacks puts you in a much stronger position than arriving with nothing written down.

How to do it: Go through each goal in your current plan one by one. For each, ask yourself: what did I do to work toward this? What evidence exists? Evidence might include progress notes from your occupational therapist, reports from a speech pathologist or behaviour support practitioner, photos of activities you completed, or a letter from your support coordinator.

If you did not achieve a goal, document why — was the funding insufficient? Did you need a different type of support to make progress? Was there a health setback or change in circumstances? That context matters. An unachieved goal with a clear explanation is far more useful than silence, and it can actually strengthen your case for more or different funding in the next plan.

5. Prepare your new goals — specific and outcome-focused

Vague goals tend to produce vague funding decisions. Specific, outcome-focused goals give the planner something concrete to build your plan around. Going into your review with clear goals already drafted means you shape the direction of your new plan, rather than leaving that framing entirely to the planner.

How to do it: Use the format “I want to [do X] so that [outcome Y].” For example: “I want to build my cooking skills so that I can prepare simple meals independently three times a week” is a fundable, measurable goal. “Improve independence” is not. Aim for three to five goals across the areas of your life that matter most — daily living, community participation, employment or study, relationships, or housing.

If you have a support coordinator or occupational therapist, ask them to help you put your goals in writing before the review. A goal that arrives documented by a professional carries significantly more weight than one described verbally on the day.

6. If you want plan management, request it specifically by name

Plan management does not appear in your plan automatically. Even if you have been plan managed before, you need to actively request it at your review. The specific funding line you are asking for is called Improved Life Choices — the Capacity Building sub-category that pays for your plan manager. If you do not ask for it by name, it may not be included.

How to do it: State clearly at your review: “I would like plan management included in my plan. I understand it is funded from the Improved Life Choices budget as a separate line item — it does not reduce my Core Supports, my therapy funding, or any other part of my plan.” That sentence shows the planner you understand how plan management works, which tends to make the conversation considerably easier.

Plan management gives you access to a much wider range of providers, removes the administrative burden of processing invoices yourself, and adds a layer of budget oversight that helps you get more from your plan over time. For a full guide on requesting it and what to say if you’re pushed back on, see how to add plan management to your NDIS plan.

7. Bring a support person or support coordinator

Plan review meetings are high-stakes. The decisions made in that room will shape your funding for the next one to three years. Having someone with you is not a sign of weakness — it is good planning. A support person can take notes while you speak, prompt you if you forget something important, advocate on your behalf if the conversation goes in an unhelpful direction, and make sure nothing gets missed in the moment.

Who to bring: A support coordinator is the ideal person to have in the room. They know the NDIS system in detail, understand how to frame your needs in language planners respond to, and can speak to your functional situation clearly and confidently. If you do not have a support coordinator, a trusted family member, friend, or disability advocate can attend in their place. Let your planner know in advance that you will be bringing someone — you are entitled to do this.

If your review is by phone or video call, ask whether your support person can join the same call. The answer should be yes. You can also request an NDIS support coordinator as part of the review itself — if you have complex needs across multiple providers, a support coordinator can be funded in your new plan. Ask about it explicitly before the meeting ends.

What to do after your plan review

Once your review meeting is done, the NDIA will process your new plan. This can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months — your current plan remains active throughout, so your supports continue uninterrupted. Use the waiting period productively: if plan management was approved, start researching plan managers now so you are ready to engage one as soon as the new plan arrives. A good plan manager will help you get your new supports set up quickly and avoid the common mistake of letting funding sit unused in the first months of a new plan.

Once your plan arrives, read it carefully. Check that the supports and budgets you discussed at the review are actually in the plan. If something is missing or lower than expected, you have three months to request an internal review. Act quickly — the sooner you raise a concern, the more options you have.

When you are ready to choose a plan manager, compare top-rated NDIS plan managers to find one that suits your situation, your location, and the types of providers you want to work with.

Frequently asked questions