NDIS Capacity Building Supports: What Can You Use Your Funding For?
Updated: Sep 16
If you have Capacity Building funding in your NDIS plan, knowing you have the funding is one thing. Knowing what you can actually use it for is another.
You might have thousands of dollars sitting in Capacity Building, but that doesn't mean you can spend it on any support that seems useful.
Where the funding sits in your plan matters.
So before booking a service or wondering what to do with unused funding, it helps to understand how Capacity Building funding actually works — and what each category can be used for.
What Are NDIS Capacity Building Supports?
Capacity Building funding pays for supports that help you develop or maintain skills and independence in everyday life.
Depending on your NDIS plan, this may include supports such as:
therapy, including Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy or Physiotherapy
Support Coordination
developing social and community participation skills
disability-related employment supports
Plan Management
But there is an important catch: Capacity Building funding is divided into specific categories, and you can't simply use the total amount wherever you want.
For example, funding under Improved Daily Living may be available for therapy, while Support Coordination funding is specifically for Support Coordination.
So when looking at your plan, don't just ask:
“How much Capacity Building funding do I have?”
The more useful question is:
“Which Capacity Building categories do I have funding in, and what can I use each one for?”
What Can Capacity Building Funding Pay For?
There are up to nine Capacity Building support categories. You won't necessarily have all of them — only the ones funded in your individual plan.
Some of the categories participants commonly see include:
Improved Daily Living
This is where you may see funding for assessments, training or therapy aimed at building everyday skills and independence.
For example:
Occupational Therapy to develop functional daily living skills
Speech Therapy to improve communication
Physiotherapy where it relates to building or maintaining functional capacity
The important point isn't simply which professional you see. The support still needs to relate to your disability needs and the supports described in your plan.
Increased Social and Community Participation
This funding can help you develop the skills needed to participate more independently in social and community life.
That might include developing social skills, making connections or building greater independence in community activities.
This is where people sometimes get confused with Core funding.
A simple example:
Core: A support worker helps you attend a community activity.
Capacity Building: Support helps you develop the skills to participate more independently.
They may sound similar, but they aren't necessarily funded in the same way.
Support Coordination
If Support Coordination is funded in your plan, a Support Coordinator can help you understand and implement your plan, connect with suitable providers and build your confidence in managing your supports.
That's where Support Coordination can be useful. NDIS describes Support Coordination as generally a time-limited support intended to help participants become more self-sufficient and confident in managing their funding, supports and providers.
Finding and Keeping a Job
This category can fund disability-related employment supports, such as building work skills, developing a career plan, gaining work experience or support with moving into work or further education.
It doesn't mean every employment-related expense can be paid by the NDIS. The support still needs to fit the funding and purpose described in your plan.
Improved Health and Wellbeing
Depending on your plan, this may include disability-related supports from professionals such as a dietitian or exercise physiologist to help improve health and wellbeing and build greater independence.
Improved Life Choices
This is where Plan Management funding sits.
If you have a Plan Manager, this funding is specifically included to pay for Plan Management. Your Plan Manager helps manage your NDIS funding, claims and provider payments and keeps financial records.
If you're not sure what your Plan Manager should actually be doing, you can also read our guide: What Should You Expect from Your NDIS Plan Manager?
How Do You Know What Your Capacity Building Funding Can Be Used For?
Start with your actual NDIS plan.
Don't just look at the total amount under Capacity Building. Look at the individual support categories underneath it and what the plan says the funding is for.
The NDIS now clearly distinguishes between flexible and stated supports, and Capacity Building funding must be used for the NDIS supports described within the relevant category.
If you're still unsure, ask before spending the funding.
Your Support Coordinator, Plan Manager or your LAC may be able to help you understand what is funded and how the relevant rules apply.
Make Your Capacity Building Funding Work for You
Capacity Building funding isn't just money sitting in your NDIS plan. Used properly, it can help you develop practical skills, access the right therapy, improve your independence and put better supports around you.
But the starting point is understanding what funding you actually have and what it is intended for.
At Joystep, our Support Coordination team helps participants understand their plans, connect with suitable providers and work out how to put their funded supports into practice.
It's to make the plan work in everyday life.
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