How to Prepare for Your NDIS Planning Meeting

Your NDIS planning meeting is where your plan gets built. It's a conversation with an NDIA planner (or a Local Area Coordinator for some participants) about your disability, your goals, your current supports, and what you need in your next plan. What you say in this meeting directly determines how much funding you receive and what it covers.

Many participants feel unprepared or overwhelmed in their planning meeting, and end up with plans that don't reflect their actual needs. This guide helps you go in ready.

Before the meeting

Gather your evidence. The single most important thing you can do is bring supporting evidence. This includes reports from your therapists (OT, speech, psychology), letters from your GP or specialist describing your functional limitations, a list of your current supports and how they're working, and any assessments (functional capacity, behavioural, AT needs).

Write down your goals. The NDIA structures plans around goals. Before the meeting, write out 3–5 clear goals across different life areas. Good goals are specific and outcome-focused.

Talk to your current providers. Ask your therapists and support coordinator to prepare brief reports or letters for your review. Good providers will do this as part of their normal service. If they charge for report writing, this comes from your current plan's Capacity Building funding.

Prepare a typical week overview. Write out what a typical week looks like for you or the person you care for. Include what support you need, when, and for how long. This concrete detail helps planners understand your day-to-day needs in a way that clinical reports sometimes don't capture.

During the meeting

Talk about your worst days, not your best. This is the most common mistake. When the planner asks how you're going, it's natural to focus on the positive. But your plan needs to cover your bad days too. Be honest about the full range of your experience, including the days when everything is harder.

Be specific about numbers. Instead of "I need support worker help," say "I need a support worker for 15 hours per week — 2 hours each morning for personal care and meal prep, and 5 hours on weekends for community access." Specific numbers give the planner clear data to work with.

Bring a support person. You have the right to have someone with you at your planning meeting — a family member, friend, advocate, or your support coordinator. A support person can help you remember important points, provide additional perspective, and ensure nothing is missed.

Don't agree to a plan you're not happy with. If the planner proposes funding that seems insufficient, say so in the meeting. Ask how they arrived at the amount and provide your evidence for why more is needed. You can also request a review after the plan is issued if you believe it doesn't meet your needs.

After the meeting

Your plan should arrive within a few weeks. Review it carefully. Check that all the supports you discussed are included and the funding amounts align with what was agreed. If something is missing or lower than discussed, you have the right to request a review. Do this within 3 months of receiving your plan.

Once you have your plan, start using your supports promptly. Don't wait months to begin therapy or engage a support coordinator — early action means better outcomes and demonstrates to the NDIA that your funding is needed and being used effectively.