The Mentors guide, educate, and assist people in preparation for the NDIS Planning Meeting and/or Access Request.
A Mentor can guide a participant with regard to understanding their funded plan.
A Mentor may attend the Plan Meeting at the request of the Participant.
Mentors are normally engaged by NDIS Participants, Carers, Case Managers, Appointed Trustees, etc.
If you care for a person on the NDIS or are looking at Accessing the NDIS you can engage a Mentor.
LACs can help you to:
- Understand and access the NDIS
- This can include workshops or individual conversations about the NDIS.
- Create a plan
- If you are eligible for an NDIS support plan, your LAC will have a conversation with you to learn about your current situation, supports, and goals to help develop your plan. It is important to know that LACs cannot approve an NDIS plan, this is done by someone from the NDIA.
- Implement your plan
- Your LAC will help you to find and start receiving the services in your NDIS plan. Your LAC can also provide assistance throughout your plan if you have any questions.
- Review your plan
- Your LAC will work with you to make changes to your plan through a plan review. This generally occurs 12 months after your plan is implemented.
- It is important to know that LACs cannot approve an NDIS plan, this is done by someone from the NDIA.
- Learn about support available in your local community
- Understand how the NDIS works with other government services – this is supports like education, health, and transport
- Sustain informal supports around you – this is family, friends and local community members
LAC’s are paid by the NDIS not out of the participants plan.
LAC’s will assist and connect with the participant to undertake:
- Understand and access the NDIS
- Independent Assessment requirements and Providers that are able to undertake this
- This can include workshops or individual conversations about the NDIS.
- Connect and Meet with Participant to go through:
- Supply to participant the NDIS Draft Budget as per Independent Assessment Prior to Plan Meeting:
- Flexible Supports
- Fixed Supports
- Allow the participant sufficient time to view and consider Draft Budget prior to the plan meeting
- Create a Personalised Budget from:
- Participants current circumstances
- Age
- Where they live
- Functional Capacity
- Including environmental factors
- Informal Supports
- Goals and Aspirations
- Services and Supports supplied and/or required
- Participants current circumstances
- Explain the circumstances under which a Draft Budget maybe changed:
- A participant has extensive and/or complex support needs
- Additional high-cost supports are required that have not been accounted for in the Independent Assessment
- Supply to participant the NDIS Draft Budget as per Independent Assessment Prior to Plan Meeting:
- Maintain your plan
- Your LAC will help you to find and start receiving the services in your NDIS plan. Your LAC can also provide assistance throughout your plan if you have any questions.
- Explain how the Independent Assessments work and how often:
- Every 5 years
- An assessment can only be reassessed after 3 months not sooner
- Review your situation:
- Contact the participant on a regular basis as set out at initial meeting
- Your LAC will work with you to make sure that your plan is working for you . This generally occurs every 6 months or as per agreement with the participant, after your plan is implemented.
- It is important to know that LACs cannot approve an NDIS plan, this is done by someone from the NDIA.
- Learn about support available in your local community
- Understand how the NDIS works with other government services – this is supports like education, health, and transport
- Sustain informal supports around you – this is family, friends and local community members
LAC’s are paid by the NDIS not out of the participants plan.
A Local Area Coordinator or a LAC (pronounced L. A. C.) is someone from the NDIS or an NDIS partnered organisation.
A LAC is engaged by the NDIS to do your Plan Meetings.