Core Supports in Australian Capital Territory

What core supports actually covers

The day-to-day help: personal care, assistance around the house, getting out into the community, and transport. Core is the largest and most flexible part of most plans, and for most participants it is the support they notice week to week.

How it's funded

Core Supports is usually the most flexible budget in your plan. In most cases you can move funding between the core categories without asking the NDIA first. Not many participants are told this, and it is one of the more useful things to know.

What to know in Australian Capital Territory

The ACT has an unusually dense provider market for its population, and short travel distances make rostering easier than almost anywhere else in the country. That should show up as better continuity of support worker, so it is fair to ask providers what their turnover looks like and to expect a straight answer.

Choosing between providers

With core supports, reliability beats anything on a brochure. A provider who sends someone different every week, or cancels when a worker is sick, causes far more disruption than one charging a slightly higher rate with a stable roster.

Questions worth asking

• Do I get to choose my support worker, and can I change if it is not working?
• What happens when my regular worker is sick or on leave?
• How much notice do I give to cancel, and what do you charge if I am late?
• Do you charge for the worker's travel time, and how do you calculate it?
• Realistically, how many different workers will I see in a month?

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