You’ve got your new NDIS plan. You open it, and there it is: the Core Supports budget. It’s often the biggest piece of the funding pie, and it looks like a fantastic opportunity. But then the questions start. What can I actually use this for? Am I allowed to do that?

It’s a common trap. Many participants fall into the routine of just using their Core budget for a few hours of in-home support or a weekly cleaning service. While these are vital, you could be missing out on the incredible flexibility this budget offers.

Your Core budget is the key to your day-to-day life. It’s designed to be flexible for a reason. And as specialist Plan Managers and Support Coordinators, the team at Heron Group Consultants has seen what a difference it makes when you learn how to maximise your NDIS core supports budget.

So, let’s move beyond the basics. Let’s talk about the creative, compliant, and life-changing ways you can use this funding to kick your goals and live a more independent, fulfilling life.

What is the NDIS Core Supports Budget, Anyway?

First, a quick refresher. Think of your Core Supports budget as your “daily life” fund. It’s the money the NDIS provides to help you with your everyday activities.

The NDIS breaks this into four categories (don’t worry, they’re not as rigid as they sound):

1. Daily Activities: This is the support you need to get through your day, like personal care, help with household tasks, or assistance with meal preparation.
2. Consumables: This is for the “stuff” you need. This can be anything from continence aids and nutritional supplements to low-cost assistive technology.
3. Social & Community Participation: This is funding to help you get out and be part of your community, meet people, and do things you enjoy.
4. Transport: This is funding to help you get to appointments, your job, or community activities.

The most beautiful part? For most participants, this Core budget is fully flexible. This means you can generally move money between these four categories to suit your needs. (Always check your plan—if your transport is “stated” or “in-kind,” you can’t, but for most, it’s flexible!).

The Golden Rule: Your “Reasonable and Necessary” Check

Before we dive into the creative ideas, we have to talk about the “compliance” part. This is the one rule that governs all NDIS spending. Before you buy anything, you must be able to answer “yes” to these questions:

• Is this support or item directly related to my disability?
• Does it help me pursue the goals in my NDIS plan?
• Is it value for money?
• Is it safe and legal?
• Is it something the NDIS is responsible for funding (and not another service, like the health system)?

This is the “Reasonable and Necessary” test. If your purchase passes, you’re good to go. This is where having a great Plan Manager is a game-changer—we can give you this advice before you spend, saving you any stress.

5 Creative (and Compliant) Ways to Use Your Core Budget

Okay, let’s get to the good stuff. Here are five ways to use your Core funding that you might not have thought of.

1. Take Your Support Worker Out (Not Just Staying In)

This is the biggest mindset shift. We often think of support workers as people who help us at home with showering, dressing, and cooking. But their role is so much more.

Your Core budget is your ticket to community life. You can use your funding to pay for a support worker to come with you to do the things you love.

How it works:

• Join a class: Want to take that pottery class or join a community garden? You can use your Core funds to pay for a support worker to assist you, whether that’s providing physical support, helping you follow instructions, or just facilitating your participation.
• Go to an event: Love the footy? Want to see a concert? You can use Core to pay for the support worker’s time and their ticket (if they are required to be there as a support).
• Build a social life: You can have a support worker take you to the movies, to a friend’s house, to a “meet-up” group, or to the local RSL for trivia night.

The Compliance Bit: You pay for the support worker’s time. If the activity has a cost (like a ticket or entry fee), you would typically pay for your own, and your Core funds can pay for the support worker’s ticket, as it’s a cost of “providing the support.”

2. Get a Handle on Your Home: Beyond a “Simple Clean”

There’s a persistent myth that the “NDIS doesn’t pay for cleaners.” This is only half-true.

The NDIS won’t pay for a “commercial clean” or tasks that are part of a regular household’s upkeep (like spring cleaning or mowing a giant paddock). But it can absolutely pay for help with household tasks that you are unable to do because of your disability.

How it works:

• Disability-Specific Cleaning: This could mean having someone come in to do the heavy tasks you can’t manage, like vacuuming, mopping floors, cleaning the bathroom, or changing your bed linens.
• Yard Maintenance: This isn’t for landscaping! But if your disability prevents you from mowing a small, manageable yard or weeding a garden, and it’s a safety risk (e.g., overgrown paths), you can often use Core funds for this.
• Meal Prep Services: Don’t have time for a support worker to cook with you? You can use Core funds to pay for the labour and delivery portion of a pre-prepared meal service. You just pay the food-cost part (the “gap”).

The Compliance Bit: It must be linked to your disability. A great Plan Manager can help you make sure the invoices from your cleaner or gardener are NDIS-compliant, so they get paid without a fuss.

3. Unlocking Your Consumables Budget (The “Hidden Gem”)

This category is a goldmine that is so often overlooked. Most people just associate it with continence aids (like nappies and pads), which are absolutely funded. But it’s so much more.

“Consumables” can cover a huge range of low-cost items (usually under $1,500) that you need because of your disability.

How it works:

• Nutritional Supplements: If you have a disability that impacts your diet and you require specific supplements or thickeners (as recommended by a health professional), this can be funded.
• Low-Cost Assistive Technology: This is a big one. You can use your Consumables budget to buy “off-the-shelf” items that help you, without needing a formal AT assessment.
• Examples of low-cost AT from your Core budget:
  • Sensory items (like weighted blankets or noise-cancelling headphones)
  • Specialised cutlery or grip-turners
  • Shower stools or non-slip bathmats
  • Long-handled shoehorns or button hooks
  • Specific apps for communication or organisation
  • Alarms or monitors

The Compliance Bit: The item must be disability-related and under $1,500. Having a Plan Manager means you can just send us the receipt, and we’ll check it and pay you back from your plan, fast.

4. Using Core to Fund Your Transport (The Smart Way)

This is one of the most confusing areas. But your Core budget can be used to pay for transport in several ways.

How it works:

• Pay Your Support Worker for Transport: This is the most common way. If you have a support worker, you can pay them (at an agreed-upon rate, usually around $1.00 per km) to drive you to an appointment or community activity in their car.
• Pay for Their Time During Transport: If you catch a taxi, Uber, or bus, you can’t pay for the fare with your Core funds (unless your transport funding is set up that way). But you can pay for the support worker’s time while they travel with you.
• Specialised Transport: If you need a modified vehicle or a disability taxi, you can use your Core funds to pay for this.

The Compliance Bit: This is all about getting to your “supports” or community activities. You can’t just use it to pay for a holiday. You need to keep a log of the kilometres, which your provider will include on their invoice.

5. Building Your Skills with a “Sidekick”

This is a clever way to blend your Core and Capacity Building budgets.

Your Capacity Building budget is for learning skills (e.g., paying an Occupational Therapist to teach you a new way to cook safely). Your Core budget is for doing things.

So, why not use your Core budget to practice the skills you’re learning?

How it works:

• Practicing Life Skills: Let’s say your OT (paid by Capacity Building) teaches you a new budgeting technique. You can then use your Core budget to pay a support worker to go with you to the supermarket for two hours to practice that new skill in a real-world setting.
• Learning to Cook: A support worker (paid by Core) can come over to help you practice the new meal plan or cooking techniques your dietitian taught you.
• Learning to Travel: An OT can teach you how to read a bus timetable, and your support worker (paid by Core) can then go with you on the bus route a few times until you feel confident.

The Compliance Bit: This is a perfect example of how Core supports help you put your other therapies into practice. It’s all about building your independence, which is a key goal in almost every NDIS plan.

How a Great Plan Manager Makes This Easy

Reading this, you might be thinking, “This sounds amazing, but also… complicated. How do I track all this? How do I know it’s compliant?”

That’s where we come in. This is the entire job of a good Plan Manager.

When Heron Group Consultants is your Plan Manager, we don’t just “pay the bills.”

• We Give You Advice Before You Buy: Not sure if that sensory item is compliant? Ask us first. We’ll give you a clear “yes” or “no” and explain why.
• We Let You Use Any Provider: You found a local gardener or cleaner you trust, but they aren’t NDIS-registered? No problem. As your Plan Manager, we can pay them for you.
• We Take Care of the Paperwork: You just send us the invoice. We check it, claim the funds, and pay the provider, usually within 2-3 days.
• We Watch Your Budget: Our job is to help you get the most out of your plan. We track your spending and can help you see where you have funding you could be using more creatively.

Take Control of Your Core Budget

Your NDIS plan, and especially your Core budget, is a powerful tool for independence. It’s meant to be flexible, and it’s meant to be used. Don’t let it sit there, or get stuck in a rut doing the same old thing.

Start thinking about your goals. What do you really want to do? Chances are, there’s a creative and compliant way your Core budget can help you get there.

Feeling excited, or maybe a little overwhelmed? That’s what we’re here for. The team at Heron Group Consultants are experts at this. Contact us today, and let’s have a chat about how to unlock the full potential of your NDIS plan.