Core Supports
Everyday assistance: personal care, help at home, community access, transport and consumables.
Flexibility. The most flexible budget. You can usually move funding between most Core categories.
Plain language guide
The NDIS, explained without the acronyms
This page is free information, not a sales pitch. Use it even if you never become a Top End Care participant. If something here is still unclear, call us and ask.
The journey
Five stages, start to finish
Most people are somewhere in the middle of this list and do not realise the rest exists. Find where you are.
- 01
Check whether you can access the NDIS
You generally need to be under 65, an Australian citizen or permanent resident, and have a permanent and significant disability that affects your everyday activities. If you are unsure, call the NDIS on 1800 800 110 and ask, or call us and we will talk it through.
Worth knowing. Being told you might not qualify is not the same as being assessed. Ask for the assessment.
- 02
Make an access request
You submit an Access Request Form with evidence from your treating health professionals. The evidence matters more than the form. It needs to describe what you cannot do without support, not just name your diagnosis.
Worth knowing. Ask your GP or specialist to write about function and daily impact, not only the condition.
- 03
Have your planning meeting
A planner or Local Area Coordinator will ask about your daily life, your goals and the support you already have. Take someone with you. Write your goals down beforehand in your own words.
Worth knowing. Describe your hardest day, not your average one. Plans are built from what you say here.
- 04
Get your plan and choose providers
Your plan sets out your funded budgets and your goals. You then choose who delivers your supports. You are not assigned to anyone, and you can change providers at any time.
Worth knowing. You can use more than one provider. You do not have to put everything with one organisation.
- 05
Start supports, then review
Services begin under a written service agreement. Before your plan reassessment, gather evidence of what worked and what did not so your next plan reflects reality.
Worth knowing. Keep a simple diary. Two lines a week is enough, and it is worth a lot at review time.
Reading your plan
Three budgets, three sets of rules
Almost every argument about what your plan does and does not cover comes down to which of these three budgets the funding sits in.
Capacity Building
Supports that build skills and independence: daily living skills, support coordination, therapy and employment supports.
Flexibility. Less flexible. Funding is allocated to a category and generally has to stay there.
Capital Supports
Assistive technology, equipment, home modifications and specialist disability accommodation.
Flexibility. Least flexible. Usually tied to a specific quoted item.
Who pays the invoices
This is your plan management choice, and you can change it at a plan reassessment. Plan management is funded on top of your other budgets, so choosing it does not cost you support hours.
Where we fit. NDIS registration in progress, so we can work with self managed and plan managed participants now, and with NDIA managed participants once it is approved.
Self managed
You receive the funds and pay providers yourself. Most control, most paperwork, and you can use unregistered providers.
Plan managed
A plan manager pays invoices on your behalf and tracks your budget. You keep most of the choice with far less admin.
NDIA managed
The NDIA pays providers directly. Least admin for you, but you can only use registered providers, so you cannot use Top End Care while our registration is in progress.
Still stuck?
Questions we get asked most
Useful numbers
- NDIS general enquiries
1800 800 110 - NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
1800 035 544 - Top End Care
1300 391 319
Is Top End Care a registered NDIS provider?
Our NDIS registration is in progress. Until it is approved we work with self managed and plan managed participants, which the NDIS allows. If your plan is NDIA managed we cannot take you on yet, and we will tell you that straight away rather than waste your time. We will also tell you when registration comes through.
Which participants can you work with right now?
Self managed and plan managed participants, and people paying privately. If you are NDIA managed, you can only use registered providers, so we are not an option for you yet. Changing to plan management is free and does not come out of your other budgets, and you can ask for it at your next plan reassessment.
Is an unregistered provider held to the same standards?
The NDIS Code of Conduct applies to every NDIS provider and every worker, registered or not, and the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission takes complaints about unregistered providers on 1800 035 544. What registration adds is an independent audit against the NDIS Practice Standards, which we are going through now.
How quickly can supports start?
For most services in the greater Darwin area we can usually have a first meeting within five business days and supports running shortly after. Overnight and complex supports take longer because we will not start them without the right staff in place.
What if I do not get along with my support worker?
Tell us and we will change it. You will not be asked to justify the decision and it will not affect your service in any other way. Getting the match right is our job, not yours.
Do you travel outside Palmerston and Darwin?
We are based in Palmerston and cover the greater Darwin region and the rural area as standard. Travel to Katherine and to remote communities is available by arrangement, subject to staffing and the travel funding in your plan.
How do you handle the wet season?
We plan for it. Rosters account for road access and heat, community activities have indoor alternatives, and we keep contact with participants in the rural area during heavy weather so nobody is left without a plan.
What does it cost?
We charge in line with the current NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits published by the NDIA. Your service agreement sets out every rate before anything begins, and we do not charge you more than the published limit for a support.
How do I make a complaint?
Talk to us first if you feel able to, on the phone or through the feedback form. If you would rather go outside the organisation, you can contact the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission on 1800 035 544 at any time. Using our process is never a condition of raising a concern with them.
Bring us your plan and we will read it with you
Free, no obligation, and we will be straight about what it funds. Even if you go elsewhere afterwards.