Allianz Australia now a registered NDIS provider

On Monday 17^th April Allianz Australia commenced providing plan management services to Scheme participants across Australia as a registered NDIS provider.

The NDIS was created to support a better life for hundreds of thousands of Australians who have a permanent disability. The Scheme makes it easier for people living with disability (and their families, and carers) to connect with essential government services and community activities.

Within the next five years, the NDIS will provide funding for support and services to an estimated 500,000 Australians who have permanent and significant disability. You can read more about How the NDIS works on the NDIS website.

The aim of plan management is to help NDIS participants manage their NDIS plan funding.

A NDIS participant is someone who has a permanent or significant disability and requires ongoing support. When a participant becomes eligible for the NDIS, a plan is developed based on their needs and funds are provided to help them gain greater independence and improved quality of life. The funding can be used to help them accomplish goals such as learning a new skill, enrolling in education, or finding employment.

The participant (or in some cases their carer or representative) has full control of the budget and decides how it is spent. They can choose to self-manage the funds, have them managed by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), use the services of a plan manager (such as Allianz), or a combination of all three.

Appointing a plan manager, such as Allianz, means participants may benefit from:

• Access to a dedicated Plan Manager. This is someone who is highly trained in supporting and communicating with people living with disability. They can help monitor a participant’s budget, manage invoices, and pay providers.
• Regular statements of the financial status of their Plan funds. This can include letting the participant know if there are areas where they are spending too much, or not enough.
• Finding out which funded services are available to them.

There are no out-of-pocket costs for participants who choose to use the services of a plan manager, as the plan management fees are covered by the NDIS.

The project to join the NDIS as a provider of plan management services has been led by Mark Pittman, General Manager Government Services, and his team.

Mark says the NDIS offers people living with disability more choice, control, and consistency over how they manage their independence and achieve their goals. He says Allianz’s entry into the NDIS market aims to provide participants with the benefits of a dedicated plan manager, personalised service, and confidence in managing their NDIS funds. It also aims to bring more value to the NDIS scheme with the application of our rigorous governance around financial management, fraud detection and risk management.

“We’re excited about what our involvement will mean for Australians who receive NDIS funding and choose us to manage their NDIS plan funds,” Mark says. “As one of Australia's general insurers with strong expertise in managing the care of personal injury insurance claimants and customers living with an injury, illness or disability we look forward to providing support that helps participants and their carers feel confident in managing their NDIS plan budget.”

Our plan management service will be available to participants who are new to the Scheme and are looking for a plan manager. It will also be available to existing participants looking to switch plan manager, or who want to switch from a self-managed or Agency-managed arrangement.

Scheme participants (and their carers or representatives) can access our NDIS plan management via our NDIS online portal. For more information, visit Allianz NDIS plan management.