How to Prepare for Your First NDIS Planning Meeting

What actually happens at a planning meeting

A planning meeting is a conversation between the participant and a planner, usually covering daily life, current supports, informal help from family or carers, and the goals the participant wants funding to work towards. It is not an exam with right or wrong answers, but the level of detail provided does shape what ends up in the plan.

The planner will typically ask about different areas of life: self-care, mobility, communication, social and community participation, learning, and relationships. For each area, they are trying to understand what is difficult, what already helps, and what is missing.

Meetings can happen in person, by phone or online, and usually run somewhere between thirty minutes and just over an hour, depending on how complex the situation is and how much information has already been provided in writing beforehand.

How to prepare in the two weeks before

Preparation does not need to be elaborate, but a small amount of structure makes a real difference to how the meeting goes.

1. Write down three to five goals in the participant’s own words, not just categories like “more independence.”
2. List current supports and who provides them, including informal help from family.
3. Note specific situations where the disability creates a barrier, with enough detail to be useful.
4. Gather any recent reports from therapists, doctors or support workers.
5. Decide who else should attend, such as a family member, support coordinator or advocate.

Evidence that strengthens a planning meeting

Evidence is most useful when it describes the impact of a disability on daily life, not only a diagnosis. A report that says “the participant has autism” is less useful on its own than one that explains how sensory sensitivity affects grocery shopping or public transport.

Useful evidence often includes allied health reports, hospital discharge summaries, behaviour support plans, letters from support workers who see the participant regularly, and even a simple diary of a difficult week. None of these need to be lengthy to be effective.

Questions to ask your planner

Participants are allowed to ask questions during the meeting rather than only answering them. A few tend to be particularly useful.

• How will the funding categories in my plan connect to the goals we have just discussed?
• What happens if my situation changes before the next scheduled review?
• Will support coordination be included, and if so, at what level?
• How and when will I receive the finished plan document?
• What should I do if I disagree with part of the decision once the plan arrives?

Mistakes to avoid before and during the meeting

A few avoidable habits tend to weaken an otherwise reasonable case for funding.

• Downplaying difficulties out of politeness or a wish to appear more capable than daily life actually allows.
• Turning up with no notes and relying entirely on memory under time pressure.
• Focusing only on diagnosis rather than describing the practical, day-to-day impact.
• Not mentioning informal supports at all, which can make the picture look inconsistent later.
• Leaving the meeting without a clear idea of what happens next or when the plan will arrive.

If you already have a support coordinator or plan manager

Participants who already have a support coordinator often prepare for a planning meeting together, reviewing what has worked over the current plan period and what evidence should be highlighted for the next one. This is usually more effective than preparing alone, since the coordinator has visibility over how supports have actually been used.

A plan manager will not usually attend the planning meeting itself, since their role is financial rather than about plan content, but they can still provide useful spending history that shows how the current plan has actually been used in practice.

What happens immediately after the meeting

Once the planning meeting finishes, the information gathered is used to draft a plan, which then goes through an internal approval step before it is sent to the participant. This is why the meeting itself is only part of the process, the quality of what was discussed still needs to be translated correctly into funded supports and dollar figures.

If a plan implementation meeting is offered, it is worth attending even if the plan looks straightforward, since this is usually the point where funding categories are explained in practical terms and any early questions can be raised before supports actually start.

What if you disagree with the plan once it arrives

It is fairly common for a participant to feel that a new plan does not fully reflect what was discussed in the meeting. This does not automatically mean something has gone wrong, sometimes it reflects a gap between what was said and what was written down as evidence.

If the plan seems to be missing something important, participants can ask questions about the decision and, if needed, request a review. Reviews are more likely to succeed when they are specific about which support is missing and why it connects to a goal or evidence already provided, rather than a general objection to the plan as a whole.

Documenting informal supports honestly

One area that catches many families out is how informal supports, such as help from a partner, parent or friend, are described. Under-representing this help can make a situation look more manageable than it is, while over-representing it can make a planner assume less funded support is needed.

The more useful approach is simply an honest description: what family or friends currently do, how sustainable that arrangement is, and what would happen if that informal support was not available on a given day. This gives the planner a realistic picture rather than either extreme.

Common goal-setting pitfalls

Goals that are too broad, such as “be happier” or “be more independent,” are hard for a planner to connect to specific funded supports. Goals that are too narrow, such as naming one specific provider, can also limit flexibility later if that provider becomes unavailable.

A useful middle ground describes a real outcome, such as travelling to a regular activity without relying on a family member, alongside enough context that a planner can see why current supports are not already achieving it.

Example scenario

Consider a participant preparing for their first planning meeting after an initial access decision. In the two weeks before, they write down three goals: cooking a simple meal independently, catching the bus to a regular activity, and reducing reliance on a family member for morning routines.

They gather a short occupational therapy report describing specific difficulties with sequencing tasks, and a one-page note from a support worker describing a recent bad morning in concrete detail rather than vague terms. A family member attends the meeting to help recall dates and past supports accurately.

This is a general illustration only. The right preparation depends on the participant’s own goals, evidence available and current circumstances.

Preparing for a phone or video planning meeting

Not every planning meeting happens face to face, and a growing number are conducted by phone or video call. The preparation is largely the same, but a few extra details help a remote meeting run smoothly. Have all documents open or printed in advance rather than searching for them mid-call, and confirm beforehand whether the participant needs an interpreter, a support person on the line, or any communication accommodations.

It also helps to choose a quiet space without interruptions, and to have a phone charger or backup contact method ready in case the call drops partway through. None of this changes what is discussed, but it reduces the chance that a technical hiccup derails an otherwise well-prepared conversation.

Planning meetings for children and younger participants

Planning meetings for children under nine generally aim for a faster turnaround and often involve early childhood partners rather than a standard planner. Parents are usually asked about developmental milestones, current supports such as therapy or early intervention, and the family’s own capacity to provide informal support day to day.

For younger participants, evidence from paediatricians, early childhood educators and allied health professionals tends to carry particular weight, since it helps establish a clear picture of developmental delay or disability alongside the family’s daily experience.

If the planning meeting happens by phone or video

Many NDIS planning meetings now take place by phone or video call rather than in person, and the same preparation applies either way. It can help to have all documents open on a desk or table rather than searching for them mid-call, and to write down the key points to raise in case the call is interrupted or run short on time.

If a participant finds phone or video calls harder to follow, it is reasonable to ask the planner to send a written summary afterwards, or to request an in-person meeting instead if one is available locally.

Important terms to understand

Some planning-meeting language overlaps with later stages of the plan, so it helps to see how the terms connect early on.

How this applies locally

Participants in Canberra and Queanbeyan can attend planning meetings in person, by phone or online, and many find it useful to loop in a local support coordinator beforehand if one is already involved, so evidence and goals are consistent with what providers are actually seeing day to day.

CCS supports participants preparing for both first plans and later reassessments, helping turn everyday experience into the kind of specific detail a planning meeting responds well to.

This preparation work often continues after the plan arrives too, since the same evidence and goal-setting habits make later conversations, such as plan reassessments or requests for additional supports, considerably more straightforward.

Related CCS Guides and Services

• NDIS Plan Management Types Explained
• What Happens at an NDIS Plan Reassessment Meeting
• NDIS Reasonable and Necessary Criteria Explained
• How to Ask for NDIS Home and Living Supports: Evidence Checklist for 2026
• Support coordination in Canberra
• Contact CCS

Official NDIS References

• How to prepare for your plan meeting
• Guide to your first plan

Frequently Asked Questions