When it comes to paying supports, you can either choose to self-manage your supports, ask the NDIS to pay on your behalf, or ask a Plan Manager to manage your payments. These are referred to as: Self Managed Agency Managed Plan Managed You can choose to be Plan Managed, or a combination of all three, in whatever combination you’d like. When you are Self Managed, you can select from a range of registered and non-registered providers, which expands your choice of supports. Being Self Managed also means you are not governed by the NDIS price guide, so you can pay as much or as little for a service as you like. While Self Management offers you maximum flexibility, the administration and reporting are onerous and not suited to everyone. If you are Agency Managed, you are able to choose from a range of NDIA-registered providers but cannot use unregistered supports. You are also bound to follow the NDIS price guide. This means you can negotiate to pay less than the price guide, but never more. Being Agency Managed offers you the greatest level of support. The NDIA will pay service providers on your behalf and manage the bookkeeping and reporting via their myplace portal, which you can view to track your spending. If you’re Agency Managed, you might want to choose providers who are not registered with the NDIS. You could achieve this through having a portion of your budget Plan Managed. This could give you access to registered and non-registered providers, but still offer you the convenience and support of someone else providing the bookkeeping and reporting services. You could also Self Manage a portion of your plan to test out and build up your independence or to access supports not bound by the price guide. The NDIS is all about exercising choice and control, so the key is to work with those who know and assist you to find the best combination of management for you.