Updated and Effective from: September 2024

Purpose

• To clarify what type of expenses are the responsibility of the Member, the Helper, or the NDIS

Policy

Sometimes Helpers will spend their money while with a Member. In some cases this will be their private expense, and in other cases it might be the Member’s responsibility, or the NDIS’ responsibility to reimburse this expense. Below are examples highlighting where the responsibility of reimbursement lies.

Helper Reimbursement through Member NDIS Plan

If a Helper can’t perform a task that is asked of them without incurring a cost, and the NDIS is able to cover this type of cost, then we will bill the Member’s NDIS plan for this cost. For example:

• Parking tickets, road tolls, public transport fares, provider travel costs, kilometres travelled costs, and other transport related costs incurred during a shift
• We will bill the full cost of the expense to your NDIS plan, unless you prefer to pay privately. This is because these types of expenses are only incurred by the Helper out of necessity to complete the NDIS goal of a Member, and so it’s typically an expense covered through a Member’s NDIS plan
• The abovementioned expenses are added to invoices, and reimbursed through Member NDIS funding by their funder

Helper Reimbursement through Members Privately

If a Helper can’t perform a task that is asked of them without incurring a cost, and the NDIS is not able to cover this cost, then we will ask for reimbursement from the Member privately. Examples where the Member covers reimbursement include:

• A Helper is asked to join a Member at ticketed events, locations or activities, like gyms, comedy shows, cinema, bowling, activity centres etc. These activities usually aren’t covered through the NDIS, and so Members will need to cover the cost of entry for their Helpers, or reimburse Helpers if they cover their own ticket cost
  • A companion card usually grants Helpers entry to activities for free, but where this isn't applicable the Member should pay. They can provide payment to Helpers directly, and not need to go through Lend A Friend for this type of payment
• When Helpers are asked to go shopping for Members, and the Helper uses their own money to buy items for Member, the Member should reimburse the Helper privately.
• Any time a Helper covers the cost of something for a Member, but this cost isn’t NDIS reimbursable

Helper Expenses which are not Reimbursable

If a Helper voluntarily incurs a cost or incurs an expense not related to the task they have been asked to do, they should pay for this themselves. For example:

• If a Helper is asked to drop off a Member to the cinema, but the Helper chooses to watch a movie too (but isn't required to for the shift) then they should pay for their own ticket