Your goals are the most important part of your NDIS plan. They identify your strengths and desires for the future, give your supports direction, and give your workers insight into who you are.
In this easy-to-follow guide, we help you understand goal setting as part of a NDIS plan. We’ll explain what makes a good, realistic goal – with examples – and provide a simple goal setting template that can be used both by clients and referral partners.
Your goals are your starting point. They will:
A support will only be funded if it aligns with one of your goals.
The importance of goal setting is to:
There are no maximum goals in a NDIS plan – you may include as many as you like. For the planning stage to be completed, you must provide at least one goal [1].
Each of your goals can have up to four actionable steps. These steps help break down any challenges you may face in achieving the goal and help specify which supports you may need and why.
A goal is something that you would like to achieve that is hindered by disability-specific barriers.
Here we give you examples of social, physical and vocational goals, as well as what some steps to achieve them could look like. Remember, these will be unique to each person and their individual situation, challenges and desires.
” I want to engage in weekly social and recreation activities.”
Some steps could be:
An example of a broad social goal for a child could be; ” To join in group play,” or more specifically, “To join and participate actively in a team sport”.
” I want to be able to use both of my hands”
Some steps could be:
An example of a physical goal for a child could be ” To dress myself independently.”
“I want to finish a TAFE course in hospitality in the next 12 months.”
Some steps could be:
An example of a vocational goal for a child could be: ” To engage in group discussions in the classroom.”
Think about any new skills, or refined skills, that are necessary in daily life. It’s wise to include a few short-term goals mixed in with some longer term goals.
Focus on life skills. If you’re setting a goal for your child, think about what other children their age is doing. This could be things such as sitting at a table for lunch, making friends, or climbing an A-frame unassisted.
If it’s a goal for yourself, factor in anything that’s holding you back from community participation as well as your own personal desires.
Creating a SMART goal is a good idea: these goals are Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant and Time-bound. Check out this video to see how to create a SMART goal.
Remember, your NDIS funding will cover what is deemed reasonable and necessary for you to achieve your goals. What does this mean? The NDIS will not fund your holiday, for example, but they can help you access supports to teach you how to manage your money so that you can afford a holiday in the future.
You may want to brainstorm with a family member or friend. Start with what you enjoy most and think about what support you may need to access or achieve it. Goals will be recorded during your planning meeting. You can ask for assistance with the wording of your goals.
Think about what you want to achieve medium to long-term (over one or two years, such as “I want a job”) and short-term (over a few months), such as “I want to gain confidence to travel independently”). You can have a combination of short and medium long-term goals in your plan.
You can change your goals at any time.
Tips for Goals Setting:
This NDIS Goal Setting Template will assist with the planning process and help you identify steps necessary to achieve positive outcomes. This template can be used by NDIS clients and referral partners.
Your goals can be simple or complex, short term or medium – long term (or a combination of all of these!). The only requirement of goals is that you have at least one. It will enable your supports to be tailored to you and help you focus on achieving what matters most to improve your or your child’s quality of life.
Setting achievable goals is key to getting the most out of your NDIS journey. Your local area coordinator or other supports, such as service providers like us will help you navigate the NDIS and offer assistance with goal setting.
Get in touch with our friendly team to discuss setting your NDIS goals and accessing supports.
[1] NDIS, 2024. Setting Goals. https://www.ndis.gov.au/participants/creating-your-plan/setting-goals
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