You may notice funding in your NDIS Plan allocated towards Capacity Building. So, what does capacity building mean and how do you make the most of it?
NDIS Capacity Building funding covers supports that help improve your skills, independence and confidence so you can participate more fully in everyday life. It can support you to reach your goals at home, in the community, at work or in education.
Here we explain what capacity building means and take a closer look at the Capacity Building budget.
What is capacity building?
Capacity building means developing the skills, confidence and independence to do more for yourself over time. The focus is on building long-term capacity and achieving your personal goals.
This might include things like:
- Learning to cook healthy meals
- Improving social skills
- Managing money
- Preparing for work
- Gaining confidence to get out in the community.
Capacity Building budgets and your NDIS Plan.
There are several categories within Capacity Building supports. The names of these categories can vary depending on whether you have an old plan (created before December 2023) or a PACE plan. You might also notice differences depending on where you’re looking on the NDIS website.
To make things easier, we’ve included some of the common terms you might come across for each Capacity Building category. Your NDIS Plan may include funding in one or more of these areas.
Support Coordination and Psychosocial Recovery Coaches (Support coordination): Support to help you understand and use your NDIS Plan. A support coordinator can connect you with providers, negotiate services and link you with community or government supports.
Improved Living Arrangements: Supports to help you find, apply for and maintain appropriate housing that suits your needs. You can use this funding to get support applying for a rental, exploring housing options or managing a tenancy.
Increased Social and Community Participation: Supports you to build confidence, make friends and get involved in community life. You could use this for supports that help you develop your social skills or participate in local events and activities. However, the cost of activities themselves is not covered.
Finding and Keeping a Job: Helps you prepare for and stay in work. This might include job search support, allied health assessment or advice, or training to build on-the-job skills.
Relationships (Improved Relationships in an old plan): Supports you to develop and maintain positive relationships. This may include social skills development.
Behaviour Support (for PACE plans only): Provides specialist behavioural intervention supports and behaviour support plans where required (this sits in the Improved Relationships budget in older NDIS plans).
Health and Wellbeing (Improved Health and Wellbeing in an old plan): Supports health-related goals. You might use this funding for a dietitian, exercise physiology or a personal trainer.
Lifelong Learning (Improved Learning in an old plan): This budget helps you achieve education and training goals and is usually funded for participants transitioning from school to further education like university or TAFE. This can include help applying for a course, managing your study schedule or having a support worker attend classes with you.
Choice and Control (Improved Life Choices in an old plan): This is where your budget for plan management will be located. A plan manager like Leap in! provides support to manage your budget, pay invoices and stay on top of your funding.
Improved Daily Living Skills: Covers therapy services like occupational therapy, speech therapy or physiotherapy to build everyday skills and independence.
Making the most of your Capacity Building budgets.
Understanding how each category connects to your personal goals can help you make informed decisions about your supports.
Start by thinking about the goals in your NDIS Plan. Then explore how your Capacity Building budgets can support you to build the skills or confidence needed to work towards them. For example:
- If your goal is to live independently, you might use Improved Living Arrangements to explore housing options and Health and Wellbeing funding to build skills in managing your health.
- If you want to find a job, the Finding and Keeping a Job budget can help with job readiness, while Improved Daily Living Skills can support communication or time management.
- To participate more in your community, Increased Social and Community Participation can help build your confidence and social skills in safe, supported environments.
Each budget is designed to help you grow your independence and take charge of your goals. You don’t need to have all the answers, but knowing what’s available puts you in a stronger position to decide what’s right for you.
We can help!
Here at Leap in! HQ, we want to help you achieve the most out of your NDIS Plan. If you’re still unsure if the funds within your Capacity Building budgets are doing the best they can for you, we offer free Understand Your NDIS Plan sessions for anyone with an NDIS Plan.
It doesn’t matter if you’re self-managed, NDIA-managed or even with another plan manager!
Book a FREE Understand Your Plan session.
For anything else, call us on 1300 05 78 78, email us at [email protected] or sign up to Leap in! plan management today.
Further reading.
- NDIS support categories explained.
- Achieving your NDIS employment goals.
- Housing and the NDIS: What your options are.
First published 21 February 2020, revised and updated 1 March 2024, 12 November 2025 and 13 January 2026.
