NDIS explainer
Core supports or capacity building: what is the difference in your NDIS plan?
NDIS plans have different support budgets, and each works a bit differently. Here is what core supports and capacity building pay for, which one is flexible, and what cannot move.
5 min readBy Your Way Living
The short version
- Core supports help with everyday activities and getting involved in your community.
- Capacity building supports build your skills so you can do more for yourself and work towards your goals.
- Core funding is flexible: you can use it across and within the core categories.
- Capacity building funding is a stated support: it must be spent as described, and cannot be moved between capacity building categories.
If you have looked at an NDIS plan and wondered why some money can be used flexibly and some cannot, this is for you. Plans are split into support budgets (the NDIS lists four: core, capacity building, capital and recurring). Two come up in almost every conversation: core supports and capacity building.
Core supports: help with everyday life
Core supports help you with everyday activities and getting involved in your community. The NDIS says a core budget can have funding in up to three support categories:
- Assistance with daily life: help with daily tasks such as cleaning, yard work, cooking and personal care.
- Consumables: everyday items like continence products, and low-cost assistive technology such as non-slip bathmats and small aids for dressing, eating, drinking or cleaning.
- Assistance with social and community participation: support workers who help you take part in local community, group or social activities, and become more independent in them.
Core funding is flexible
The NDIS says you can use the total amount in your core budget to buy NDIS supports across and within the core support categories. You can only buy supports the NDIS rules allow and that match your plan.
Capacity building: skills for the future
Capacity building supports build your skills to do things for yourself and work towards your goals. The NDIS lists up to nine categories, including improved daily living (living skills, assessments and therapies), increased social and community participation (joining groups and building social skills), improved living arrangements, improved health and wellbeing, improved learning, improved relationships, finding and keeping a job, improved life choices, and support coordination.
Capacity building funding is stated
The NDIS says the funding in your capacity building categories is a stated support. You must buy the supports described under each category, and you cannot move funding between capacity building categories. Within a category there can still be choice: for example, therapy funding is one total, so you can choose between therapies like physiotherapy or occupational therapy.
What this means in practice
- Core: one flexible pool for everyday support, consumables and community activities.
- Capacity building: each category is for the support it describes, and funding stays in its category.
- Every budget can only pay for NDIS supports that match your plan and the NDIS rules.
- How your plan is managed (NDIA-managed, plan-managed or self-managed) does not change the budgets, but it does change who pays providers and keeps the records.
A quick comparison
| Topic | Core supports | Capacity building |
|---|---|---|
| What it is for | Everyday activities and community life now | Building skills and independence over time |
| Categories | Up to 3: daily life, consumables, social and community participation | Up to 9, including improved daily living, social participation, health, learning, work |
| Flexibility | Flexible across and within the core categories | Stated: spent as described, no moving between categories |
How Your Way Living fits in
Your Way Living helps with daily living, personal care, community participation and building skills across Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, the Hunter and the Central Coast. Most of what we do sits under core supports; our capacity building work focuses on living skills and confidence at a pace that suits each person.
Not sure what fits your plan?
We are happy to talk it through with you, your family or your Support Coordinator. ndis.gov.au notes it is updating some pages for new NDIS legislation, so always check your own plan.
Sources we checked
- ndis.gov.au, "What are core supports" (current as of 7 May 2026) · checked 20 October 2026
- ndis.gov.au, "What are capacity building supports" (current as of 16 July 2026) · checked 20 October 2026
- ndis.gov.au, "What are NDIS support budgets" (current as of 1 September 2026) · checked 20 October 2026
General information only, not advice about your plan. NDIS rules change; always check your own plan or ask your Support Coordinator or my NDIS contact.
Common questions
Can I move money from capacity building to core supports?
No. Capacity building funding is a stated support: it stays in the category it was given for and must be used as described in your plan. Core funding is flexible, but only within the core budget. If you are unsure what your plan allows, ask your Support Coordinator or my NDIS contact.
What does "stated support" mean in an NDIS plan?
A stated support must be spent on the support described in the plan. The NDIS describes capacity building funding as stated: you buy the supports described under each category.
Is community participation a core support or capacity building?
Both budgets can include it. Core supports have a category called assistance with social and community participation (support workers to take part in activities). Capacity building has increased social and community participation (building the skills and networks to join in).
Does Your Way Living work with all plan types?
Yes. We work with participants whose plans are NDIA-managed, plan-managed or self-managed.
Related on our site
Talk it through with us
Tell us what is in your plan and what you want to do with it. We will tell you plainly what we can help with, and what we cannot.
Office 9am to 5pm, seven days. Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, the Hunter and the Central Coast.
Written by the Your Way Living team
Your Way Living is a registered NDIS provider (registration 4-L3BFU41) based in Edgeworth, Lake Macquarie. We publish new plain-English articles regularly. If we have got something wrong or out of date, tell us and we will fix it.
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