- Capacity Building pays for supports that grow your skills: therapy, support coordination, exercise physiology, employment help.
- It is one of four support budgets in the current NDIS system, alongside Core, Capital and Recurring supports.
- Each Capacity Building category is locked. Money cannot move between them.
- Use Capacity Building funding for the supports described in that category. Check your plan before booking a service.
Capacity Building is one of the four support budgets in the current NDIS system, alongside Core, Capital and Recurring supports. It funds supports that build your skills, independence or ability to participate over time. The exact categories and supports available to you are written in your plan.
What are the NDIS Capacity Building categories?
Your Capacity Building budget can have funding in up to nine support categories. Each category has a specific purpose and is stated, which means money cannot move from one Capacity Building category to another. The NDIS Capacity Building guide lists the current categories and examples.
| Category | What it funds |
|---|---|
| Improved Daily Living | Therapy, training, and supports that help you manage daily tasks more independently. Includes occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech therapy, and specialist behaviour support. |
| Increased Social and Community Participation | Programs and support that develop your skills to participate in community, social, or recreational activities independently over time — distinct from Core-funded community access. |
| Finding and Keeping a Job | Supports to help you find, keep, or advance in employment — including vocational training, job coaching, and workplace modifications assessment. |
| Improved Relationships | Behaviour support, positive behaviour support plans, and supports to help you build and maintain relationships. |
| Improved Health and Wellbeing | Exercise physiology, dietetics, and other allied health supports that address the impact of your disability on your health and wellbeing. |
| Improved Learning | Supports to move from school to further education, such as help applying for courses, managing study workloads and building learning skills. |
| Support Coordination | Funding for a support coordinator or specialist support coordinator to help you implement your NDIS plan, connect with providers, and navigate complex situations. |
| Improved Living Arrangements | Supports that help you find and keep a suitable place to live. It does not pay rent or a rental bond. |
| Improved Life Choices | Supports that build the financial and organisational skills needed to manage an NDIS plan. Plan management funding sits in this category. |
Why can the category names look different?
NDIS plans and provider systems can use a short support category name or a longer participant-facing label. Go by the wording and supports described in your own plan. Ask the NDIA, your NDIS contact or your support coordinator before using one category for a service that is described under another.
What is the difference between Core and Capacity Building?
Core commonly pays for day-to-day support. Capacity Building pays for supports that build skills and independence over time. Capacity Building categories are stated and cannot be moved between. Some Core funding is flexible, but stated supports and funding periods still apply, so always check the wording in your plan and the official guide to using NDIS funding.
Capacity Building budgets work differently. CB funding is locked to each category. Your CB Daily Activity budget cannot be used to pay for CB Employment supports, and your CB Support Coordination budget cannot top up your CB Relationships funding. Each category is a separate allocation, and you need to use it within the category it was set up for.
The other major difference is the purpose of the support. Core funds ongoing supports you need to manage daily life — things that repeat because the need repeats. Capacity Building funds supports where the goal is to improve your capability over time. A support worker helping you shower every day is Core. An occupational therapist working with you over 12 sessions to develop strategies to shower independently is Capacity Building.
Who gets Capacity Building funding?
You get Capacity Building funding when the NDIA decides it is reasonable and necessary for your goals and disability-related needs. It is not automatic. Most participants have at least some Capacity Building in their plan, but the specific categories and amounts depend on what evidence was presented at the planning meeting and what goals are in the plan.
To have CB funding included or increased in your plan, you generally need:
- A clear goal that the CB funding will help you work toward
- Evidence from a treating professional or allied health provider that the support is appropriate for your disability and will contribute to your independence or skill development
- A link between the support and the specific CB category (for example, OT assessment links to CB Daily Activity)
If you have a support coordinator, they can help you identify what CB supports might be appropriate and prepare the evidence needed to request them at your next plan review.
What can you spend Capacity Building funding on?
Most participants spend Capacity Building funding on therapy, support coordination, exercise physiology, or employment supports. The categories that get used most:
CB Daily Activity (therapy)
This is the most commonly used CB category. It pays for occupational therapy (OT) sessions and assessments, physiotherapy, speech pathology, psychology and mental health therapy, and specialist behaviour support. If you need an OT assessment for assistive technology or home modifications, it is funded here (not from Core).
CB Support Coordination
If you have support coordination funded in your plan, it is almost always funded under this CB category. Support coordination funded here pays for your coordinator’s time to help you understand and implement your plan, find providers, resolve issues, and prepare for plan reviews. Specialist Support Coordination (for higher-complexity needs) also sits here. Our guide to the three levels of support coordination explains the difference — and how to tell which level your plan funds.
CB Health & Wellbeing
Exercise physiology — structured exercise programs designed to improve your functional capacity — is funded under this category, not under Core. Dietetics and other allied health supports that specifically address the disability impact on your health may also be funded here.
CB Employment
For participants who have employment as a goal, CB Employment can fund job coaching, supported employment preparation, and certain vocational training. Note that this is separate from the NDIS’s Employment Supports category and from Disability Employment Services (DES), which is funded by a different government program.
What happens to unused CB funding?
When the NDIA replaces a plan with a new plan, unused funding from the old plan is generally no longer available. A plan continuation is different. The NDIA says a continued plan can keep the same budget amounts and unspent funds while you wait for reassessment. Check the dates and funding periods shown in your plan rather than rushing to spend money near the end.
If you are consistently struggling to use your CB funding — because you cannot find a provider, because therapy waitlists are long, or because the allocated category does not match your actual needs — raise this with your support coordinator or at your next plan review. There are often ways to adjust how the funding is structured.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between NDIS Capacity Building and Core funding?
Core commonly covers day-to-day supports. Capacity Building funds supports that build skills and independence over time. Capacity Building categories are stated and cannot move between categories. Some Core funding is flexible, but stated supports and funding periods still apply, so check your plan.
Is Capacity Building funding automatic in every NDIS plan?
No. CB funding is included in your plan when the NDIA determines it is reasonable and necessary given your goals and disability-related needs. Many participants have some Capacity Building, but the amounts and categories vary. If you believe you need CB funding that is not currently in your plan, raise it at your next plan review with supporting evidence from an allied health professional.
Can I use Capacity Building funding to pay for an occupational therapist?
Yes, in most cases. Occupational therapy is typically funded under CB Daily Activity, which covers therapy and training to help you manage daily tasks more independently. If you have CB Daily Activity in your plan, you can use it to pay for OT assessments, therapy sessions, and assistive technology recommendations. OT cannot be paid from Core funding.
What happens to unused Capacity Building funding at the end of my plan?
When the NDIA replaces a plan with a new plan, unused funding from the old plan is generally no longer available. A continued plan is different and may retain unspent funds while you wait for reassessment. Check your plan dates and funding periods. If provider gaps or waitlists stop you using a funded support, document that and raise it at reassessment.
Related guides
Need help understanding or using your Capacity Building funding?
Tegrity provides support coordination across our listed Sydney service areas. We help participants understand their plans, connect with allied health providers, and make the most of their CB budgets.