When it comes to his NDIS plan, Harley’s definitely the boss.
It’s not always easy to catch a fish. Just ask Harley. Every Friday, he heads out with Barney for a few hours to try their luck at landing a bream, a flathead, or maybe even a shark. Sometimes he catches something, sometimes he doesn’t. But that’s not really what it’s all about. For Harley, it’s about getting out there and doing what he loves. And while he’s working hard on landing a big one, there’s a team of people working hard for Harley, making sure he’s taking control of his NDIS plan and getting the most out of it.
Firstly, there’s Barney, his Friday fishing mate and community access support worker, who also sometimes takes him to gigs at the local pub.
His occupational therapist, Tom, advocates for the support Harley needs to get out and about in the community and also provides support in the home. He works closely with Harley, identifies what he thinks will help Harley live his best and most meaningful life, and makes those recommendations to the NDIS.
And then there’s Julie, one of four women who work with Harley, and who call themselves “Harley’s Angels”. Julie’s worked with Harley for 14 years and remembers him skateboarding and riding around when he was 18. But she’s witnessed his deterioration and seen how it’s affected his life. She explains, “It’s a genetic disease, but it’s number 11, so he’s named it SBG11… It’s a hereditary paraplegia which affects his legs. His sister passed away from similar when she was 17.”
She’s also seen him change NDIS providers during that time. “The NDIS has been great to assist him. We were with another provider, but now, MyIntegra all the way, they’re awesome. When you call up, there’s never really a queue on the phones, and it was really simple to change over. Yeah, they’re very organised.”
And that’s what good NDIS plan management is all about. MyIntegra is there to take care of all the planning and admin, so people like Barney, Tom, and Julie can focus on supporting Harley and helping him have a great life.
As Tom adds, “You don’t want to waste your time doing the admin stuff behind the scenes. You want the time going to helping Harley. I just invoice for my services through MyIntegra with Harley. And they’ve always been really helpful and supportive.”
There’s no doubt that Harley feels in control of his NDIS plan. When Julie asks him, “Who’s the boss, Harl?” He has one simple answer: “Me.”
