Planning for the future

My Plan participants of Lifetime Care and Self-management: Managing your own supports.

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My Plan participants of Lifetime Care

Use My Plan to work out the assistance and support you’ll need to plan for the things that are important to you following a severe motor accident injury.

My Plan is the planning tool used by Lifetime Care to help you:

  • tell us the things you want to do
  • identify the assistance and support you need 
  • identify what you will do to work towards the goals you have set.

My Plan is a dynamic tool that can help you communicate your aspirations, goals, work out the steps you need to take, and the supports that you need. My Plan is particularly helpful for people early on in their rehabilitation or whose needs are changing. It can also be useful when planning around major events (or anything that requires planning).

We know that everyone’s situations and needs evolve and a My Plan may need to change or may not be needed all the time. My Plan is there for when you need it.

If you feel that a My Plan may not be helpful for you, please speak with your Case Manager or icare Contact directly if you require services.  Remember, you can always use a My Plan, even if you have not used one for some time.

A case manager or your support person at Lifetime Care is available to guide you through My Plan.

Pie chart showing the cycle of three phases of My Plan: Plan preparation, plan development and plan implementation.

My Plan cycle

My Plan is your plan. It's a useful tool to plan for the things that are important to you.

    Three phases of My Plan

  • Preparation – Think

    Start preparing by yourself or with a family member or your case manager. 

    We’ve created a My Plan Preparation tool that encourages you to think about:

    • Your goals and aspirations
    • The services you’ve received to help you achieve your goals
    • Your progress and strengths
    • Your new priorities
    • Maximising your independence.

    There’s space for you to make notes about your reflections, and you can take this with you when you meet with your case manager to develop your plan.

    Your case manager will also prepare for planning by gathering progress reports, feedback from service providers and reflecting on the previous plan and outcomes. Let your case manager know how much involvement you wish to have in your plan development and consider whether you want to work differently together.

  • Development – Write

    Next, you will meet with your case manager to talk about what you have both learned during Plan Preparation. These conversations will help you to communicate your aspirations for the future and any specific goals to include in your next My Plan. 

    You will be asked to think about:

    • what you can do yourself to help achieve your goals
    • what you've been happy with and what you’d like to change
    • what you've learnt about yourself and your hopes for the future. 

    Your case manager will:

    • share their observations on your progress, identifying anything that might be acting as a barrier and what seems to be supporting you well
    • work with you to identify what services or supports you might need
    • calculate the hours and costs for the services you need and submit this as a request to Lifetime Care.

    If your needs are stable and you have an interest in managing your My Plan more independently, please reach out to your Lifetime Care contact.

    Materials developed to assist case managers and planning facilitators to guide a person and/or their family through the planning process are available on the Planning with an injured person page. 

  • Implementation – Do

    Plan implementation is when you and your case manager put your plan into action. Experience tells us that the more responsibility a person takes for managing their plan, the greater their sense of achievement and progress, so your case manager will encourage you to be as independent as possible.

    Your case manager or Lifetime Care contact will help you connect with the required services and monitor your progress towards achieving your goals to make sure things are going to plan for you. If your goals or needs change, talk to your case manager or Lifetime Care contact. They can submit a request for additional services during the My Plan period.

    As the plan period comes to an end, you, your family and your case manager can reflect together on your progress and start preparing for the next plan cycle.

Resources

Case manager and planning facilitator resources

Self-management: Managing your own supports

You may be able to manage aspects of your care independently if you have been a Lifetime Care participant for a couple of years, have moved past the 'interim' stage and your care needs are stable.

Managing your own supports

icare Lifetime Care assists people to regain skills and become independent following a serious injury. For some people, this means taking control and managing their own supports. This is Greg’s story.
Listen to the audio description

What is self-management?

Self-management gives Lifetime Care participants the ability to choose their own support providers and to organise their own care team.

When you have been a participant for a couple of years, your needs may be more stable, compared to the early stages after your injury.

Lifetime Care has a range of self-management options available to participants who are considered suitable, to support you to move beyond rehabilitation and develop independence as you readjust to normal life. You may be able to manage some or all the supports in your My Plan.

Self-managing participants accept more responsibility when they manage their own supports. Participants have a set budget for their treatment and care services for a period, which is used to obtain the supports needed.

It is important to consider if you want to assume that responsibility and the impact that managing your own supports has on your time.

Suitability for self-management

Lifetime Care assesses several factors to ensure self-management is appropriate. These are outlined in more detail below. If you are interested in self-management, you can discuss suitability and options with your icare contact.

Self-management options

There are four options in self-management. You can discuss which option may be suitable for you with your icare contact.

  • 1. Supported self-management through our approved service provider, Living My Way

    This option involves working with the service provider we have partnered with, Living My Way:

    • Living My Way provides administrative and planning support to participants throughout their self-management program.
    • Participants can choose their care providers or employ their own support workers.
    • Living My Way provides budget management assistance, pays invoices and payroll on the participant's behalf.
    • The participant maintains control of scheduling support, rostering and approves any payments necessary.
    • Living My Way carries out the financial processing.
  • 2. Purchasing services from a provider company

    In this option the participant chooses which provider company they want to use. 

    • Lifetime Care calculates an annual care budget for the participant and provides an advance (lump sum payment) into a specific Self-Management bank account that the participant has opened.
    • Participant commences using services and pays for them from that bank account.
    • At the end of the month, the participant makes a claim to icare for the expenses they have incurred during the month.
  • 3. Choosing and training your own support workers

    This option is designed for participants who want to use an online platform to purchase services directly from individual support workers:

    • Participant has control over the specific individuals who work on their support program.
    • Participant must ensure that these support workers are properly trained to deliver personal, individual service.
    • Participant maintains control of scheduling support and rostering.
    • Lifetime Care calculates an annual care budget for the participant and provides an advance (lump sum payment) into a specific Self-Management bank account that the participant has opened.
    • Participant commences using services and pays for them from that bank account.
    • At the end of the month, the participant makes a claim to icare for the expenses they have incurred during the month.
  • 4. Directly employing your own support workers

    In this option, the participant becomes the employer of their support worker team:

    • Participant manages all the responsibilities of being an employer.
    • Lifetime Care calculates an annual care budget for the participant and provides an advance (lump sum payment) into a specific Self-Management bank account that the participant has opened.
    • Participant commences using services and pays for them from that bank account.
    • At the end of the month, the participant makes a claim to icare for the expenses they have incurred during the month.

Setting up for self-management

Whichever option of self-management is considered suitable for you, icare can arrange tailored training from Living My Way. Living My Way has been supporting people with disabilities to live a self-directed life since 1992.

Living My Way will support participants to consider their needs, help them with choosing an appropriate care provider and equip them with the skills they need to manage their own supports.

About Living My Way

In 2022, icare commenced working with Living My Way to support Lifetime Care participants in the management of their own care.

Living My Way provides people with disabilities the assistance and guidance to self-manage their own care, giving people control and independence in organising their care.

Learn more about Living My Way

Learn how Andrew coordinates his care through Living My Way (story and video)

Testimonials from people who have used Living My Way services

"Living My Way helped me to get my life together again and allowed me to do what I want to do." – Lucelle

“When you have a good support coordinator, it makes it a lot easier to achieve your goals. The goals you set with the team can be achieved, because there is a professional team finding ways for you to get there.” – Mark

“Living My Way is my go-to because they always know the answer and if they don't know the answer, then they go and find out for me.” – Andrew

Is self-management appropriate for you?

If you are thinking about self-management, there are some considerations about who can and can’t apply for self-management.

To manage your own supports, you need to meet the following basic criteria:

  • be a Lifetime Care (not interim) participant
  • your care and support needs are sufficiently stable and predictable
  • be over 18 years of age
  • not bankrupt (this consideration is not necessary if choosing the supported self-management option).

If you meet the basic criteria, we'll carry out further assessment to consider whether self-management is suitable for you. This will cover things like:

  • whether you have a publicly-appointed guardian or a financial management order in place
  • whether you are able to manage the tasks involved in self-management
  • whether self-management would place you at an unacceptable risk of abuse, neglect or harm, and whether any significant risks to you can be managed
  • whether you have a demonstrated ability to work positively with your service providers.

Nominee arrangements

You may also want to consider having another person manage your supports on your behalf. This is known as a nominee arrangement.

Nominee arrangements can be considered in some circumstances and are supported by our partner, Living My Way. Talk to your coordinator if you are interested in this option.

Safeguarding plan

If you meet the basic requirements for Self-Management, your Lifetime Care contact will work with you to complete a safeguarding plan for managing your own supports.

A safeguarding plan is designed to make sure you won’t be placed at an unreasonable level of risk in the circumstances and that you have access to the right help you need to manage your supports.