Under the Your Life Your Choice program you will be asked to plan how you will use your funding to purchase the supports and services you require.  It is important that this kind of planning is based on your own thinking about the kind of life  you or your family member wants to live.  It is not the role of any Host Provider or government department representative to direct your planning. 

Use this Case Study as an example of how one family used the 'big picture' planning they had done with their son to direct their planning and budgeting for his support.

Use the information in What goes in a plan? on this website to help prepare for your meeting with a Host Provider or with the Department if you choose the Direct Payments method of self-direction. 

Remember

Self-direction offers the opportunity to think creatively about the best way to use your funding.  You are not limited to purchasing support from disability specific services.  The following articles and stories have a number of examples of how to take advantage of the flexibility offered by self-direction:

• Financial matters: organisation and creativity in managing supports
• Getting the alignment right. Matching the support, the plan, the vision and the particular needs of the person
• The right person for the job: creative ways to stretch your budget
• Getting Creative with Paid Support 
• Being at the Centre of my Life

Some of your support needs could be met through ways other than using your funded dollars.  Use the template Paid and Unpaid Support as a guide.  

If you are planning to employ staff, think about the range of skills and experience needed in different circumstances; the advantages of short or long term support roles; whether to engage employees or contractors.  Read more about this in Engaging Your Own Staff.

Your planning should include thinking about the best way for you to direct your own supports, either through a Host Provider or by using Direct Payments.  This decision will be based on a number of factors which may change in the future so it is important that planing is an ongoing process. A journey with people towards self-direction provides an overview of different methods of self-direction supports and services.