In 2020 the Department of Social Services commissioned a project to better understand the relationship between participants’ plans and the supports they wish to purchase and why participants might not use all the funds allocated in their NDIS plan. The project had three interrelated aims:

1. To compare the NDIS with other individualised care models across the world to:
   a. Identify what influences expenditure in those models
   b. Identify potential interventions to optimise plan utilisation so it reflects the needs and aims of NDIS participants
   c. Recommend benchmarks for optimal utilisation levels
    
2. To conduct a qualitative analysis to:
   a. Understand the dynamics affecting people’s utilisation of their plan funds from the point of view of the participants
   b. To study the potential levers/policy interventions in order to improve plan utilisation
    
3. To conduct a quantitative analysis to:
   a. Identify how utilisation varies among different socio-demographic and disability groups and for different components of plans
   b. Identify drivers of utilisation to identify potential interventions to improve utilisation to optimal levels and rates

The three parts of the project were conducted by the following groups. Each group takes responsibility for the discrete pieces of research:

1. Comparative analysis of utilisation rates in individualised funding schemes – Public Service Research Group at the University of New South Wales, Canberra

2. Qualitative analysis of participant, family and carer perspectives on utilisation - Future of Employment and Skills Research Centre at the University of Adelaide

3. Quantitative analysis of utilisation rates and potential interventions – Melbourne Disability Institute at the University of Melbourne