Moving funds between budgets

When you can and can't move funds

The NDIS allows funds to flow between sub-categories within the Core budget group when a participant has flexible Core funding. Navigator's Move funds action supports exactly that scenario — and only that scenario.

If the request falls outside what's supported, see When a plan variation is the right answer below.

The Move funds flow

From the customer's profile, find the funding section and click Move funds on the support plan you want to adjust. A modal opens:

1. Open the customer's profile and scroll to the funding section.
2. Click Move funds on the relevant support plan.
3. Choose the source budget in From budget. Only Core flexible budgets with remaining funds are selectable.
4. Choose the destination budget in To budget. Only Core budgets in the same plan are selectable.
5. Enter the amount to move. Navigator updates the balance previews under each budget so you can confirm the after-state before saving.
6. Click Confirm transfer. The change applies immediately.

What happens behind the scenes

The transfer is two budget edits:

1. Source budget total reduced by the amount you entered.
2. Destination budget total increased by the same amount.

The two changes are recorded against the plan as a budget update. The plan's overall total doesn't change — funds are moved within the plan, not added or removed. Spent and Owing values are unaffected; only the budget caps shift.

Future invoices coded to the destination budget will now have headroom up to the new total. Invoices already approved and processed against the source budget are unaffected.

Releasing funds from a future funding period

Some plans release funding in stages — each stage is a funding period. If a participant has used most of the funds released so far and wants access to the next funding period earlier, this is not the same flow as moving funds between budgets.

To bring forward funding from a future period:

1. Open the support plan on the customer's profile.
2. Edit the relevant budget and find the funding periods list.
3. Adjust the funding period dates — for example, end the current period earlier and start the next period today. Or move some of the next period's amount into the current one.
4. Save. The plan's Released column will reflect the new schedule.

Best practice: only do this with NDIS authorisation or where it aligns with the plan's existing structure. Releasing funds early in a way the NDIS hasn't sanctioned can cause issues at plan review. If unsure, ask the participant or their support coordinator to confirm with the NDIS first, then make the change in Navigator.

When a plan variation is the right answer

If the request is to move funds across budget groups — for example, taking unused Capacity Building funds and putting them into Core supports — Navigator can't do this and neither can the participant. It requires a plan variation or plan review through the NDIA.

What to do:

• Reply to the requester (typically the support coordinator) explaining that a plan variation is needed
• Suggest they contact the NDIS via 1800 800 110 or the participant's planner to request the variation
• Note the request on the customer's record so the rest of the team has context if there's a follow-up
• Once the NDIS approves the variation, the updated plan flows into Navigator via the API sync (or you can edit the budgets manually if the API isn't enabled for that customer)

Common request — drafting a reply

The example below covers the typical inbound email: a support coordinator asking for funds to be reallocated and additional Core released. Use it as a starting point — adapt to the specifics of the request and the participant's actual budget state.

Permissions

Moving funds between budgets requires the customer.update permission. If the Move funds button doesn't appear on a customer's plan, your role doesn't include this permission — speak with your account administrator.

The same permission is required to edit funding period dates and amounts.