Individualised Funding
Using Individualised Funding for Neuro Support.
This page is for two people. The client, who wants to know how their Individualised Funding can pay for Support Sessions now, and for Neuro Support's first month and ongoing service when they open. And the IF host coordinator, who reads the invoice and processes the payment. The framing is the same for both. There's nothing the client hears that the host doesn't.
StatusDiscovery Calls and Support Sessions are available now, and Support Sessions can be paid from IF today. Neuro Support's first month and its ongoing service open with the Neuro Agent app, which Jamie is building. Opening soon. The waitlist holds your place. Their prices are indicative, and every price is confirmed in writing before any paid work begins.
Email Jamie Join the waitlistIn short
Seven things to know.
- Support Sessions are available now and can be paid from IF today. NZ$120 for 60 minutes in person, or NZ$40 per 15 minutes online. Every session sits below the pre-approval threshold for every tier, Tier 4 included. No pre-approval needed.
- Neuro Support's first month opens with the Neuro Agent app, which Jamie is building. The indicative price is NZ$1,399: a 90-minute interview, building your system together, and 8 x 15-minute Support Sessions. That's below the NZ$1,500 per-purchase threshold for Tiers 1, 2, and 3.
- Ongoing Neuro Support after the first month will be NZ$499/month (indicative), billed monthly, cancellable any time. Also below the threshold.
- Every price is confirmed in writing before any paid work begins.
- The service is a specialist disability support service. Not equipment, not software, not therapy.
- Manawanui has previously paid an invoice from a client for a Neuro Agent purchase (April 2026, NZ$1,499, under a pricing structure that has since been retired). That payment is a precedent for the purchase type, not the price. Current pricing is set by the cost of delivering each service, and sits below the pre-approval threshold as a result.
- Any device the client uses is the client's own equipment, a separate purchase from these invoices.
The service
The Neuro Agent, coming soon.
The Neuro Agent is Neuro Support's own app, and Jamie is building it. The idea hasn't changed: your mind is for ideas, your Agent remembers the rest. It captures, organises, and speaks up when something matters.
The aim is to externalise the parts of executive function that ADHD and autistic brains have the hardest time with. Working memory, time awareness, task initiation, prioritisation. These things get held in the system rather than in the client's head. The clinical basis is Russell Barkley's externalisation framework, the most established model for ADHD support.
The client owns what's in it. They can see it, take it, delete it, and choose who's in. If the client stops working with Neuro Support, the system is theirs to keep.
If you're already a client, nothing about your current system changes without a conversation with Jamie first.
The rules
Why this qualifies for flexible funding.
Under the current flexible-funding rules (in force since 1 April 2026), there is no list of approved items or vendors. The relevant government page states plainly: "There is no set list of approved items, activities or services." The test is whether the purchase relates to the disabled person's disability support needs. Source: Disability Support Services, Flexible funding Q&A, retrieved 11 June 2026.
Neuro Support's services meet that test for a person with executive function difficulties. Support Sessions work on these needs directly today, and the first month and ongoing service will hold them in the client's own system. Specifically:
- Working memory. Appointments, reminders, plans and ideas get held outside the person's head, so they don't have to keep carrying them.
- Time awareness. What's coming up gets surfaced before it's urgent. Time becomes visible for a brain that has trouble feeling it.
- Task initiation. The next thing is visible without having to search for it. Closing the gap between intention and action is the heart of the work.
- Prioritisation. The person gets shown the next step rather than being asked to choose from a long list.
These are not generic productivity benefits. They are the disability-related supports the service is there to deliver, for clients whose disability creates the executive function difficulties it addresses.
What Manawanui's guidance adds
The principle above is the load-bearing justification. Manawanui's published FAQ gives some host-precedent colour, but it speaks to device and technology purchases specifically. It confirms that tablet devices and self-management technology can be funded where they relate to disability needs: "if you need a computer, cell phone or tablet to help you manage your funding, you can use your funding to pay for this" (with cost-effectiveness conditions). Source: Manawanui FAQ, retrieved 11 June 2026.
Neuro Support is a specialist support service rather than a device or software purchase, so this FAQ isn't directly on point. But the principle it reflects, that disability-specific support tools relate to the person's support needs, applies here. A smartphone on its own isn't a disability support. Neither is an app on its own. The specialist support service is what turns a tool into actual support for the person.
Line items
What you'd buy under IF.
Support Sessions
NZ$120 · 60 min in person | NZ$40 · 15 min onlineInvoice line"Specialist support worker session: [date], 60 minutes" (in person) or "Specialist support worker session (online): [date], 15 minutes"
Available now. No app needed. This is how IF pays for Neuro Support today.
Support-worker time, booked as needed. In person in Christchurch (NZ$120, 60 minutes), or online across NZ in 15-minute units (NZ$40, extendable once to 30 minutes) over evening slots five nights a week. Neuro Support clients pay a client rate of NZ$80 in person and NZ$20 per 15-minute unit online. Jamie invoices after the session. Every session format is below the pre-approval threshold for every tier, Tier 4 included. It's routine support-worker time, the most straightforward IF category to fund.
First month of Neuro Support
NZ$1,399 · indicativeInvoice line"Specialist support service: personal support system build, configuration, and onboarding (first month)"
Opening soon. It opens with the Neuro Agent app. The waitlist holds your place.
What it will cover: a 90-minute support session with Jamie (specialist support worker, fifteen years' experience, BA Human Services, ADHD lived experience), building the client's system together, and 8 × 15-minute Support Sessions across the month (2 a week).
Ongoing Neuro Support
NZ$499/month · indicativeInvoice line"Ongoing specialist support service: Neuro Support (monthly)"
Opening soon, after the first month.
What it will cover: upkeep of the client's system, Help when something isn't working, and 4 × 15-minute Support Sessions a month (rolling over to a maximum of 8 banked).
The ongoing service is optional. The client can stop at any time, and the system is theirs to keep.
Not part of any invoice: the client's own devices. They're the client's equipment, bought separately. If the client needs a device, equipment purchases through IF need pre-approval regardless of price.
Categorisation
Specialist disability support service. Not equipment. Not therapy.
This distinction matters because IF rules treat the three categories differently.
- Specialist support service: no pre-approval required under NZ$1,500 per purchase for Tiers 1, 2, and 3. Support Sessions sit well below this. The first month and the ongoing service are each priced on the cost of delivering them (indicative for now), and both sit below this threshold.
- Equipment: requires pre-approval regardless of price. The client's devices are in this category and are a separate purchase. Neuro Support is not equipment.
- Therapy: therapy has its own treatment under IF. Complementary therapies need prior approval, and therapy that another government agency (Health NZ, ACC) is responsible for is explored with that agency first. Neuro Support is not therapy. Jamie is a specialist support worker, not a therapist, counsellor, or clinician. The service is support work, framed as a specialist support service throughout, which keeps it clear of the therapy categorisation entirely.
This is why the canonical invoice line uses "specialist support service" and "personal support system setup" rather than "coaching", "training", or "therapy". The framing reflects what the service actually is and keeps the categorisation clean.
The pathway
How to set this up with your host.
For Support Sessions, on any tier:
- 01Get in touch with Jamie at jamie@neurosupport.co.nz, or book a free Discovery Call, to talk about fit.
- 02Tell your IF host that you want to use flexible funding for a specialist support service: Support Sessions with a specialist support worker. Mention the price (NZ$120 for 60 minutes in person, NZ$40 per 15 minutes online) and that each session is below the pre-approval threshold for every tier.
- 03Receive your invoice from Jamie after each session. The canonical line is on every invoice. A one-page funder explanation attaches automatically for any host coordinator who isn't already familiar with the service.
- 04Your host processes payment. Sub-threshold transactions process without pre-approval. If your coordinator wants more context, Jamie is reachable by email.
When the first month opens, the same steps apply on Tiers 1, 2, and 3. Tell your host the price (NZ$1,399 first month, NZ$499/month ongoing, both indicative) and that both sit below the NZ$1,500 per-purchase threshold. Join the waitlist to hold your place.
On Tier 4? Support Sessions work the same way for you. The next section covers the first month.
Tier 4
For Tier 4 clients.
Tier 4 has a lower NZ$500 per-purchase threshold. Support Sessions are below it, so they work for you today without pre-approval.
The first month, at an indicative NZ$1,399, crosses this threshold. So when it opens, it starts with a pre-approval conversation with your host. Describe the purchase as a specialist disability support service that builds you a personal executive-function support system, delivered through sessions with a specialist support worker. Manawanui has paid for this exact purchase pattern previously (April 2026, at NZ$1,499 under a since-retired pricing structure). Your host can either approve the first month as a one-off purchase or set up the arrangement as routine support worker time.
The ongoing arrangement is best agreed with your host in the same conversation as the first month. Each month is a real, separately delivered period of support, priced on the cost of delivering it, and monthly invoices then process as part of the agreed arrangement.
Talk to Jamie before that conversation if you want backup.
IF hosts
IF host providers in New Zealand.
Your host is the organisation that holds your flexible funding budget and processes your purchases. Most NZ clients are with Manawanui.
Common questions
What clients and coordinators ask.
Can I use IF for anything right now?
Yes. Support Sessions are available now, and each one is below the pre-approval threshold for every tier. Jamie invoices after the session and your host pays it like any other support-worker time. The first month and the ongoing service open with the Neuro Agent app.
Is this a subscription?
No. The first month will be NZ$1,399 (indicative). The ongoing service after that will be monthly (NZ$499/month, indicative) and cancellable any time. If you stop, your system is yours to keep.
Is this equipment?
No. Any device you use is your equipment, bought separately. Neuro Support is the specialist support service that builds a working personal support system with you.
Is this therapy?
No. Jamie is a specialist support worker, not a therapist or counsellor. The service is support work, framed as a specialist support service throughout, which keeps it clear of the therapy categorisation (where complementary therapies need prior approval and clinically-funded therapies are another agency's responsibility). Neuro Support is not therapy.
Does this count as disability support, or is it software training?
It's disability support delivered through a digital medium, not software training. The first month's 90-minute interview is a support-worker session, not a tutorial. Jamie isn't teaching the client to use an app. He's working out the client's executive function challenges, goals, and current system, then building a support system around what he heard. The difference is who does the work: in software training the client learns to run the tool themselves; here Jamie does the building with the client. On the worst day, with low executive function and no initiation capacity, the system still works, because the client never had to master it first.
Does the government (DSS) approve this specifically?
Disability Support Services does not approve specific vendors or products. The current government guidance states there is "no set list of approved items, activities or services". The test is whether the purchase relates to your disability support needs. Neuro Support's services meet that test.
Has any IF host paid for this before?
Yes. Manawanui paid an invoice from a client for a Neuro Agent purchase at the NZ$1,499 per-transaction level in April 2026, under a pricing structure that has since been retired. That payment is a precedent for the purchase type, not the price. The indicative structure (NZ$1,399 first month + NZ$499/month ongoing) is priced on the cost of delivering each service, and sits below the pre-approval threshold as a result. Other host payments are added to this list as they happen.
What if my coordinator hasn't heard of Neuro Support?
A one-page funder explanation attaches to every invoice, and the public reference for coordinators is the funders page on this site. A more detailed coordinator reference sheet is available on request. If your coordinator wants to talk to Jamie directly, email jamie@neurosupport.co.nz. Jamie is available to answer host questions before, during, or after the purchase.
What about a phone or computer? Can IF cover that?
Devices count as equipment under IF rules, which needs pre-approval whatever the price. Talk to your host about that separately. A device is never part of a Neuro Support invoice.
Can my family or support network be involved?
Yes. A support person can be invited in, if the client chooses.
What happens if I stop ongoing Neuro Support?
Your system is yours to keep. You can rejoin later if you want the upkeep, Help, and included sessions back.
Questions about the funding system itself, like what needs approval or what counts as equipment, have their own page: flexible funding, answered plainly. Every answer names its official source and the date it was last checked.
Coordinators: the public service reference (overview, pricing, pathway) is the funders and coordinators page.
Contact
Questions about funding? Email Jamie directly.
Jamie Robinson. Specialist support worker, fifteen years' experience, BA Human Services, ADHD lived experience. Based in Christchurch. Online across NZ, in person in Christchurch.