SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: nib holdings limited (nib) (ASX: NHF), a leading health insurer and provider of disability services, has announced the completion of its acquisition of BudgetNet, a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) plan manager based in Victoria.
The acquisition was finalised on Thursday, 21 September 2023, through an asset sale agreement.
BudgetNet is the sixth plan manager to join nib Thrive’s house of brands, which aims to support NDIS participants to manage their funds and access disability services. nib Thrive entered the NDIS sector in 2022 after raising $158.1 million in equity and has since acquired five other plan managers, including Developing Links in August.
nib Thrive Chief Executive, Martin Adlington, said that BudgetNet has grown to support more than 5,000 participants and is the third largest plan manager in nib Thrive’s portfolio. He added that nib Thrive now supports over 37,000 participants and is on track to meet its goal of supporting 50,000 participants by FY25.
“As we continue to expand our footprint, we envision ourselves playing an important role in helping participants better manage their plan. We aim to leverage digital solutions as well as our 70 years of experience in health, to connect participants with the tools and services they need to maintain choice and control over their plan,” Mr Adlington said.
One of the digital solutions that nib Thrive offers is Kynd, an NDIS marketplace platform that matches participants to providers of disability services.
BudgetNet was founded in 2018 by Brian Carey and Michael Coyne, who recognised a gap in their local community for participant-focused plan management support. They said that they were pleased to join nib Thrive, as they shared the same vision of placing participants at the centre of plan management.
“Our business was founded with a vision to place participants at the centre of plan management and nib’s long-standing history of providing member-centric services neatly aligns with our mission. We also recognise the opportunity, growth and efficiencies a business of nib’s scale can bring to the NDIS and plan management,” Mr Coyne said.