If your NDIS plan includes support coordination, you have someone whose job is to help you make your plan work. Many people find a good support coordinator makes a big difference, especially in the first year of a plan or during a big change, such as moving out of home.
This guide explains what a support coordinator does, the different levels, and how to work well together. It is general information. Whether support coordination is in your plan, and how much, is decided by the NDIA.
What a support coordinator is
A support coordinator is a person funded in your plan to help you understand and use it. They help you turn the funding in your plan into real supports that fit your life.
Support coordination is funded in the Capacity Building part of your plan. Not every participant has it. The NDIA decides whether to include it based on your situation, for example if you are new to the NDIS, your supports are complex, or you are going through a big change.
What a support coordinator can help with
A support coordinator can help you:
- Understand your plan: what each budget is for, how your funding is managed and what is stated.
- Find providers: explore options, compare providers and arrange meetings.
- Set up supports: help you read and understand service agreements before you sign, and make sure providers know which budget to claim from.
- Keep an eye on your budget: check your supports are on track to last the length of your plan.
- Solve problems: if a provider is not working out, or a support stops, they help you work out what to do next.
- Respond to a crisis: help you get support in place quickly if your situation changes suddenly.
- Prepare for your next reassessment: gather reports and evidence, and help you explain what has changed.
- Connect with community and mainstream services: such as health, education, housing and community groups.
Throughout all of this, a good support coordinator works to build your own skills, so over time you can do more of it yourself, if that is what you want.
What a support coordinator does not do
It helps to know the limits of the role:
- They do not decide what is in your plan. Only the NDIA does.
- They are not your plan manager. A plan manager pays invoices; a support coordinator helps you choose and set up supports. Some people have both.
- They should not choose for you. They give you options and information, and you decide.
- They are not a substitute for an advocate in every situation. If you need someone to speak up for your rights, an independent disability advocate may be the right person.
The three levels of support coordination
The NDIA funds support coordination at different levels, depending on how much help you need:
- Support connection: short-term help to connect with providers and community supports, and to build your confidence to manage your own plan.
- Coordination of supports: help to bring together a mix of supports, manage them and build your ability to coordinate them yourself. This is the level most people mean when they say “support coordinator”.
- Specialist support coordination: a higher level of help for people with very complex situations, such as a housing crisis, involvement with the justice or health system, or high risk. A specialist support coordinator often has an allied health background.
Your plan will say which level is funded.
How support coordinators handle conflicts of interest
Some organisations offer support coordination and other supports, such as in-home support or Supported Independent Living. That can create a conflict of interest, because a support coordinator might be tempted to steer you towards their own organisation’s services.
A good support coordinator will:
- tell you openly if their organisation provides other supports
- give you a genuine choice of providers, not only their own
- explain how they manage any conflict of interest
- support your decision even if you choose a different provider
You can ask about this at your first meeting. You also have the right to choose a support coordinator who is completely independent of your other providers.
Getting the most from your support coordinator
Working well together is a two-way thing. These tips help:
- Be clear about your goals. Tell them what you want from your week and your life, not only what you think the plan will pay for.
- Agree how you will keep in touch. Phone, email, text or meeting in person, and how often.
- Ask for things in writing. Notes from meetings, lists of options and next steps help you keep track.
- Share what is working and what is not. If a provider is not right, say so early.
- Keep your own copies of your plan, service agreements and reports.
- Bring someone with you if it helps. A family member, friend or advocate can come to meetings.
- Ask how much funding is being used. Support coordinators bill for their time, so it helps to know how their hours are tracking against your plan.
If it is not working
You can change support coordinator. You do not need a special reason. Check the notice period in your service agreement, let your current support coordinator know, and choose a new one. If you are not sure how, your local area coordinator (LAC) or the NDIA can help. If you have a concern about the quality or safety of the support you are getting, you can contact the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission at any stage.
If you do not have support coordination
Not everyone has support coordination in their plan. If you do not, your local area coordinator can help you understand your plan and connect with providers. If you think you need support coordination, for example because your situation has become more complex, you can ask the NDIA to consider it, usually at your next reassessment or sooner if your situation has changed.
Working with Manora Care
If you work with a support coordinator, we are happy to work alongside them, with your permission, so you do not have to repeat yourself. If you are a support coordinator, see our page for support coordinators. If you are a participant or family member, you can contact us directly or ask your support coordinator to get in touch. For words you are not sure about, see our NDIS glossary.
This guide is general information, not advice about your plan. NDIS rules change from time to time. For your own situation, check with the NDIA, your support coordinator or your plan manager.
