Receiving your initial NDIS plan can feel rewarding and also overwhelming

While the approval for support makes many feel happy, once you take a look at your plan, the sense of happiness will turn to excitement mixed with confusion because of the complexity of its language. 

The funding category breakdown and the appearance of goals listed, but without any clear outline of how you will achieve them, can create a lot of new questions. 

These questions include:

  • What will this funding allow me to do? 
  • Who should I talk to first?
  • What if I select the wrong service? 

These feelings are extremely common. While the NDIS is meant to provide consumers with freedom of choice and control, that freedom can often feel difficult when you do not have someone to help provide guidance. 

By providing guidance, Support Coordination provides additional support to help consumers make sense of their NDIS Plan. Support Coordination enables you to make your NDIS Plan into something you can use to get real support that effectively enables you to achieve your goals and realise your life.

What Is Support Coordination in the NDIS?

Support Coordination means using your NDIS plan correctly and being able to easily navigate your NDIS plan.

When you have a Support Coordinator, you work with them to understand your NDIS, find service providers that you need, and get help as changes to your NDIS happen.

Who may benefit from Support Coordination?

NDIS Support Coordination is usually for:

  • New NDIS Participants
  • If you struggle to manage the services you are using
  • Participants with multiple support services or complex needs
  • Families and other people supporting a participant who needs some advice on how to provide assistance

There are multiple levels of Support Coordination under the NDIS:

  • Basic Support Coordination: Helps most participants understand how to manage, use, and connect their support services
  • Specialist Support Coordination: Helps participants with multiple support services, or complex needs, crises, or high-risk situations

The NDIS Support Coordinators who are experienced will adapt their support coordination approach according to your needs. There are no ‘one size fits all” solutions when working with an individual.

Understanding Your NDIS Plan

Many participants do not know what their NDIS plan means. In this case, your NDIS Plan contains:

  • Personal goals that you want to achieve
  • Types of support that have been approved for funding to assist you in achieving your goals
  • Categories of funding that represent how your support funding will be separated
  • Conditions and timeframes associated with the provision of support

Let’s break down the categories of funding in simple terms:

Core Supports:

This category provides funding for support for daily living. Some examples of Core Supports are:

  • Personal care
  • Support workers
  • Assistance with day-to-day living activities
  • Transport

Capacity Building Supports:

This category provides funding for developing skills and gaining independence. Some examples of Capacity Building Supports are:

  • Therapies to build skills
  • Assistive technology
  • Support coordination for employment and life skills

Capital Supports:

This category provides funding for the purchase or modification of equipment or the provision of modifications to buildings or vehicles. Some examples of Capital Supports are:

  • Assistive technology or devices
  • Modifications to the home or vehicle for accessibility

Benefits of Having NDIS Support Coordination:

The role of a Support Coordinator is to assist you in understanding your funding options: 

  • What you can and cannot use your funding for
  • Which types of support will meet your goals
  • What you can purchase and what you cannot purchase with your funding
  • What limitations or restrictions are placed on how your funding can be used

This assistance allows you to understand and feel confident about making informed choices about your funding options rather than feeling confused or anxious about them.

Turning Your NDIS Plan Into Action

A plan provided through NDIS can only create the most benefit for you when it is properly used.

As stated above, participants may find themselves stuck in the process of completing their NDIS plan. Participants typically see some understanding of their plan, but may still not know how to get the most out of it.

The role of a Support Coordinator is to turn your NDIS plan into concrete and actionable steps.

What can your Support Coordinator do:

  • Breaking your NDIS Plan down into actions you can take
  • Identifying, based on your needs and preferences, which services should be set up first
  • Coordinating a simple plan with you for the next few weeks or months
  • Finding suitable service providers for you to use
  • Working with those providers on your behalf or accompanying you to their location.
  • Creating service agreements between you and your service provider
  • Making arrangements with service providers for bookings and start dates of services.

Once your Support Coordinator has helped you with these things, you will see that you are moving forward, rather than feeling lost.

Helping You Make Informed Choices

NDIS offers choice and control, but for people with disabilities to make a choice, they need to know their options.

Supports Coordination Supports You to:

  • Compare providers and different types of support
  • Understand pricing and value
  • Select supports that meet your needs, culture, and preferences

The role of a good Support Coordinator is not to tell you what you should choose, but to empower you to make an informed choice. The Building of Confidence, Independence, and a Stronger Connection to Supports Occurs over Time. You Transition from “I don’t know what to do,” to “I understand my options.

Assisting Ongoing Support and Problem Resolution

Life is rarely the same from day to day, and continuing to depend on previous supports eventually will not work. One of the greatest assets of Support Coordination is the continued engagement of either the Provider or Consumer, rather than just the initial point of contact.

What this means to continue your ongoing support will typically include:

  • Finding out if your present service provider is presently working
  • Addressing the need to rectify any situations between the provider and the Consumer
  • Assisting in helping the Consumer with their evolving need for support
  • Assisting during times of crisis or other unanticipated incidents

If a service is determined not to be the right fit, the Service Coordinator will assist you by finding other options.

When the time comes for plan review, the Service Coordination process can assist you with:

  • Collecting all the necessary documentation
  • Identifying the areas where third-party services are unavailable
  • Working with you to prepare for a reassessment.
  • You will not be alone in figuring out the best path forward.

Gaining Skills Now for Future Self-Management

Support Coordination is not meant to create dependency, but to teach skills. Over time, individuals with support needs will gain an understanding of:

1) making arrangements (bookings) to receive services

2) reviewing invoices

3) communicating effectively with service providers

4) making independent decisions.

For those who wish to move to a position of being self-managing in the near future, Support Coordination will allow participants to develop the skills necessary to make that transition. As a participant builds confidence, they will have the ability to gradually decrease their level of support as appropriate.

Who Can Benefit From Support Coordination?

Support Coordination can benefit many people, including:

New NDIS Participants

Starting can be confusing. Early support prevents mistakes and stress.

Participants with Complex Needs

When multiple services are involved, coordination becomes essential.

Families and Carers

Support Coordination reduces pressure and helps families navigate systems.

Participants Experiencing Service Breakdowns

When things aren’t working, a Support Coordinator helps reset and rebuild.

Final Thoughts:

If you’re not already familiar with the NDIS and you have to figure it all out on your own, it might seem pretty overwhelming. Support Coordination will help clarify what the NDIS is and help you to make it feel like it’s happening in a more manageable and realistic way. When you have a Support Coordinator, you can take your NDIS plan and transform it from being just an administrative burden into something tangible that will make a positive impact on your life. If you feel confused or overwhelmed and aren’t sure where to start, don’t hesitate to reach out for help. You do not need to take on the NDIS journey by yourself.

Common Questions About Support Coordination

  1. Is Support Coordination funded by the NDIS?

Yes, if it is included in your Capacity Building budget.

  1. How long does Support Coordination last?

It depends on your needs. Some people need it short-term, others longer.

  1. Can I change my Support Coordinator?

Yes. You always have a choice and control.

  1. What’s the difference between Support Coordination and Recovery Coaching?

Support Coordination focuses on services and systems.
Recovery Coaching focuses on mental health recovery and wellbeing. Both can work together.