What does an NDIS support coordinator do?

If your NDIS plan includes support coordination, you have funding for someone whose job is to help you use the rest of your plan. Here’s what that looks like in practice.

What is NDIS support coordination?

Support coordination is a capacity building support that helps you understand your NDIS plan, connect with providers and community services, and build the skills to manage your supports over time. It appears in your plan under “Support Coordination”.

The three levels of support coordination

• Support connection helps you link in with providers and services.
• Coordination of supports helps you understand and implement your whole plan, and builds your ability to manage it yourself.
• Specialist support coordination is for people with more complex situations, such as housing instability or involvement with health and justice systems, and is delivered by a qualified professional such as an allied health practitioner.

What a support coordinator helps with

• Explaining your plan and what each budget can be used for
• Finding and comparing providers, and arranging meet-and-greets
• Setting up service agreements and service bookings
• Keeping an eye on spending so your funding lasts
• Problem solving when things go wrong, such as a provider leaving or a change in your health or housing
• Gathering reports and evidence before a plan reassessment

What a support coordinator doesn’t do

Support coordinators don’t manage your money or pay invoices (that’s a plan manager), and they don’t decide what goes in your plan (that’s the NDIA). A good coordinator also won’t push you toward one provider. They should give you options and let you choose.

How to get support coordination in your plan

Ask for it at your planning meeting or plan reassessment, and explain why you need help to use your plan. Evidence helps, for example if you have several providers, complex health needs, or have struggled to get supports started.