What Is NDIS Support Coordination, and Do You Need It?

An NDIS plan is a document full of budgets and categories. Turning it into a physiotherapist who visits on Tuesdays, a support worker who speaks Cantonese and a modified bathroom takes work. Support coordination is the funded support that does that work with you. This article explains what it is, who gets it and how to make the most of it.

What a support coordinator does

A support coordinator is a professional funded from your Capacity Building budget whose job is to help you:

• Understand your plan and what each budget can be used for.
• Find and connect with providers that suit your needs, language and location.
• Set up service agreements and make sure providers deliver what they promised.
• Coordinate between health services, housing, education, employment and community supports.
• Solve problems when a provider falls through or your needs change.
• Prepare for reassessment with reports and evidence, and help with reviews if a decision goes wrong.

A good coordinator also builds your own skills so that over time you rely on them less.

The three levels

Support Connection. A small number of hours to help you get started with your first plan.

Support Coordination. The most common level. Ongoing help to manage providers and respond to changes, typically a few hours each month.

Specialist Support Coordination. For complex situations involving high risks, multiple systems or crisis, delivered by an allied health or social work professional.

The level in your plan depends on your circumstances and what you ask for at planning.

Who benefits most

Support coordination is especially valuable if you:

• Are new to the NDIS or have a new diagnosis.
• Have several providers or several types of support.
• Speak a language other than English and find the system hard to navigate.
• Have had unused funding in previous plans.
• Are dealing with hospital discharge, housing changes or family breakdown.

How to get it in your plan

Ask for it directly at your planning meeting or reassessment. Explain why you need help to implement the plan, such as language barriers, complexity or lack of family support. If it is not included, you can request a review.

Choosing a coordinator

Look for someone who is independent from the providers they recommend, responds within a working day, and can communicate in your language. Ask how many participants they work with and how they handle emergencies.

Support coordination at Avida Care

Our support coordinators work with participants across Box Hill and Melbourne’s eastern suburbs in English, Mandarin and Cantonese. We are a Registered NDIS Provider and we will always tell you clearly when a recommendation involves our own services so you can make an independent choice. Call 0477 399 714 or 0421 986 841, or contact us.