Support coordinators

Roles and key tasks of a support coordinator
Registered and unregistered support coordinators
Levels of support coordination
Support coordination activities by level
Provider obligations for support coordinators
Legislation and other requirements
Connecting with participants
Changing support coordinators
Promoting and protecting a participant’s safety

Roles and key tasks of a support coordinator

See the roles and key tasks that are expected of a support coordinator:

Help participants connect to NDIS and other supports

Help participants understand their NDIS plan
Connect participants with supports and services

Build a participant’s capacity and capability to understand their plan, navigate the NDIS and make their own decisions

Build capacity and resilience
Preparing for unexpected situations
Crisis: planning, prevention, mitigation and action

Broker supports and services

Design support approaches
Establish and maintain supports

Monitor plan budgets and support effectiveness

Coach, refine and reflect
Reporting to the NDIA

Support coordinators will help participants with different things depending on:

what the participant’s goals, needs and circumstances are
what is funded in the participant’s plan.

The difference between a plan manager and a support coordinator

Plan managers work with plan managed participants. A plan manager pays providers for supports delivered. They also monitor the participant’s funds, and provide financial reporting.

A support coordinator supports the participant to understand and implement supports included in their plan. They link the participant to providers and other community and government services. A support coordinator will also support the participant to build skills and direction.

Registered and unregistered support coordinators

Support coordinators can be registered or unregistered providers. Not all providers are required to be registered. Participants whose plan is managed by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) can only receive supports from a registered NDIS provider. Registration requirements will vary depending on the level of support coordination.

To deliver support coordination services as a registered provider, organisations must:

decide which level(s) of support coordination they will provide to participants
apply for registration under the relevant registration group.

Visit the NDIS Commission’s website for more information on both registered and non-registered providers and registration groups, including the provider registration process.

Levels of support coordination

There are 3 levels of support coordination that can be included in a participant’s plan:

Support to help a participant understand their plan, connect with NDIS providers and community, mainstream and other supports to get the most out of their NDIS plan.

It should also increase participant’s confidence and skills to manage their plan independently.

Support to put in place a mix of supports to increase a participant’s capacity to maintain relationships, manage tasks, live more independently and be included in their community.

It builds the participant’s confidence and skills to direct their lives, not just their services.

A higher level of support for participants whose situations are more complex and who need specialist support.

A specialist support coordinator will assist participants to manage challenges in their support environment and ensure a consistent delivery of service.

A participant’s plan may describe what level of support coordination is funded or how support coordination should be delivered. A participant may only purchase support coordination in the way described.

If the level of support coordination funding is not described in the plan, participants can choose what level of support coordination is most appropriate for their needs and how it’s delivered.

Visit NDIS practice standards on the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission website for more information on practice standards and quality indicators for specialist support coordination.

Visit Specialist support coordination for more information about what specialist support coordination is, who provides it, activities and

Key tasks for support coordinators to address complex barriers
Key tasks for support coordinators to design a service plan for multiple and complex needs

Support coordinators are generally expected (but not limited) to do the following activities for each level of support coordination.

Support Coordination Activities	Level 1: Support Connection	Level 2: Coordination of Supports	Level 3: Specialist Support Coordination
Understand the plan	Yes	Yes	Yes
Connect with supports and services	Yes	Yes	Yes
Design support approaches	No	Yes	Yes
Establish supports	Yes	Yes	Yes
Coach, refine and reflect	Yes	Yes	Yes
Report to the NDIA	Yes	Yes	Yes
Build capacity and resilience	No	Yes	Yes
Crisis: planning, prevention, mitigation and action	No	Yes	Yes
Address complex barriers	No	No	Yes
Design a service plan for complex support needs	No	No	Yes

Depending on a participant’s circumstances, they may have specialist support coordination (level 3) as well as coordination of supports (level 2) stated in their current plan. This could be used for participants with immediate barriers who also need coordination of supports for the remainder of their plan.

Other participants may have specialist support coordination (level 3) in one plan, and then level 1 or level 2 for their next plan.

Connecting with participants

A participant can choose their support coordinator.

Participants can connect with support coordinators by using a request for service. The request for service includes information about the participant’s goals, needs and circumstances.

The NDIA can help participants to find available support coordination providers.

Providers can receive requests for service through:

the myplace provider portal
email from the NDIA
the participant directly.

Before accepting a request for service, support coordinators should consider whether they can best support the participant to pursue their goals.

Once they accept the request for service, support coordinators should meet with the participant to create a service agreement.

Changing support coordinators

Participants can choose to change support coordination providers at any time, as long as they follow the notice periods in their service agreement.

As part of the handover process, the current support coordinator should prepare a report which:

outlines how a participant is going with:
- pursuing their goals
- using their plan
- building skills and independence
- strengthening their community and economic participation through connection with broader systems of support
share any relevant reports from service providers with the participant’s permission
identify any barriers, risks or issues, including any strategies to address them
provides clear evidence on future support needs, including recommendations.

The report must include an agreed and confirmed date when the current support coordinator’s services will end. This will ensure services continued to be delivered and a smooth handover occurs.

The support coordinator should then end the service booking so that the participant can create their service agreement and booking with the new support coordinator.

Where a participant is plan-managing their support coordination services, the support coordinator should also notify the participant’s plan manager.

Promoting and protecting a participant’s safety

Support coordinators play an important part in safeguarding a participant’s wellbeing.

Support coordinators will often be the first to become aware of any concerns about the quality and safety of a participant’s supports and services.

All NDIS providers and workers – both registered and unregistered – have an obligation to promote the safety of participants under the NDIS Code of Conduct.

In particular, the NDIS Code of Conduct requires all NDIS providers and workers (including support coordinators) to promptly:

take steps to raise and act on concerns about matters that may impact the quality and safety of supports and services provided to people with disability
take all reasonable steps to prevent and respond to all forms of violence against, and exploitation, neglect and abuse of, people with disability
act with respect for individual rights to freedom of expression, self-determination, and decision-making in accordance with relevant laws and conventions
provide supports and services in a safe and competent manner with care and skill
act with integrity, honesty, and transparency.

Support coordinators should provide an early warning where they become aware the participant’s safety or wellbeing is at risk.

Support coordinators should proactively support the participant to raise any concerns or issues around their safety or the quality of their supports and services. Support coordinators can also raise concerns or make a complaint themselves.

All registered NDIS providers (including support coordinators) should understand and comply with their obligations to raise concerns. If there is an immediate risk or threat to the participant, support coordinators should immediately contact emergency services.