Understanding Support Coordination

Support Coordination is a role through the NDIS that provides you with a trained Coordinator who will assist you in connecting with the services that are needed to reach your NDIS goals. Your Coordinator is trained in working with you to understand your needs and they are expert in the NDIS system and knowing what is reasonable and necessary for you in your NDIS plan.

Their goal is to walk alongside you to help you learn more about your NDIS plan, what is included in your NDIS plan and how the funding and budgets of your NDIS plan works. They will help you connect with different service providers to find the best ones that you need and also maximise your NDIS funding so that you plan out and can use all of the funding that you have available.

Funding for a Support Coordinator is built into your plan if deemed necessary by your LAC or planner. You can find it funded in the Capacity BuildingBudget and called ‘Coordination of Supports’. When you are setting up a new plan, or are having a plan review you can talk to your planner about having the guidance and partnership that a Support Coordinator can provide to give you more confidence in reaching your plan goals. It is not guaranteed that you will always get Support Coordination, so if you would like assistance in knowing what to ask for you might like to check in ourPre-Planning guide or engage with Care Support Network’s Pre-Planning Service to help you know what to ask for.

Support Coordination is listed on an NDIS plan as ‘Coordination of Supports’ and there are three levels available:

  1. Support Connection
  2. Support Coordination
  3. Specialist Support Coordination

Level 1 - Support Connection

Provides you with someone that can work with you to help you understand how your NDIS plan works and what each of the different sections in your plan means. You can get support on how to find services that suit you like gardeners or support workers to help you with your everyday living. This level of connection will also help you understand your informal supports, which is from your family and friends, and how they can work with the rest of your support team. At this level, a Support Coordinator can suggest ways to help you manage your relationships with your services and how to manage any issues or crisis as they might arise. It is a little like having an NDIS coach that can guide you in taking the first steps to achieving your NDIS goals.

Level 2 - Coordination of Supports

At this level, a trained Support Coordinator will work with you on your plan. They will help you understand what you have available in your plan and what the next steps are now that you have a plan. They will assist with understanding how the budgeting and funding works and allocating your funding evenly through the year. They will regularly check in with you and help you keep track of all of this over the life of the plan (usually 12 months).
Firstly, we will work with you to create a Support Plan which details what you need, how often you need it and who can best provide that service to you. This also includes thought about your life and lifestyle and what other activities you might like to access. You are the director of your Support plan and the choices are made by you. Then your Support Coordinator will walk alongside you to connect with these services and activities, set up service agreements and help you manage your relationships with these services.
Your Support coordinator can help you plan what to do if something is not working or if you have any issues with getting or finding what you need. A SupportCoordinator from Care Support Network will form a relationship with you that will empower you with the knowledge and confidence of having a team of support that you can rely on. It is better than a coach, it is a teammate.
As your plan comes to an end and you need to undertake a review for a new plan, your Support Coordinator will help you reset your new goals and open up opportunities of what you might be able to achieve in a new plan

Level 3 - Specialist Support Coordination

Sometimes there might be a complex plan to be managed, or a person’s situation suddenly changes, and they need help to quickly get a team of people to work together to assist them. In these circumstances aSpecialist Support Coordinator can coordinate the circle of support. They will work together with this team to find the best solution. This requires a professional level of expertise and a person that knows the NDIS system intimately to get the best results

How would you benefit from Support Coordination

What to expect from your Support Coordinator

Care Support Network is approved by the NDIA to deliver all three levels of Support Coordination, Australia wide. There is no waiting list and you can sign up today.

You can meet our team of Support Coordinators and find out more about Specialist Support Coordination.

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