Support coordination
Support coordination helps an NDIS participant understand and use their plan, connect with suitable services, and build the skills and relationships needed to manage supports more independently. The coordinator does not replace the participant’s decision-making and should explain choices, conflicts and fees clearly.
Understanding support coordination
Good support coordination is practical and participant-led. It starts with the goals, funded supports and informal relationships already in the participant’s life, then turns the plan into an organised set of actions. Work may include identifying suitable providers, arranging introductions, helping prepare service agreements, coordinating several services, and supporting communication when responsibilities overlap. The coordinator should help the participant understand why an option may or may not fit rather than simply choosing providers for them.
The amount and complexity of coordination varies. Someone implementing a first plan may need help understanding budgets and setting up core supports. A person with changing health, housing or behavioural needs may need more active coordination between clinical services, disability supports, family and mainstream systems. Specialist support coordination is a distinct, higher-complexity support and should be delivered by someone with the expertise required for the risks and barriers involved.
Independence is an important outcome. A coordinator should record decisions, make information accessible, and help the participant build confidence in tasks they want to manage themselves. Ask how progress will be reviewed, what happens when a provider is unavailable, and how the coordinator avoids conflicts when their organisation also delivers other paid supports.
What support may include
- Explaining plan budgets, service categories and practical next steps in accessible language.
- Researching provider options and helping the participant compare service fit, availability and terms.
- Coordinating communication among providers, family, nominees and mainstream services with consent.
- Preparing for reviews by organising information about goals, barriers and how current supports are working.
- Building the participant’s confidence to direct providers, solve problems and manage more of the plan over time.
Plan the support
- Write down the outcomes that matter now, not only the names of funded support categories.
- Identify urgent gaps, existing providers, preferred communication methods and decisions that require consent.
- Agree how often the coordinator will make contact, what records will be shared and how travel or non-face-to-face work is charged.
- Set review points so coordination activity can reduce, change or become more specialised as needs evolve.
Questions to ask providers
- What experience do you have with plans and circumstances similar to mine?
- How will you show me the options considered and any conflicts of interest?
- How do you track time, travel and non-face-to-face work against my budget?
- What is your approach when providers disagree or a service breaks down?
- How will you help me build skills rather than remain dependent on coordination?
Funding considerations
Support coordination must be included in the plan before NDIS funds can generally be used for it. The plan identifies the funded level or purpose, while the service agreement should explain rates, travel, reports and other billable activity.
Plan management and support coordination are different roles. A plan manager processes invoices and budget records; a support coordinator helps implement the plan and connect supports. One organisation may offer both, but responsibilities and conflicts should remain clear.
Safeguards and records
- Confirm registration requirements for the funding arrangement and support being delivered.
- Ask for a written conflict-of-interest policy, particularly where the organisation offers other supports.
- Agree consent boundaries before information is shared with providers, family or agencies.
- Keep copies of plans, service agreements, reports and important decisions in a form the participant can access.
Official information
Find support coordination providers or browse all service guides.
Reading about Support coordination
- Support coordination explained: do you need it?: Support coordination helps you turn a plan into real services. Here is what it covers, who benefits most and what to ask a coordinator.
- How to choose an NDIS provider: 12 questions to ask before you commit: A practical checklist for comparing providers, from how a service fits your plan to what happens when something goes wrong.
- Registered or unregistered? What it means when you choose an NDIS provider: Registered and unregistered providers can both be legitimate, but the rules, checks and options for your plan are not the same. Here is how to think about the difference.