What Does a Support Coordinator Do in the NDIS: Key Points

  • Support coordinators help NDIS participants understand and implement their plans, connecting them with suitable service providers.
  • They assist with budgeting NDIS funds, resolving service issues, and coordinating between different supports and mainstream services.
  • Support coordinators build participants’ capacity to eventually manage their own plans, focusing on developing independence.
  • There are three levels of support coordination: Support Connection, Support Coordination, and Specialist Support Coordination, each with increasing complexity and funding.

Support Coordinator Responsibilities in the NDIS

Support coordinators serve as the vital link between NDIS participants and the services they need. Their core responsibilities include:

  • Plan Implementation: Helping participants understand their NDIS plans and how funding can be used effectively.
  • Provider Connection: Researching, comparing, and connecting participants with suitable service providers that match their needs and goals.
  • Service Agreements: Assisting with negotiating and establishing service agreements with providers.
  • Budget Management: Monitoring funding utilization and ensuring funds are allocated appropriately across support categories.
  • Crisis Resolution: Addressing service breakdowns, provider issues, or emerging support needs.
  • Mainstream Integration: Coordinating with non-NDIS services like health, education, and housing.
  • Capacity Building: Teaching participants skills to increase their ability to coordinate supports independently over time.
  • Plan Reviews: Preparing documentation and evidence for NDIS plan reviews and attending review meetings when needed.

The exact support coordination activities vary based on the participant’s individual needs, goals, and the complexity of their situation.

Support Coordination Levels: What’s the Difference?

The NDIS provides three levels of support coordination, each designed for different participant needs:

LevelNDIS CodeHourly Rate (2025)Typical Hours/YearSuitable For
Support Connection07_001_0106_8_3$65.0920-30Participants with straightforward needs who require initial setup assistance
Support Coordination07_002_0106_8_3$100.1440-100Participants with moderately complex needs requiring ongoing coordination
Specialist Support Coordination07_004_0132_8_3$190.5450-150Participants with highly complex needs, multiple services, or high-risk situations

Support Connection provides basic assistance, while Support Coordination offers more comprehensive ongoing help. Specialist Support Coordination is reserved for the most complex situations requiring specialized expertise, often involving participants with psychosocial disability, severe behavioral issues, or multiple complex needs.

How Support Coordinators Help NDIS Participants

Support coordinators provide practical assistance in numerous ways, including:

  • Researching providers who specialize in specific disability needs
  • Organising quotes for services and assistive technology
  • Setting up and managing service agreements and bookings
  • Helping participants navigate the NDIS portal
  • Advocating for participants when services aren’t meeting needs
  • Coordinating between multiple providers for consistent approaches
  • Problem-solving when unexpected challenges arise
  • Supporting participants during major life transitions
  • Monitoring that services deliver value for money
  • Upholding participant choice and control throughout the process

Effective support coordinators focus on building the participant’s skills and confidence to eventually manage more aspects of their plan independently, rather than creating dependency.

Comprehensive Guide to NDIS Support Coordination

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is designed to provide Australians with disability the supports they need to live an ordinary life. Within this system, support coordinators play a pivotal role in helping participants navigate the complexities of the scheme and maximize the benefits of their plans. This comprehensive guide explores the multifaceted role of support coordinators in the NDIS ecosystem in 2025.

Understanding the Support Coordinator Role in the NDIS Framework

Support coordination is a capacity building support that helps participants implement all aspects of their NDIS plans. Support coordinators act as intermediaries between participants and the broader disability support system, helping to translate sometimes complex NDIS plans into practical, everyday supports and services.

The role encompasses several key dimensions:

  • Navigator: Guiding participants through the NDIS landscape and helping them understand their plans, funding, and options.
  • Connector: Linking participants with appropriate service providers based on their unique needs, preferences, and goals.
  • Facilitator: Setting up and managing service agreements, resolving issues, and ensuring smooth delivery of supports.
  • Educator: Building participants’ knowledge and skills to enhance their ability to self-direct their supports over time.
  • Advocate: Speaking up for participants’ rights and ensuring their voice is heard in service delivery.
  • Problem-Solver: Addressing complexities, barriers, and challenges that arise during plan implementation.

The support coordinator role has evolved significantly since the NDIS began, with the 2025 framework placing increased emphasis on outcomes-focused coordination and participants’ long-term capacity building.

Day-to-Day Activities of an NDIS Support Coordinator

The daily work of support coordinators is diverse and responsive to participants’ individual needs. Typical activities include:

Initial Plan Implementation (25-30% of time)

  • Explaining NDIS plans in accessible language
  • Identifying priority supports based on goals and needs
  • Researching potential service providers
  • Facilitating introductions to providers
  • Setting up service agreements and service bookings
  • Creating visual plan summaries for participants

Ongoing Coordination (40-50% of time)

  • Regular check-ins with participants (typically monthly)
  • Monitoring service quality and appropriateness
  • Addressing service delivery issues
  • Adjusting supports as needs change
  • Coordinating between multiple providers
  • Integrating NDIS supports with mainstream services
  • Budget monitoring and tracking

Capacity Building (15-20% of time)

  • Teaching participants how to coordinate their own supports
  • Developing skills in negotiating with providers
  • Building confidence in self-advocacy
  • Creating tools and resources for independent plan management
  • Supporting decision-making capabilities

Reporting and Administration (10-15% of time)

  • Documenting coordination activities
  • Preparing progress reports
  • Gathering evidence for plan reviews
  • Updating support coordination plans
  • Professional development and sector knowledge building

This distribution of activities varies based on the participant’s needs, the complexity of their situation, and their stage in the NDIS journey.

The Three Levels of Support Coordination Explained

The NDIS funds three distinct levels of support coordination, each designed to address different levels of complexity and need:

1. Support Connection (Level 1)

This basic level helps participants who need minimal assistance to connect with providers and implement their plans.

Typical Activities:

  • Initial explanation of NDIS plan
  • Provider referrals and basic service setup
  • Brief check-ins to ensure services are meeting needs
  • Light-touch capacity building
  • Assistance transitioning to self-management

Funding Allocation: Typically 20-30 hours per year ($1,300-$1,950 at 2025 rates)

Best Suited For: Participants with straightforward needs, strong informal supports, or those transitioning to self-coordination

Example Scenario: “Ethan has an intellectual disability but has good family support. His support connector helps him find a suitable social group and employment support, then checks in monthly to ensure everything is running smoothly.”

2. Support Coordination (Level 2)

This middle level provides ongoing coordination for participants with moderately complex needs requiring regular assistance.

Typical Activities:

  • Comprehensive plan implementation
  • Active provider research and negotiation
  • Regular monitoring of service quality
  • Coordination between multiple providers
  • Addressing service gaps or issues
  • Structured capacity building
  • Detailed preparation for plan reviews

Funding Allocation: Typically 40-100 hours per year ($4,000-$10,000 at 2025 rates)

Best Suited For: Participants managing multiple services, those with moderate complexity in their support needs, or those building their coordination skills

Example Scenario: “Maria has cerebral palsy and uses multiple services including personal care, therapy, and community access. Her support coordinator meets with her fortnightly to ensure all services work cohesively, addresses issues with her transportation provider, and helps coordinate between her therapists.”

3. Specialist Support Coordination (Level 3)

This highest level provides intensive, specialized coordination for participants with highly complex needs or high-risk situations.

Typical Activities:

  • Complex needs assessment and support planning
  • Crisis management and prevention
  • Coordination in high-risk situations
  • Interface with complex systems (justice, child protection, etc.)
  • Specialized behavioral support coordination
  • Intensive capacity building with specialized approaches
  • Complex stakeholder management

Funding Allocation: Typically 50-150 hours per year ($9,500-$28,500 at 2025 rates)

Best Suited For: Participants with severe psychosocial disability, complex behavioral needs, multiple diagnoses, involvement with multiple systems, or those in unstable living situations

Example Scenario: “James has a psychosocial disability, history of homelessness, and involvement with the justice system. His specialist support coordinator works intensively to stabilize his housing, coordinate with mental health services, develop crisis prevention strategies, and liaise with his legal representatives.”

Many participants transition between levels as their situation changes or as they develop more skills in managing their own supports.

The Difference Between Support Coordination and Plan Management

Participants often confuse support coordination with plan management, but these are distinct NDIS functions:

Support Coordination focuses on finding and connecting with the right services, ensuring they work well together, and building the participant’s capacity to coordinate their own supports.

Plan Management is a financial intermediary service that handles the administrative and financial aspects of the NDIS plan, including processing invoices, tracking budgets, and managing financial reporting.

While some organizations offer both services, they serve different functions in the NDIS ecosystem:

Support CoordinationPlan Management
Helps implement all aspects of the NDIS planManages the financial aspects of the NDIS plan
Connects participants with providersProcesses provider payments and invoices
Resolves service delivery issuesTracks budget utilization
Builds capacity to self-coordinateProvides financial statements and reports
Funded under Capacity Building supportsFunded under Plan Management supports

Many participants benefit from having both supports, particularly in the early stages of their NDIS journey.

How Support Coordinators Work with Participants: A Practical Approach

Effective support coordination follows a participant-centered approach that evolves over time:

Initial Engagement (First 1-2 Months)

  1. Getting to Know You: The coordinator spends time understanding the participant’s story, goals, preferences, and support needs beyond what’s in the NDIS plan.

  2. Plan Translation: Breaking down the NDIS plan into clear, accessible language and visual formats that make sense to the participant.

  3. Priority Setting: Collaboratively identifying which supports to implement first based on urgency, importance to goals, and participant preferences.

  4. Provider Matching: Researching and suggesting providers that align with the participant’s needs, taking into account factors like location, specialization, cultural considerations, and availability.

  5. Service Establishment: Setting up initial service agreements, schedules, and communication channels with chosen providers.

Active Coordination Phase (Months 3-9)

  1. Regular Check-ins: Maintaining contact through the participant’s preferred communication method (face-to-face, phone, email, or video calls).

  2. Service Monitoring: Actively checking that services are being delivered as agreed and are meeting the participant’s needs.

  3. Problem Resolution: Addressing any issues with services promptly, including mediating between participants and providers when necessary.

  4. Coordination Meetings: Facilitating case conferences or coordination meetings between different providers when needed.

  5. Adjusting Supports: Making changes to services or providers as the participant’s needs or preferences evolve.

Capacity Building Phase (Throughout, intensifying in later months)

  1. Skill Development: Teaching specific skills related to service coordination, such as how to interview potential providers or how to raise concerns effectively.

  2. Decision Support: Providing information in accessible formats to support informed decision-making.

  3. Practical Tools: Creating customized tools like provider contact lists, questions to ask new providers, or decision-making frameworks.

  4. Graduated Independence: Gradually stepping back as the participant develops confidence in specific areas of coordination.

  5. Transfer of Knowledge: Ensuring the participant and their support network understand the systems and processes involved in coordinating their supports.

Transition/Review Phase (Final 1-2 Months of Plan)

  1. Progress Review: Collaboratively assessing what’s been achieved and what challenges remain.

  2. Evidence Gathering: Collecting documentation and evidence of outcomes to support the upcoming NDIS plan review.

  3. Future Planning: Discussing the level of support coordination needed in the next plan.

  4. Handover Preparation: If transitioning to self-management or another coordinator, ensuring all relevant information is documented and transferred.

  5. Review Meeting Support: Potentially attending the NDIS plan review meeting to provide input on coordination needs.

This approach is tailored to each participant’s individual circumstances, with the intensity and focus adjusting based on their goals, preferences, and developing capabilities.

Qualities and Skills of Effective Support Coordinators

The best support coordinators combine technical knowledge with interpersonal skills and values:

Technical Knowledge

  • Comprehensive understanding of the NDIS framework, rules, and pricing
  • Familiarity with disability-specific needs and appropriate supports
  • Knowledge of local service systems and provider landscape
  • Understanding of behavior support principles
  • Awareness of mainstream systems (health, education, housing, etc.)

Interpersonal Skills

  • Active listening and communication across diverse needs
  • Problem-solving and creative thinking
  • Advocacy and negotiation
  • Conflict resolution and mediation
  • Project management and organizational abilities

Values and Attributes

  • Person-centered approach
  • Respect for autonomy and dignity
  • Cultural sensitivity and responsiveness
  • Commitment to capacity building rather than dependency
  • Ethical practice and professional boundaries
  • Patience and persistence

These qualities combine to create coordinators who can effectively navigate complex systems while remaining deeply connected to the participant’s individual needs and preferences.

Common Support Coordination Challenges and Solutions

Support coordinators regularly navigate a range of challenges in their role:

Challenge 1: Provider Availability Issues

Challenge: In many regions, particularly rural and remote areas, finding providers with capacity can be difficult.

Solutions:

  • Develop networks with providers across broader geographical areas
  • Explore telehealth and remote service delivery options
  • Consider creative approaches like shared support arrangements
  • Investigate capacity building for local community members to become providers
  • Advocate with the NDIA regarding thin markets

Challenge 2: Complex Inter-service Coordination

Challenge: When participants use multiple services, ensuring they work together cohesively can be difficult.

Solutions:

  • Facilitate regular coordination meetings between providers
  • Develop shared support plans with clear roles and responsibilities
  • Use shared documentation platforms when appropriate
  • Create communication protocols for all team members
  • Implement consistent approaches across providers

Challenge 3: Balancing Participant Direction with Duty of Care

Challenge: Supporting participant choice while ensuring safety and appropriate supports.

Solutions:

  • Practice supported decision-making approaches
  • Document discussions about risks and benefits
  • Provide information in accessible formats to support informed choice
  • Explore trial periods for new support arrangements
  • Develop contingency plans for higher-risk decisions

Challenge 4: Managing Plan Underspending or Overspending

Challenge: Ensuring funding is utilized appropriately throughout the plan period.

Solutions:

  • Implement regular budget monitoring and tracking tools
  • Provide visual budget updates to participants
  • Proactively identify and address barriers to using funded supports
  • Plan strategic timing of one-off purchases
  • Address service delivery issues promptly to prevent underspending

Challenge 5: Supporting Participants with Limited Decision-Making Capacity

Challenge: Ensuring meaningful involvement of participants with cognitive or communication limitations.

Solutions:

  • Use accessible communication methods (visual supports, Easy Read, etc.)
  • Involve trusted supporters who know the person well
  • Observe preferences through behavior and engagement
  • Break decisions into smaller, manageable components
  • Allow extra time for processing information

Effective support coordinators approach these challenges systematically while maintaining focus on the participant’s goals and preferences.

Frequently Asked Questions About Support Coordination

  • Can I choose my own support coordinator? Yes, participants can choose their preferred support coordination provider if they have funding in their plan.
  • How many hours of support coordination will I get? This varies based on the complexity of your situation, typically ranging from 20-150 hours per year across the different levels.
  • Can my support coordinator also provide other services to me? There should be a separation between support coordination and direct support provision to avoid conflicts of interest, though some organizations may offer both services through different staff members.
  • What’s the difference between a Local Area Coordinator (LAC) and a support coordinator? LACs help with light-touch plan implementation and community connection, while support coordinators provide more intensive, ongoing assistance for participants with funded support coordination.
  • Can I change my support coordinator if I’m not happy? Yes, participants can change providers at any time, with any unspent funds transferring to the new provider.
  • How often should I hear from my support coordinator? This depends on your needs and preferences, but typically ranges from weekly contact for complex situations to monthly check-ins for more stable arrangements.

Support Coordination Best Practices for Participants

To get the most from support coordination, participants can:

  1. Be Clear About Your Expectations: Communicate openly about how you prefer to work with your coordinator.

  2. Share Your Goals Beyond the NDIS Plan: Help your coordinator understand what’s important to you in life, not just what’s written in your plan.

  3. Provide Feedback: Let your coordinator know what’s working and what isn’t so they can adjust their approach.

  4. Keep Records: Maintain copies of important emails, service agreements, and conversations about your supports.

  5. Learn Actively: Ask questions and seek to understand the coordination process to build your own skills.

  6. Prepare for Meetings: Think about what you want to discuss before scheduled check-ins with your coordinator.

  7. Consider Your Long-term Coordination Needs: Reflect on how much support you might need over time as your skills develop.

Key Resources for Understanding Support Coordination

These resources provide deeper insights into the support coordination role and how it can benefit participants in their NDIS journey.

Through effective support coordination, NDIS participants can navigate the complexities of the scheme, connect with appropriate services, and build their capacity to eventually coordinate their own supports with confidence and independence.