Support coordinators, like the LACs, are busy people! With this mind, there are some things Support Coordinators do not do. Support Coordinators do not:

• Make judgments about the adequacy of the plan
• Make requests to NDIA for unscheduled plan reviews
• Provide transport for participants
• Undertake plan administration or plan management
• Organise support rostering
• Undertake advocacy
• Provide disability supports (except under special circumstances).

There are rules about how Support Coordination is supposed to work, which are part of the legislation for the NDIS.

First you need to ask your Local Area Coordinator or NDIA Planner for Support Coordination to be included in your plan. Not everyone will receive Support Coordination. Your initial access request and the answers you provide in the discussion with the LAC will also inform whether you receive Support Coordination. Your level of functioning and whether there are complex issues involved are also taken into account. Once your NDIS plan is approved, and if it includes Support Coordination, then the NDIA planner makes a request to your preferred Support Coordinator organisations. These organisations will also receive details of your plan and what supports they will need to assist with and coordinate. They do not have to agree to provide Support Coordination to you, but if they accept, then a plan handover is arranged between the planner and support coordinator.

Once you have locked in Support Coordination, you need to know what you can expect from your Support Coordinator. They should:

– contact you as soon as possible after the handover with the planner, ideally within two days and meet with you within the next five days
– understand the role of the mainstream service system

– understand the NDIS legislation and rules

– understand the NDIS Price Guide and flexibility within budgets
– manage any perceived or real conflict of interest (for example, if they are coordinating your supports, they usually will not also be providing you all your supports, they should help you to get supports from other providers if they are available. There are some exceptions when there are not sufficient providers available or where the Participant’s support needs are very specialised).
– Work with you and develop reports on your progress towards goals, which they need to provide to the NDIA.

This support will assist you to build the skills you need to understand, implement and use your plan. A support coordinator will work with you to ensure a mix of supports are used to increase your capacity to maintain relationships, manage service delivery tasks, live more independently and be included in your community.

Support Connection assists customers to find and connect with the services and providers that support their goals.

The NDIS describes Support Connection as providing assistance for participants to implement their plan by strengthening the ability to connect with the broader systems of supports and understand the purpose of the funded supports and participant in the community. Support Connection will assist a participant to understand the aspects of the plan, assisting in ongoing management of supports, and answer questions as they arise. Support Connection will increase a participant’s capacity to maintain support relationships, resolve service delivery issues, and to participate independently in NDIA processes.

This is a higher level of support coordination. It is for people whose situations are more complex and who need specialist support. A specialist Support Coordinator will assist you to manage challenges in your support environment and ensure consistent delivery of service.