Understanding the Role of Support Coordinators in the NDIS

What Is a Support Coordinator?

At its core, a support coordinator acts as a bridge between participants and the supports, services, and systems they need. Their main tasks include:

• Helping a person understand their NDIS plan and what it can fund
• Linking participants with service providers (or community supports)
• Building the participant’s capacity to make their own decisions and navigate systems
• Monitoring budgets, assessing whether supports are effective, and reporting as needed

Importantly, the exact role of a support coordinator will depend on:

• The participant’s goals, circumstances and support needs
• What types of support coordination funding the participant has in their plan

These coordinators adapt their assistance to fit each person’s unique situation.

One way to contrast roles: plan managers deal primarily with the financial side (paying providers, reporting on spending), whereas support coordinators focus on execution — helping participants find, use, and get value from the supports in their plan

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Registered vs Unregistered Support Coordinators

Support coordinators can operate either as:

• Registered providers
• Unregistered providers

Participants whose plans are directly administered by the NDIA (i.e. agency-managed plans) must use registered support coordinators.

Provider organisations offering support coordination need to:

1. Choose which level(s) of support coordination they wish to offer
2. Apply for registration under the relevant registration group

The details of registration differ depending on which levels of support coordination the provider wants to deliver.

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Levels of Support Coordination

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There are three levels of support coordination available under the NDIS, depending on complexity and the participant’s needs:

Level 1: Support Connection

Helps participants understand their plan and connect with providers and supports. Encourages confidence to manage supports independently.

Level 2: Coordination of Supports

More hands-on, designing support approaches, maintaining relationships, increasing independence, managing tasks.

Level 3: Specialist Support Coordination

For complex cases dealing with barriers, coordinating across multiple systems, managing risk, and ensuring consistency of service delivery.

Support coordination services for each level include overlapping activities (e.g. understanding the plan, connecting with supports, reporting) but differ in complexity and intensity.

It is possible for a participant to have more than one level of support coordination in their plan (for example, specialist support coordination for a particularly complex area plus coordination of supports in other areas)

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How Participants and Coordinators Connect

Choosing a Support Coordinator

Participants have the right to choose who their support coordinator is. The plan should include enough detail to guide whether a particular level of support coordination is appropriate.

Finding Providers

Support coordinators may receive requests for service via:

• The myplace provider portal
• Email from the NDIA
• Directly from participants

Before accepting a request, the support coordinator should assess whether they are a good fit, whether they have the capacity, expertise, and alignment with the participant’s goals to provide effective service.

Once accepted, the next step is to establish a service agreement with the participant.

Changing Support Coordinators

A participant may change coordinators at any time (as long as they respect notice periods in the service agreement).

During handover:

• The outgoing coordinator prepares a report summarising progress, barriers, risks, recommendations, etc.
• The handover must include a confirmed end date
• All relevant records (with the participant’s consent) should be shared
• The outgoing coordinator should “end the service booking” so the new coordinator can begin services seamlessly

If the participant is plan-managed, the support coordinator must inform the plan manager of the change.

Promoting Participant Safety & Quality of Support

Support coordinators are often on the frontlines of noticing and responding to risks or concerns in a participant’s supports. They have duties under the NDIS Code of Conduct, which require:

• Acting promptly on issues that could affect safety, quality, neglect, abuse, exploitation
• Respecting the rights of participants — including self-determination and freedom of expression
• Providing supports competently and with skill, care, integrity, honesty, and transparency

Support coordinators should encourage participants to raise safety or quality concerns, and themselves escalate serious issues when needed.

If there is immediate risk, emergency services should be contacted.

Legal, Regulatory & Provider Obligations

Support coordination is subject to various legislative and regulatory requirements, especially for registered providers. Some things to note:

• Providers must comply with registration rules and registration groups relevant to the level of coordination offered
• NDIS Practice Standards and relevant quality indicators apply, especially in specialist support coordination contexts
• All providers (whether registered or not) must abide by the NDIS Code of Conduct, particularly in relation to safety and participant rights

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