How do I find a Support Coordinator?
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.
What are the things that a Support Coordinator cannot provide?
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.
What are the things that a Support Coordinator cannot provide?
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.
What should I expect from my Support Coordinator?
Once you have locked in Support Coordination, you need to know what you can expect from your Support Coordinator. They should:
be registered providers 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 other 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.
What is support connection?
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
What is co-ordination of support?
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.
What is specialist support coordination?
SOME IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW
What's the difference between a Support Coordinator and a Local Area Coordinator?
Support coordination is included in a plan if it is reasonable and necessary for the individual. Some people may have Support Coordination funded in their NDIS plan. A Support Coordinator is generally funded to strengthen a participant’s ability to connect to and coordinate with a range of more complex informal, mainstream and funded supports. They coordinate services from a range of suppliers or providers, address service delivery issues and develop the capacity and resilience of their support network. Support Coordination is usually funded for people with high needs or increased complexities. However, some Participants may also get Support Coordination funded in their plan if there is no LAC or ECIS available in the local area (for example a remote or very remote region in Australia). A Local Area Coordinator works for the NDIA and undertakes planning functions, connects people with disability to the NDIS and to the community.