NDIS Support Coordination: An introductory guide
Have you heard about Support Coordination but not too sure what it means or whether you could benefit from it?
In this introductory guide, we’ll help you understand what Support Coordinators do and how they can assist you with making the most of your NDIS plan.
If you haven’t read our blog about what the NDIS is, make sure to read it today.
What is a Support Coordinator?
NDIS Support Coordinators provide assistance and guidance to ensure that Scheme participants make the best use of their plan’s supports.
When you receive your NDIS plan there will be stated goals included in it. A Support Coordinator helps you to connect with the right service providers, community organisations, and other networks to help you use your supports as well as possible.
Support Coordinators can help coordinate access to all of your services and support, or they can focus on a specific goal. Thanks to their knowledge of and experience in the industry/NDIS, Support Coordinators are best positioned to help empower you to exercise your choice and control.
To read more about Support Coordination, visit the NDIS website.
What do Support Coordinators do?
When you have connected and signed up with a Support Coordinator, you’ll probably meet with them either face-to-face or remotely (via video conference or on the telephone). The Coordinator will take into account your communication channel preference.
During this conversation, you’ll be able to talk through the goals in your NDIS Plan, talk about the services and support needed and an understanding of how to go about connecting with other providers.
Your Support Coordinator will likely present you with a Service Agreement. This document will outline exactly how they will be helping you and how your professional relationship will work, including responsibilities, resolving any issues that arise, or amending your agreement.
Importantly, Support Coordinators do not tell you which service providers to use. This may represent a conflict of interest. Instead, they are tasked with helping you exercise your choice of providers. That way you can remain in control of your plan and supports.
What are the 3 levels of Support Coordination?
There are actually three different levels of Support Coordination. Your NDIS plan will specify which, if any, of these levels are being funded.
1. Support Connection
Support Connection is designed to help you connect with the various community organisations to make the most of your NDIS funding and achieve your plan goals. Through Support Connection, you’ll be able to confidently connect with informal funded supports.
2. Support Coordination
Support Coordination is about helping you to connect with support providers. Not only will your Coordinator help you understand how to use your plan, they will also ensure that you have the skills and confidence to manage relationships, arrange service delivery, live and work independently, and participate in your local community.
3. Specialist Support Coordination
Specialist Support Coordination is for those participants who need more complex support or specialist coordination. A Specialist Coordinator will be professionally trained and experienced in providing the right level of assistance in ensuring you’re receiving consistent service and effectively managing presenting issues or challenges.
How is support coordination funded?
The funding in your NDIS plan is determined during your application/review based on what the Agency sees as both reasonable and necessary to achieve your goals. If Support Coordination is identified as a service that fits this criteria you may receive budget allocation in the Capacity Building section of your funding.
This funding is a fixed amount and can be used across any level of Support Coordination unless it specifically states what level is being funded.
How to find a Support Coordinator?
Your NDIS planner can help you find Support Coordinators and connect with one to engage with their services. Alternatively, you can use the NDIS’ Finder Tool online. This is an easy way to search for particular providers across geographical areas. Note however that this tool only lists registered Support Coordinators.
Another way to connect with a Support Coordinator is to put through a service request in the myplace portal.
You are also able to choose to use an unregistered Support Coordinator, if you prefer.
Registered vs unregistered
Registered NDIS providers have been approved by the National Disability Insurance Agency. This approval is only provided once the organisation has passed a registration audit. The external audit ensures that they are compliant with various policies, procedures and quality standards as determined by the NDIS Commission.
There are certainly benefits to using a registered Support Coordinator, such as One Central Health, as you can be reassured that the provider is accountable to the NDIA and provides a certain quality of service.
If you are NDIA-managed–meaning the Agency directly pays invoices on your behalf to service providers–you cannot use an unregistered Support Coordinator.
Need some more help? Contact us today!
Did you know that One Central Health is a registered NDIS provider.
This means we don’t just provide multidisciplinary allied health services accessible to all NDIS participants, but Plan Management and all three levels of Support Coordination as well!
If you’d like to find out more about what Support Coordinators do, how they can help you or how to get started making the most of your plan, give us a call today on (08) 9344 1318 or contact our Support Coordinator directly at suuportcoordination@onecentralhealth.com.au.
