Support Coordination

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Working with a Support Coordinator

A new NDIS Plan can be an overwhelming and stressful experience at times. 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.

When you attend your Planning Meeting with NDIS, (in advance of the issue of your first NDIS plan), you can request if you need a Support Coordinator and they will take your request into consideration.

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How is a Support Coordinator funded?

If you are on an existing NDIS Plan without Support Coordination funding and are struggling with your Plan requirements, we can apply for you (for free) and it generally takes NDIS around 6-8 weeks to make the decision on whether to approve Support Coordination funding for you. If NDIS approves the request, an additional amount of funding is added to the plan for covering the cost of the Support Coordination service.

  • In an NDIS plan, Support Coordinator funding appears towards the end of the Plan in the section called Capacity Building and it’s a standalone section clearly labelled Support Coordination.

What does a Support Coordinator do?

A Support Coordinator has a very mixed variety role, which is not limited to:

  • Assist with getting your the linking code to setup your MyGov NDIS portal so that you can see your NDIS Plan inside your MyGov NDIS portal.
  • Assess the NDIS Plan and its limitations.
  • Ensure you are aware of what can and can’t be done with the Plan you’ve been issued.
  • Generate a specific Plan budget for what needs to be accomplished (separate to therapy) in the particular Plan period you are in now for any specific Allied Health reports that may need to be created to issue to NDIS to explain why you need additional funding for equipment, allied health, support workers or disability accommodation purposes.
  • Order Consumables/Low level Assistive Technology items such as continence supplies, medical supplies, sensory items, simple disability equipment like wheeliewalkers / wheelchairs / rollators, shower / kitchen stools, kitchen aids.
  • Implement support worker services if you are funded to use them.
  • Liaise with all the allied health services in order to ensure they are generating the correct paperwork.
  • Liaise with support worker services, GP clinics, allied health service providers and equipment suppliers.
  • A Support Coordinator generally will pre-fill in forms that they are sending you to check over and sign/date, which you then email back to the Support Coordinator whom lodges it to the relevant service provider / government entity.
  • Generate paperwork if something untoward has occurred where NDIS needs to be informed e.g. client has been in a police incident, client has been hospitalised due to deterioration of their disability, client has become homeless.
  • Generate NDIS paperwork when NDIS needs to be updated e.g. Change of address or contact details, change of Nominee’s, additional disabilities have formal diagnoses documents, change of financial management of the Plan method (i.e. Self Managed, Plan Managed, NDIA managed), change of accommodation or equipment needs.
  • Email you forms for signing for different services. The Support Coordinator usually pre-fills them in for you and you just check them, sign/date and return them to the Support Coordinator.

How does a Support Coordinator work with you?

  • Your Support Coordinator should work with you, your Nominee, Support worker service and allied health services to: explore different ways you can exercise your choice and control. Help you communicate about how you prefer your supports to be delivered. Find providers who can meet your needs.
  • Initially it’s likely you will meet for the first time face-to-face, but, if you have good email/phone capabilities then usually they will liaise with you via email/phone after the first meeting (so that you aren’t being charged travel time from your support coordination funding).
  • Most clients or their Nominees (whomever is the primary point of contact) have their email app on their phone so are aware of when their Support Coordinator has asked a question or emailed them a form.

What’s the difference between a Support Coordinator, a Plan Management Service and a Support Worker?

  • A Support Coordinator helps you navigate your Plan and manage your supports / provider arrangements. They organise a lot of service provider arrangements and the associated paperwork so that you or your Nominee don’t have to be swamped with these undertakings.
    • If you have Support Coordinator funding it shows up in your Capacity Building section of your plan as “Support Coordination”.
  • A Plan Management Service (generally referred to as the Plan Manager) helps with the financial side of your plan (they pay your invoices from all your NDIS services from your NDIS funding). You are provided a login to the Plan Managers portal where you can monitor your funds and see your invoices that have been processed.
    • If you have Plan Management funding it shows up in your Capacity Building section of your plan as “Improved Life choices (CB Choice & Control)”. Plan Management shows as NDIA-managed. If you don’t have Plan Management funding, a form can be lodged requesting it and generally NDIS advises if the request is approved within 6-8 weeks.
  • A Support Worker is someone who looks after the well-being of people in their daily lives. They help the client at their homes with either domestic support or by taking them out to social/community participation undertakings (depending on what the NDIS has funded you for).
    • If you have Support worker funding it shows up in your Core section of your plan as “My Core Supports”.