Axcess Disability
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Support Coordination 101
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Let’s start with the basics. The NDIS defines Support Coordination as
"a capacity building support to implement all supports in a participant’s plan, including informal, mainstream, community and funded supports.”
To break that down a little, that’s essentially saying that Support Coordination is designed to help you find and connect with the service providers that are best suited to meet your needs and achieve your goals.
There are several ways that Support Coordinators can help you to get the most out of your NDIS plan, from start to finish. Some of the ways they can do that include:
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Providing insights on your NDIS plan: Once you get your NDIS plan, knowing what to do next to put it into action and achieve your stated goals can be daunting. A Support Coordinator can help by working closely with you to examine your plan and identify exactly the kinds of supports you can access under your plan.
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Finding and connecting you with local providers: Given the huge amount of service providers within the NDIS marketplace, finding one that’s suited to your needs, goals and plan budget can be tricky. Support Coordinators will match you with the right service provider for your specific situation and then help you to reach out and contact them.
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Setting up service agreements: Once you sign up with a service provider, setting up a service agreement helps ensure you’re protected and receive a certain standard of care. A Support Coordinator can assist with this process, contacting your service provider, sending them a service agreement to sign and then keeping it on file.
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Offering ongoing advice and guidance: As an expert on the NDIS, a Support Coordinator can provide you with guidance over the course of your NDIS journey. If you have any questions, or if any issues with providers arise, your support coordinator can help you to resolve them.
As you can see, Support Coordination is a pretty broad support, covering a wide range of activities. The one thing that ties them all together is that they’re designed to help give people the skills and confidence they need to navigate the NDIS on their own.
So, who is eligible for Support Coordination?
Unlike Plan Management, Support Coordination is not available to all NDIS participants. The NDIS only funds Support Coordination in cases where participants…
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Are likely to develop the skills and confidence needed to be able to navigate the NDIS independently. This is called capacity building and it’s an important part of the NDIS and Support Coordination – but more on that later.
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Don’t have an informal support network that could otherwise provide a similar style of support. So, if you don’t have family, friends or other contacts with the time and knowledge to help you find and connect with service providers, the NDIS might fund a Support Coordinator to provide that support.
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Are likely to gain a tangible benefit from having the assistance of a Support Coordinator.
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Are new to the NDIS and receiving their first plan or going through a significant life change. We’ll take a closer look at the role timing plays in Support Coordination eligibility shortly.
The NDIS assesses each participant on a case-by-case basis to see whether they are eligible or not. If you request funding for Support Coordination in your planning meeting, the NDIS looks at your individual situation to decide whether you meet the criteria.