Support Coordination
As an NDIS participant, you (or your nominee) become responsible for
getting started, understanding your plan and its budgets, and finding and
connecting with supports and services in your community to achieve the
goals in your plan.
A
Support Coordinator is someone who could be funded separately in your
NDIS plan to help you do just this!
Plan Management
P
lan Management is one of the ways you can manage your NDIS funding
package. Remember there are three options:
• Manage your own funds (self-management)
• Get a professional to do it (plan-management)
• Let the NDIA do it (agency-management)
They are like the person you can look at and say ‘I have my plan what do I • A combination of the above.
do now?’ Again, you will need to say in your planning meeting how you want to manage
They should be like a partner to you to ‘breathe life into your plan’ and become your NDIS funding package – and you can choose a mix of these options in a
your contact person. way that best suits you.
At present, they must also be a person or provider who is registered by the So, a Plan Manager can help with the financial tasks of a plan. For example,
NDIA to provide this service. organising providers and their payments, processing of claims and invoices and
The official definition of Support Coordination by the NDIA is:
tracking of budgets. They may also do some tasks like a Support Coordinator
does – for example, liaising with providers and perhaps trouble-shooting.
‘Assistance to strengthen participant’s abilities to coordinate and implement They are also paid separately in your NDIS plan to do this. They must also be
supports and participate more fully in the community. It can include initial a registered provider.
assistance with linking participants with the right providers to meet their needs,
assistance to source providers, coordinating a range of supports both funded
and mainstream and building on informal supports, resolving points of crisis,
parenting training and developing participant resilience in their own network
and community.’
You can find more information about Support Coordination in our Mixed
Messages: My First Plan and How Do I Help People to make the most of their
Planning Meetings blog on LinkedIn (link below). If you think you need Support
Like self-management, if you plan-manage your funds, you can use any
provider you think will help you achieve the goals in your plan. They don’t need
to be registered. We have assisted people link with local services that are not
NDIS registered to help achieve their goals – local small business advisors,
personal concierges and cleaners as some examples.
So choosing a Plan Manager can be a great way of getting the benefits of
self-management, but with someone to assist with the financial side of things.
Coordination, you will need to discuss needing assistance for implementing Source for Support Coordination, Plan Management and Local Area
your plan in your planning meeting. Coordinators (LAC) articles: Libby Ellis - linkedin.com/in/chargeaustralia/
Mixed Messages Article: www.linkedin.com/pulse/mixed-messages-my-first-
plan-how-do-i-help-people-make-libby-ellis/
Summary
Local Area Coordinators
(LAC) Support Coordination is when someone helps you to implement your plan,
A n LAC may be the person you meet with during your first planning with gathering data and information from people in their planning
meeting, and then perhaps afterwards. meetings, and will pass this information onto the NDIA so they can turn it
Because of the large number of people coming through the NDIS, LACs have
been tasked with gathering data and information from people in their planning
meetings, and will pass this information onto the NDIA so they can turn it into
a plan. That is, they have taken on a planning role, although only the NDIA has
authority to create an actual plan with dollars against it.
The NDIA has also said that a number of people will be allocated an LAC to
help them implement their plan, and perhaps this will be for people they think
only need a small amount of help to get started – not for those who need
Support Coordination.
8 EBL QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER
get started and find services and supports in your local community.
Plan Management is one of three funding options you can use to manage
your NDIS funds, and Local Area Coordinators (LACs) have been tasked
into a plan.
“
”
Our vision is to passionately support individuals
and their families to lead fulfilled lives.
EBL QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER 9