The NDIA has published the ‘Improving Support Coordination for NDIS Participants’ paper. The paper outlines the outcomes from reviewing the current support coordination model. We discuss the paper, and IDEAS tool to help Support Coordinators.
Outcomes from reviewing the current model have considered:
- the consultation process, and
- broader strategic design of the Scheme.
The paper also outlines
- the role of a support coordinator and
- the next steps the NDIA will take to improve support coordination for participants.
It is expected that clarity on the role of support coordinators will
- give more consistency, and
- quality outcomes from support coordination services.
The feedback from the consultation broadly agreed on the 4 key roles of a support coordinator:
- Help participants connect to NDIS and other supports.
- Build a participant’s capacity and capability to
- understand their plan,
- navigate the NDIS
- and make their own decisions
- Broker supports and services in line with participant wishes and their plan budget
- Monitor plan budgets and support effectiveness.
The safety and wellbeing of participants should underpin everything that a support coordinator does.
A range of new and updated information on support coordination for participants and providers is also available.
Documents available from the NDIA are:
Making support coordination work better. Easy Read PDF
Making Support Coordination Work better Text Only
Improving Support Coordination for NDIS Participants
Improving Support Coordination for NDIS Participants
The aim is to drive better support coordination outcomes for participants through multiple initiatives with
- The sector,
- The Australian Government and
- Participant Service Improvement and
- Corporate Plans.
Next Steps
The consultation feedback helped identify where the role of the support coordinator was unclear. It also helped pinpoint the next steps to improve support coordination for participants.
With the sector, the NDIA will:
- educate support coordinators on their roles
- lift quality by encouraging better engagement with existing quality standards
- lift quality through a range of initiatives led by the Australian Government and the broader sector
- support those who wish to develop specific expertise.
The NDIA will also work with the sector to address conflict of interests that may be impacting participant outcomes.
As part of the Annual Pricing Review 2021-22, considerations are:
- the current tiers of support coordination pricing
- the experience and skills required to deliver quality support coordination services
- how pricing can best encourage innovation, improve quality of service and ensure value for money for participants
- how to avoid introducing further complexity
- how to deliver higher quality outcomes for participants with the most complex needs.
The NDIA continues to work with the sector to deliver consistency and equity in planning outcomes (including support coordination).
Infoqore
IDEAS has released Infoqore as a tool to Support Coordinators to meet the needs of their participants.
Designed to help Support Coordinators find reliable, verified, and accurate information quickly.
Infoqore gives access to the most comprehensive database of information about community, mainstream and disability specialist services and supports for people with disability.
Make Infoqore part of your toolkit. For more information visit Infoqore.
