What a support coordinator does
A support coordinator's job is to help you use your plan well and, over time, to need them less. The work changes with your situation, but it usually includes:
- Explaining what your plan funds and how the budgets work
- Finding providers that suit your needs, location and preferences, and connecting you with them
- Helping you understand quotes and service agreements before you sign
- Linking you with community and mainstream services, such as health, housing, education and employment
- Stepping in when a support falls through or a provider relationship breaks down
- Keeping an eye on how your funding is being used so you do not run short
- Helping you gather evidence and prepare for your next plan reassessment
What a support coordinator does not do
A support coordinator does not pay your invoices. That is a plan manager's job, or yours if you self manage. They also do not decide what goes in your plan. The NDIA does that.
Since 27 August 2026 a support coordinator also cannot ask for an unscheduled reassessment on your behalf. Only you, your plan nominee or your guardian can make that request, although your coordinator can still help you prepare it.
Who gets support coordination
Support coordination is not in every plan. The NDIA includes it when it decides the support is reasonable and necessary for you, for example when you are new to the NDIS, have several providers to manage, are going through a big change such as leaving school or moving house, or have limited help from family.
Many participants without support coordination get similar help to start their plan from a local area coordinator (LAC), who is funded separately and does not use your plan budget.
The three levels and what they cost
There are three levels of support coordination: support connection (level 1), coordination of supports (level 2) and specialist support coordination (level 3). Most plans with coordination fund level 2. Specialist support coordination is for people whose situation is much more complex.
For 2026/27 the price limits for support coordination were held at their previous rates. Coordination of supports is up to $100.14 an hour and specialist support coordination up to $190.54 an hour. Coordinators bill for the time they spend working for you, including calls, emails and reports, so it is worth asking how they record their time.
How to choose a good support coordinator
A coordinator is only as useful as their local knowledge and how well they listen. Before you agree to one, ask:
- How many participants do you work with, and how quickly do you reply?
- Which providers do you know in my area for the supports I need?
- Does your organisation also provide other supports, and how do you manage that conflict of interest?
- How do you record and bill your time, and how will I know what is left in my budget?
- What will you do in the first month?
What changes from 1 July 2028
The government is redesigning support coordination. From 1 July 2028 a new support coordination and connection service begins. It will no longer be paid from your NDIS plan. Instead, providers will be funded directly and you will choose from a list of them.
Until then, support coordination keeps working as it does now. Mandatory registration for support coordinators has been paused while the new service is designed, so you can still use a registered or unregistered coordinator if you are plan managed or self managed. If your plan is agency managed, you need a registered one.