Connecting with participants

Participants in the NDIS

The NDIS is part of a broader system supporting people with disability. The NDIS connects people with disability, their families and carers with government services and community activities, and works to build inclusive communities, workplaces and services. The NDIS doesn’t replace services elsewhere in government or the community.

Participants develop individual plans which contain funding to help them live an ordinary life and pursue individual goals, such as learning a new skill, increasing independence, enrolling in education, or getting a job.

Participants control their budget – they decide who provides their support, how, where and when.

Participants can choose to:

  • self-manage their funds
  • have funds managed by a Plan Manager
  • have funds managed by the NDIA, or
  • have a combination of management types.

Support coordinators

When support coordination is considered a reasonable and necessary support, a planner or partner will discuss options with a participant for choosing a support coordination provider. A participant can choose their support coordinator. 

Ways that a participant (and/or their nominee) may find a suitable support coordinator include:

Participants can connect with support coordinators by using a request for service. The request for service includes information about the participant’s goals, needs and circumstances.

The NDIA can help participants to find available support coordination providers.

Providers can receive requests for service through: 

  • the myplace provider portal 
  • email from the NDIA
  • the participant directly.

Before accepting a request for service, support coordinators should consider whether they can best support the participant to pursue their goals. 

Support coordination providers can accept or reject an RFS for various reasons. These include workload capacity, suitable staff with the appropriate skills, qualifications and knowledge, and/or any conflicts of interest. 

The request for service will include information about any reporting requirements the NDIA has set for the plan’s duration. 

Once a support coordinator accepts the request for service, they should meet with the participant to create a service agreement. 

Three levels of support coordination can be included in a participant’s plan.

Local area coordinators

Local area coordinator partners have local knowledge of disability services and their community. They help participants aged seven years and over understand and access the NDIS and make the local community more inclusive.

Early childhood partners

Early childhood partners provide early childhood supports to children younger than seven who have developmental delay or disability, as part of our early childhood approach.

This page current as of
22 October 2024
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