When looking for a career with meaning and stability, NDIS support coordination is sure to be on your radar. Support coordinators play a vital role in bridging the gap between needs and services for participants in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
One of the big perks of pursuing an NDIS support coordinator role is that it’s not necessary to complete any rigorous long-term training or credentialing in order to be hired.
That means that you can begin a new career right away once you determine that this field is a good fit for you.
In fact, your enthusiasm and dependability are the two big factors that will help you to thrive in what you’ll soon find is a very satisfying and freeing career.
What Is the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)?
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a government-funded agency that allows Australians living with disabilities to receive the support they need to thrive and participate in society.
This support is open to Australians under the age of 65 living with significant physical, cognitive or other disabilities.
Support is not provided based on income eligibility. Ultimately, the goal of NDIS services is to allow all Australians to partake in the community and reach their goals through strategic support without taking on financial burdens.
Typically, support will cover aspects related to helping clients in the areas independent living, social participation, education, health and general well-being. Hundreds of thousands of Australians living with disabilities seek support and services from the NDIS each year.
This support is only made possible by teams of support providers and coordinators who help to create and implement individualized care plans.
What Is NDIS Support Coordination?
NDIS support coordination is crucial for ensuring that NDIS participants receive consistent and relevant care. In this role, professionals wear many hats that all lead to the common goal of improving quality of life for disabled Australians enrolled in the NDIS program.
What exactly does a support coordinator do? Overall, a support coordinator is the person who helps to connect participants with the services available to them through their plans.
While they don’t offer hands-on support the way a care provider does, their fingerprint is on nearly every aspect of the participant’s experience.
Here’s a rundown of what a “day in the life” of a support coordinator may look:
- Connecting with NDIS participants to go over the resources that are available for support and connection. In this sense, a coordinator is a bit like an educator.
- Designing support plans in collaboration with participants. Coordinators seek to identify the goals of participants to design plans that allow them to take advantage of what is offered.
- Customizing support options based on the needs of participants.
- Stepping in to resolve crisis issues or rework care plans as circumstances change.
As you can see, a coordinator is a stable presence who develops, monitors and refines plans to best fit the needs of participants. A support coordinator is ultimately a “resource” who is capable of helping participants to maximize what is available to them.
Being effective in this role requires one to be tuned into both the “process” side of gathering resources and the “personal” side of meeting the needs of participants.
Case load varies quite a bit by coordinator. Some of that is simply due to personal choice because coordinators have the option to work independently in a way that allows them to choose how many clients they’d like to take on.
The fact that coordinators provide what can be described as strategic support means that they often have room to take on a high volume of clients.
What’s more, no two clients are the same. Within NDIS coordination, there are different tiers of support.
Here’s a look at some of the tasks a coordinator might take on during any given day:
- Meeting with participants to go over plan details, expectations and options for getting the most resources possible based on plan content.
- Assisting clients with getting set up in the NDIS portal.
- Researching providers.
- Providing provider recommendations.
- Preparing for plan reviews.
When becoming familiar with the role of a support coordinator, it’s also important to understand the boundaries of support coordination.
Coordinators do not touch things like advocacy, making decisions on behalf of clients, plan management or financial management.
The fact that coordinators are not responsible for those tasks removes some of the barriers to entry for this profession because there’s no need to obtain credentialing or go through specific training.
See also: For more information on NDIS Support Coordination and how it works, check out NDIS Support Coordination Explained here.
What Skills Are Needed to Become an NDIS Support Coordinator?
Generally, there’s no need to enter into support coordination with any specific hard skills. However, this is a field where the right soft skills can really set a person up for success.
At the top of the list is simply a passion for helping people. Support coordinators “serve” the needs of clients in everything that they do.
In addition, great communication skills are highly relevant in this job role because coordinators spend time explaining plan options to participants. They essentially work as “information liaisons.”
Lastly, organization and dependability are both crucial. Coordinators are at their best when they’re utilizing systems to provide participants with seamless service.
NDIS Support Coordination Training, Courses & Qualifications
Unlike many fields that require specific degrees and credentials, support coordination is a field that’s open to people who are willing to learn a new role.
Any background degrees or training held in areas of social work, disability care, psychology, allied health or a related area of study will be considered assets.
However, they are not prerequisites. People entering support coordination can boost their skills, feel more confident and appeal to hiring agencies by completing an NDIS support coordination course or obtaining a certification in disability.
In fact, completing training courses is something that many NDIS support coordinators continually do throughout their careers to bolster their skills.
Training for NDIS support coordination covers a wide variety of topics that coordinators will bump up against as they serve their clients.
For instance, courses that provide intensive coverage on topics like NDIS transportation services, homeownership for participants, NDIS support coordination role boundaries, maximizing outcomes and complex NDIS support coordination can all equip and empower NDIS support coordination professionals to better serve their clients while boosting their own marketable skills.
There are various NDIS training providers that offer short courses in NDIS support coordination that can prepare you for a career in support coordination.
See also: Check out Best Online NDIS Training Courses here.
Where to Find NDIS Support Coordination Providers
Once the decision is made to become an NDIS support coordinator, the journey of finding employment begins. Like any job search, a coordinator job search can be challenging if a job seeker is not familiar with the hiring channels within this industry.
Some people prefer to apply directly to institutions that provide support coordination services in order to boost their chances of being hired and to be considered for future job openings.
To find a list of NDIS support coordination providers in your area, be sure to check out our NDIS Support Coordination category page here.
Working as an NDIS Support Coordinator
The path to becoming an NDIS support coordinator begins with the decision to enter an in-demand field that serves Australians seeking support.
Coordinators are essential for creating cohesive, optimized service within the NDIS program because they enable participants to tap into the full scope of services based on their individual needs and goals. This ensures that benefits don’t go wasted!
From a professional angle, this is a great way for a person seeking new career horizons to take on a facilitator role.
Related article: Interested in starting a career in NDIS Plan Management? Check out How to Become an NDIS Plan Manager here.
Related article: Interested in doing some NDIS training courses to boost your skills and resume? Check out Best Online NDIS Training Courses here.
Related article: Wondering how to find NDIS clients as a Provider? Check out our guide on How to Find NDIS Clients here.