How Specialist Support Coordination Helps Manage Complex NDIS Support Needs
When an NDIS participant experiences complex challenges, coordinating different services can become difficult. Changes in living arrangements, gaps in essential supports, communication issues between providers, or several overlapping needs may make it harder to maintain a consistent support network.
Specialist Support Coordination, known as Level 3 Support Coordination, is a higher level of assistance for participants with complex support needs and risks. Its purpose is to help address barriers and improve coordination across the participant’s support network.
What Makes a Support Situation Complex?
Every participant has different circumstances. A situation may require more specialised coordination when barriers affect access to supports or make it difficult for services to work together.
Examples may include:
- Several providers needing to coordinate their services and responsibilities.
- Significant changes that disrupt existing support arrangements.
- Complex barriers affecting access to essential services.
- Risks within the participant’s support environment that require a more specialised approach.
These examples do not automatically establish eligibility for Level 3 support. The participant’s circumstances, goals and NDIS plan must be considered.
According to the NDIS guide to working as a support coordinator, Specialist Support Coordinators help participants address complex barriers and may develop a service plan to respond to their support needs.
How Can Specialist Support Coordination Help?
A Specialist Support Coordinator can help bring different services together around the participant’s needs and goals.
Depending on the circumstances, this may involve identifying barriers, improving communication between providers, coordinating support arrangements and helping establish processes for managing unexpected challenges.
The aim is to support greater consistency across services and help participants access the supports available to them. Participants should remain involved in decisions about their supports wherever possible.
What Should Participants and Families Prepare?
If existing support arrangements are becoming difficult to manage, participants and their families can prepare for a discussion about their needs by:
- Reviewing the NDIS plan: Check the funded supports and the level of Support Coordination included.
- Recording current challenges: Note service gaps, communication difficulties or changes affecting support arrangements.
- Gathering relevant information: Collect reports or feedback from providers where appropriate and with the necessary consent.
- Discussing available options: Contact the participant’s NDIS contact to discuss whether different support arrangements may be appropriate.
Importantly, Level 3 Specialist Support Coordination must be included in the participant’s plan for a provider to deliver this level of service. Funding and eligibility depend on the participant’s individual circumstances and applicable NDIS requirements.
Choosing a Specialist Support Coordinator
Participants should look for a provider with appropriate qualifications and experience in addressing complex support needs and risks. It is also important to consider communication, availability and whether the provider understands the participant’s goals.
At iDeal Care Services, our team offers Support Coordination and Specialist Support Coordination to help participants navigate their support arrangements.