TL;DR: An NDIS support coordinator guides a participant through their plan, links them up with suitable service providers, and helps them build the skills to run their own supports over time. Funding comes in three levels — Support Connection, Coordination of Supports, and Specialist Support Coordination — matched to how involved a person's needs are. Mercy Life Care delivers all three levels to participants across Parramatta, Blacktown, and the Hills District in Western Sydney.
A support coordinator is a professional funded through the NDIS whose job is to put a participant's plan into practice — lining up providers, arranging service agreements, and sorting out problems as they crop up. They don't deliver hands-on care day to day; instead, they connect a participant with the people who do, while building that participant's own ability to manage things independently down the track. If you're trying to work out whether support coordination suits your plan, the breakdown below covers what the role involves.
What does a support coordinator actually do day to day?
The NDIS describes a support coordinator's role as helping a participant understand and use their plan's supports, pick suitable providers, link into community and mainstream services, and grow the confidence to manage things themselves over time.1 At its core, a support coordinator connects a participant's NDIS plan with real, local services. On a given month, that can look like:
- Walking a participant through what their funding covers and how far it'll go
- Tracking down and reaching out to providers who fit the person's goals, area, and budget
- Arranging service agreements and bookings with each provider
- Joining the first handful of sessions with a new provider to make sure it's working
- Stepping in and helping find a replacement when a provider relationship isn't working
- Pulling together reports and evidence in the lead-up to a plan review
Take a participant in Blacktown juggling a physio, a support worker, and a plan manager — a coordinator is often the single person keeping track of how all three pieces line up.
What are the three levels of NDIS support coordination?
The NDIS funds support coordination across three distinct levels, and which one applies comes down to how complex a participant's needs are — not the size of their overall budget.1
|
Level |
Name |
Who it's for |
|
Level 1 |
Support Connection |
Participants who mainly need a hand understanding their plan and making the first few provider connections |
|
Level 2 |
Coordination of Supports |
Participants running several services simultaneously, or dealing with service issues that need hands-on problem-solving |
|
Level 3 |
Specialist Support Coordination |
Participants facing complex circumstances — such as disability overlapping with housing or health challenges — who need specialist-level help to work through barriers |
Level 2 is where most participants land. Level 3 is rarer, and it's usually the NDIA that flags it rather than the participant asking for it outright. Mercy Life Care's NDIS support coordination service offers all three levels to participants across Western Sydney.
Do I need a support coordinator, or can I manage things myself?
Needing a coordinator comes down to how much time and confidence you have for managing services on your own — it's not a reflection of how significant your disability is. Plenty of participants handle everything solo from the start. Others find that having one dedicated person hold the bigger picture together saves hours each week and stops supports from slipping through the gaps.
Signs a coordinator would help:
- You're just starting out with the NDIS and aren't sure where to begin
- You've got four or more services on the go and it's hard to keep track
- A provider arrangement has fallen through and you need help finding another
- Support Coordination is already funded in your plan — so using it doesn't cost anything extra
Is support coordination funded by the NDIS, and will it cost me anything?
Support coordination sits within a participant's NDIS plan under Capacity Building funding, meaning there's no out-of-pocket cost if it's already included. It doesn't get added to every plan by default — the NDIS confirms it comes down to what the NDIA approves for that person, and participants can raise it with their my NDIS contact if they want to bring a coordinator on board.2 If it's missing from your current plan, it's worth bringing up at your next review.
How does a support coordinator differ from a plan manager?
People frequently mix up support coordinators and plan managers, but the two roles do very different things. In the NDIS's own words: a plan manager keeps track of a participant's funding, while a support coordinator helps with their actual supports.1 The plan manager handles invoices and the financial side of a plan. The support coordinator sources and links up services, and helps a participant make the most of their funding on a practical, day-to-day level. Quite a few participants in Western Sydney rely on both at the same time — one covers the paperwork, the other covers the network of support.
What's the cost of support coordination if it's not already in my plan?
Support coordination pricing follows the official NDIS Pricing Schedule (previously called the Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits), which caps the hourly rate a registered provider is allowed to charge for each level — it's not charged as a flat fee.3 Since this schedule gets reviewed and updated on a regular basis, it's best to confirm the current rate directly with a provider or via the NDIS website rather than relying on an older figure, as it shifts from year to year.
FAQ
Q: What does a support coordinator actually do for me? A: They turn your NDIS plan into working supports — sourcing providers, setting up agreements, and stepping in if something isn't right. They manage your network of support rather than delivering hands-on care themselves.
Q: Is a support coordinator the same thing as a plan manager? A: No. A plan manager looks after invoices and payments. A support coordinator sources and connects services and helps you get the most from your plan. Some participants use one, the other, or both together.
Q: How do I add support coordination to my NDIS plan? A: Bring it up with your NDIA planner or Local Area Coordinator at your next plan meeting or review. It's typically approved where someone can show they'd benefit from help setting up or juggling multiple services.
Q: Am I able to pick which support coordinator I work with? A: Yes. Support coordination works like any other NDIS-funded service — you can choose your provider, and switch if the fit isn't right.
Q: Which level of support coordination is most common? A: Level 2, Coordination of Supports, is where most participants are funded. Level 3 is set aside for more complex situations and tends to be flagged by the NDIA rather than requested by participants themselves.
Finding the right support coordinator means finding someone who gets your goals, knows the local provider network well, and is straightforward about what each level of coordination actually looks like in practice. Mercy Life Care offers Support Connection, Coordination of Supports, and Specialist Support Coordination to NDIS participants across Toongabbie, Parramatta, Blacktown, and the Hills District. Get in touch with Mercy Life Care's support coordination team to work out which level suits your plan.