Running out of National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) funds isn’t good for anyone. For your clients, a budget blowout could mean they miss out on continuity of supports that are vital to achieving their goals. For you, a budget blowout could have a significant impact on your workflow and income.
It’s clear it’s in everyone’s best interests for plan funding to be spent at a Goldilocks pace – not too quickly and not too slowly, but just right!
We spoke with five experienced support coordinators/recovery coaches to get their advice on how providers can attract and serve loyal clients by supporting them to avoid over and underspending their plan funds. Our editorial roundtable – a think tank that brings together support coordinators from across Australia to share insights, experiences, challenges and solutions with others in the disability community – has unpacked the issue for you.
Read on to find out which budgeting tools they recommend, what to do if a client is running low on NDIS funding, and how to support participants to get the most out of their NDIS plans.
Partnering with participants – panel members:
Here’s the questions we posed and the answers they gave. Click on each question to open up their answers and learn more. We hope you get as much out of it as we did!
2. What are the impacts of overspending and/or underspending an NDIS plan budget?
As a former National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) staffer, who went on to create My Plan Manager from her kitchen table in 2014, our founder, Claire Wittwer-Smith, knows the NDIS inside and out. We spoke with her about the review, her vision for how the NDIS can return to its roots, and why it’s so important to hear from everyone in the Scheme – providers and participants.
To start with, Claire says she believes the Albanese government is truly committed to implementing the Scheme in the way it was designed in legislation.
“I think the Federal Government really wants the opportunity to shape it and get it right, true to the legislation,” Claire says.
“After all, it was a Gillard government that implemented it and it follows on from Medicare, which was the Whitlam government. Both initiatives are based on the principles of fairness and equity for all, and that everyone has the opportunity to develop to their full potential, and that’s what we’re aligned to here at My Plan Manager.”
Bill Shorten, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, announced a review of the NDIS in October 2022. The review, led by an expert panel and co-chaired by Professor Bruce Bonyhady AM and Lisa Paul AO, has the goal of putting people with disability back at the centre of the NDIS and restoring trust, confidence and pride in the Scheme.
The review will have two parts:
Crucially, Minister Shorten has said that changes will begin happening to the NDIS before the review’s completion date. He’s already made changes to the way the NDIS operates, with a commitment to putting more people with lived experience at the helm – including NDIA Chair, Kurt Fearnley – and a new culture at the Agency.
Claire says providers should be contributing to the review as it will take feedback from everyone involved in the NDIS to make the review – and the Scheme – a success.
“I think we have to work together to make the Scheme a success. I’m sure we would all agree that the most important voices are the participants and ensuring that participants are able to reach their potential and live their lives with the intended quality that an insurance scheme brings,” she says.
“I think we should look at how the caring sector actually starts to work together. We have the disability sector, aged care, child care – I think we should start streamlining our education in those areas, so your qualifications and skills are transferable and we’re not duplicating training and paperwork unnecessarily.
“There are such similarities in terms of supporting vulnerable people – children and adults – how participants access funding and so on, and we should be capitalising on that.”
Claire says it’s also important that the wider community understands the benefits of the NDIS and recognises it’s an insurance scheme – not welfare.
“It shouldn’t be seen as a burden. I think we need to get better at measuring the benefits of the Scheme – what it’s providing – not only in terms of economics, but in terms of quality of life for people with disability and their families. It’s about everyone having a fair go.”
Claire says listening to client feedback and implementing it has been a gamechanger at My Plan Manager, so she knows the NDIS review has the power to make change.
“Clients have been able to help us understand what a plan manager should be providing for a participant, and the information and insight they give us about that is so rich,” she says. “If you want to be able to provide a good service, you have to be able to listen and be informed by your consumers.”
The NDIS review is open for feedback until the end of the year. However, early feedback is always valuable, and Minister Shorten has said changes will be implemented while the review is open.
To provide feedback, or for more information on supporting your clients to provide their feedback, go here: https://www.ndisreview.gov.au/have-your-say/have-your-say-online
Support coordinators have a lot of responsibility on their shoulders. They need to get to know their clients, build relationships of trust with them and their support networks, foster positive engagement with the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) and providers of disability and mainstream supports, and coordinate a team of wrap around supports designed to assist their clients to achieve their goals.
But what about their own goals? Where do they find time for those?
In recent months, we’ve convened an editorial roundtable to bring together support coordinators from across Australia in a virtual forum to discuss a range of topics and issues impacting them and their work. We’ve passed the baton to Elizabeth Hickey of AFA Support Coordination, one of our roundtable members, to cover off on a key issue arising from recent discussions – how to build a successful business in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) marketplace.
In this article, Elizabeth shares her perspectives and learnings on how to build a business and juggle client needs and the delivery of quality service at the same time.
For any National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) business, no matter the size or type, balancing service delivery and business processes with bringing in the next client is vitally important.
One of the biggest issues facing many support coordinators today is ensuring they’re able to juggle the jobs that bring in money, along with administration and business building tasks – all while ensuring they deliver a quality service and avoid falling casualty to burnout.
For every business, but especially NDIS businesses, ensuring every client receives quality service is paramount, and should be the number one focus. As disability service providers, we should be aiming to assist all people with disability and their supports by delivering quality services that empower people, support choice and control, and help our clients to live in their communities in the way they’d like to.
When asked, most clients say they want a provider who’s approachable, able to assist and help in developing solutions to their problems, available when needed and willing to help them achieve their goals. Remember, without clients you don’t have a business, so the clients you already have on your books are more important than the clients you may potentially have tomorrow. By focusing on a quality product, everything else will fall into place.
Client load is one of the make-or-break points for quality service, staff retention and business reputation. Understanding how many clients you can work with, and what the client need actually is, is as individual as the clients you work with, and typically it can’t be pinned down to one number.
Every support coordinator will have a different skill level and different strengths, and this may impact on the number and type of clients they’re able to manage. While billable hours are key to the equation, remembering that your hourly rate includes an amount to cover administration and training (and then ensuring it’s implemented!) is important, as those two things will directly relate to the end quality of your service.
When looking at client load, you also need to consider the type of clients you work with and where they are on their NDIS journey. Ensuring there are a variety of clients with different levels of need in your business is important, so you can spread what’s required of you a little more evenly.
Allow for a balance of need, but also for movement through the service. When looking at client need, clients will typically fall into two different categories:
Having a mix of both types of clients can help to ensure that when things get busy, you’re less likely to have everyone calling at once.
Regular and ongoing review of your client load is critical, as is consideration for how many new clients you can manage at one time.
When onboarding a new client, you should think about the amount of time you have available to help get them set up and fully engaged, which can be intensive.
Making sure you know how many new clients you can work with, while also providing ongoing services to your current clients, should be a consideration for all businesses, and remaining focused on reporting and planning – and scheduling time to do this – is important also.
It isn’t unusual for a number of clients to need support and reports all at once, so knowing what your schedule looks like for reporting and planning can be important in ensuring ongoing quality.
One of the comments I regularly hear from clients and providers alike is that communication is key to providing great service.
Clients are individuals and, as such, each client will communicate differently. Ensuring their communication needs are met – both for routine needs, like putting service agreements in place and booking appointments, as well as for service delivery – can be a huge part of ensuring quality. If you can communicate in a way that meets each client’s needs, you’ll have the basis for a great service.
All NDIS service providers (registered and unregistered) are bound by the NDIS Code of Conduct, which is a great place to start when measuring how well you’re working to provide quality service, and deciding where to focus for further business and worker development.
As an NDIS business, working to empower people with disability and their informal supports to make decisions about their lives, and providing supports that are safe and respected, is the basis of great service.
Understanding the concept of choice and control, and dignity of risk, allows providers to support people with disability to exercise their freedom of choice and explore what their life means. A good worker is someone who’s able to support a person in their choice, even when they may not agree with the decision the person has made.
The NDIS Code of Conduct is also a roadmap for reviewing your service delivery. You should regularly seek feedback from your clients – whether it’s through a casual conversation, informal and formal reviews or surveys, or even complaints – to identify potential improvements that can help serve them better.
Ongoing improvement and training for workers is paramount to ensuring that a business continually develops. Improvement can be something as small as changing an invoice number to better identify your business and make it easier for a self managed client to pay the bills, or as big as training in customer service, if that’s a weakness.
Documenting every business process is vital to support delivery of a consistent, quality service, but there are times when documentation can cut into client time and compromise outcomes.
One of the biggest things I’ve learnt in business is that having the right systems in place can save time, help serve clients better, ensure you’re compliant and you meet the standards you’re upheld to, help manage risk, and make you even more attractive to new clients.
Many new businesses may not have the time or capital to invest in streamlined systems. However, even a simple system that’s easy to implement can make a huge difference to compliance and risk and the ease with which you can grow your business.
One of the easiest and cheapest ways I found to set up systems to manage different processes was to use the inbuilt forms tool through Google Workspace. This allowed me to create easy spreadsheet data entry for processing – including risk management, continuous improvement recording, personnel training/education registers, client intake and exit processes, and quality review recording. It allowed me to design and record the information my business needed, while keeping an easy-to-use record.
Once you have them in place, it’s important to review systems and processes to make sure they’re working and helping to reduce time spent on tasks that don’t create income. One consideration should be the time spent completing the different workflow tasks – both client directed and administration focused – and if you’re able to implement a system that will reduce the time required, sometimes paying for it up front is a better investment in your business in the long run.
Systems that assist, including business registers, and accounting and client management software, should be reviewed regularly and not set and forgotten. By continuing to consider different options and improving your business in small steps, continued growth will naturally occur, along with the ability to easily show compliant systems and supports are in place.
Every business is different, and both the systems you need and the clients you work with will vary. Identifying what makes your business special, and different to others, is important when considering how to balance the client experience and business development.
No NDIS business will, or should, suit all clients – because, just like the people we serve, each business is individual. Focusing on what you do well and providing a niche service can help to ensure everything your business delivers is quality.
It’s easy to fall into the mindset that you’re competing against all the other providers who do the same thing as you do for clients. But comparing yourself to others is probably the worst thing you can do.
The NDIS is still growing. In December 2022, there were approximately 573,000 participants, and this is expected to grow to 670,000 by 2025. By identifying your perfect client, letting people know who you work with, having a great reputation, knowing who else is out there, and then referring clients you can’t serve to others, you’ll benefit your business and ensure you get to work with the people you can best support.
Working in the disability industry for more than 20 years has taught me one big lesson. For an NDIS participant, the best way to find support is to ask around.
Word of mouth is the best form of advertising for a business within in this sector, simply because people talk and the disability community is just that – a community. It’s close knit, extremely supportive, and will offer guidance to its members. So, doing the right thing – and being known for it – will serve you well.
When it comes to word of mouth, networking is key. Connecting with other businesses and having great relationships with others will ensure you’re able to access services, get help when you need it, and also refer clients if you’re not the right service or you don’t have availability at the time.
Connection to networking and training opportunities is also a fantastic way to ensure your business is participating in ongoing education and training and keeping up to date with changes, both in the NDIS and your local area.
I’ve come to learn the following five things are important to building a successful business:
Work with clients to find the way they need you to communicate with them to get the best results. Communication can look like an in-person catch up, a phone call, an email, an SMS, a direct message through social media, or a physical letter. Every client will have a difference preference for communicating.
Their decisions are not yours, and your job is to assist them to be supported, so they can make the right decisions for them – even if they’re not decisions you might make for yourself.
Make sure you document everything, but don’t let it compromise service. Whether you own the business or work in it, you should aim to document things in a way that someone new can easily understand. This ensures clients can continue to receive services and the business is compliant.
Even though the initial investment in systems may be daunting, in the long run it may mean you’ll actually free up time and capacity and make more money than before. You might even find a little time in the day for yourself!
Figure out what you do best and don’t try to be everything to everyone. By developing a business that serves a specific group of people well, word of mouth will do most of your advertising for you, and you won’t need to worry about getting clients.
When looking at how to build a business that balances client expectations and growth, providing quality service should be the top priority for every business owner.
By ensuring you have a quality service that sells itself, a sustainable client load, and that you focus on continually improving your service, you can know that your business will be sustainable and continue for many years to come.
Support coordinators play a key role in the delivery of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), supporting people to implement their plans and exercise choice and control over the supports and services they choose.
They’re also vital supports in helping to secure the funding you need to achieve the goals in your plan, as well as better outcomes and more independence.
But, as we all know, support coordinators and their clients can take every measure to secure funding and it still may not come through from the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).
What do support coordinators need to do to aid their clients in putting forward the best case for a funding increase? And, if you don’t get it, or your funding is cut, what happens next, and how can a great support coordinator help you get back on track for success?
We invited one of our support coordinator editorial roundtable panel members – Zena Dyson of Esteem Care Services – to discuss this important topic. Here’s what she had to say.
A. The number one factor that influences a participant’s NDIS plan and the amount of funding they receive is EVIDENCE, EVIDENCE, EVIDENCE, related directly to the participant’s disabilities, which proves that their daily living is affected by their disabilities. The newer the evidence, the better!
A. The participant can proactively help themselves achieve the funding they need by asking their GP, specialists, allied health professionals, or any other services involved with them in regard to their disabilities for current reports, recommendation letters, or test results that prove their incapacity to complete their daily living tasks.
A. To help my clients to secure the funding they need to achieve their NDIS goals, I encourage them to gather all the correct, relevant evidence directly related to their disabilities and their NDIS goals combined.
To do this, I advise my clients of what they need to relay to their health professionals and service providers for better outcomes. If the participant does not have the capacity to do this, I ask if they would like me to attend appointments with them, if they would like me to write down information to give to their service providers, or if they would like me to email all their service providers with the correct information required for the best outcomes.
A. Service providers can assist their clients to put forward their strongest case for supports and funding by offering comprehensive reports and recommendations for further funding for their clients’ NDIS supports.
I also expect service providers to relate their reports directly to the client’s NDIS goals.
A. I always ensure I have supplied the client’s NDIS goals to all their service providers, so they can best support our mutual clients to achieve their goals.
Communication between myself and my clients’ support providers is a huge key to ensuring the best funding outcomes for all clients.
A. The relationship between the support coordinator and the NDIA planner and/or their partner in the community, such as Carers QLD – who often conduct plan meetings – is extremely important. Respect goes a long way within these relationships, as well as effective communication, great rapport and knowing the NDIA’s rules and responsibilities.
I have built wonderful working relationships, particularly with many of the Carers QLD Local Area Coordinators (LAC), from Rockhampton to the Gold Coast, to the point where they contact me with many referrals of NDIS participants for support coordination.
A. The single biggest mistake that participants make is filling in the NDIS access request form and sending it in themselves, or getting help from people who do not have the knowledge of what is required, and submitting it without any evidence to support their needs associated with their disabilities.
These access applications generally come back from the NDIA unapproved or with the absolute least amount of funding to support the participant to achieve their NDIS goals.
To avoid making this mistake, the participants must source help to apply for the NDIS from either an NDIS partner in the community, such as Carers QLD, or a support coordinator who is willing to help with this process, such as myself.
A. If a client receives their NDIS plan and they don’t agree with it, then it is up to their support coordinator to contest the plan with supporting evidence for a review. The participant has three months to do this. If this fails and the NDIA disapproves of any changes, then the next step is to take it to the tribunal.
A. The greatest challenge I am currently seeing and/or experiencing in the area of NDIS funding is with child/teen participants not receiving funding for respite and support workers.
It is extremely frustrating when I see a family suffering and struggling due to their child with disabilities not having the help of support workers, especially where the parents either both work full time jobs or do not have the capacity to support their child’s daily needs due to their own disabilities.
A. I have had many clients come to me asking for help because they have put in their NDIS access application and have been denied access to the NDIS, usually due to no evidence going in with the application.
I have then helped the client to collect all the correct evidence and helped them to reapply. They have then received approval for access and gained their first NDIS plan. This happens quite frequently.
A. I believe honesty is the key in this situation. Explain to the participant why their funding was not approved and explain the next steps to take in gathering evidence etc to try applying again. Do not give up!
A. The only time I have seen funding drastically cut is when the participant did not use that particular funding prior to their plan review. In this case, I agree their funding should be cut if they are simply refusing support services and not using their funding.
I believe the NDIS is sustainable if the NDIA ensures all participants only receive funding that they absolutely need to support their disabilities and NDIS goals.
A. I have seen a few cases in the media where the NDIA has cracked down on fraud and exposed people who have been exploiting the NDIS and participant funding, and I agree with the Labor party that cutting excessive costs and cracking down on fraud is correct and justifiable.
These are the types of things that will ruin the NDIS for participants with disabilities that absolutely require the Scheme. Therefore, ‘nipping it in the bud’ now is the correct and the right way to keep the NDIS sustainable.
A. I would say that is a fantastic statistic, if it is correct.
As a support coordinator, I see the huge differences that the NDIS creates for people with disabilities and their families. I have seen clients go from complete hermits to outgoing community members who now enjoy their life, which would be impossible without NDIS funded support services.
The smile on my clients’ faces when they are achieving in life says it all!
There’s no doubt about it – the life of a support coordinator is a constant balancing act.
From working with the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) and service providers, to engaging mainstream and community supports, and connecting with families and friends of National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants, there’s a never ending ‘to do’ list that requires a broad skill set and a seemingly endless supply of energy, optimism and ‘can do’ attitude.
We spoke with five thought leaders in the sector – members of our support coordinator editorial roundtable – and asked them how they navigate their pivotal role as a conduit between their clients and the supports and services they need to achieve their goals and live the lives they choose.
What they told us revealed how a great support coordinator really can tip the balance in favour of the participant.
The delicate art of balance – panel members:
Here’s the questions we posed and the answers they gave. Click on each question to open up their answers and learn more. We hope you get as much out of it as we did!
With more than half a million people now participating in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) – a figure that’s expected to double during the decade ahead – and 44 per cent of them funded for support coordination, burnout is fast becoming one of the most prevalent issues facing the intermediary community.
But what is burnout, what contributes to it, and what can be done to address it? Our editorial roundtable – a think tank that brings together support coordinators from across Australia to share insights, experiences, challenges and solutions with others in the disability community – has unpacked the issue for you.
Our panel members have explored the complexities of providing support in the disability sector and engaged in a raw and real discussion about the challenges they and their peers face, sharing a view from the inside out.
‘Speak your truth’ is a topic for every disability professional!
Speak your truth – panel members
Here’s the 10 questions we posed and the answers they gave. Click on each question to open up their answers and learn more about support coordinator burnout.
The pivotal role of support coordinators – and their impact on the lives of people with disability – can’t be underestimated. That’s why we’ve launched the editorial roundtable, a think tank that brings together support coordinators from across Australia to share insights, experiences, challenges and solutions with others in the disability community.
Whether you’re an intermediary, a disability advocate, a service provider, or a participant in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), there’s something for everyone in this topic – Lessons from the trenches.
From tips, tricks and go-to tools to career hurdles, burnout, and learnings for clients and providers, our panel members for this discussion have put it all on the table.
Lessons from the trenches – panel members
Here’s their 15 lessons from the trenches, the questions we posed and the answers they gave. Click on each question to open up their answers – we hope you enjoy the learnings as much as we did!
We’re launching an editorial roundtable – a think tank that will bring together support coordinators from across Australia to share thinking, information, and insights.
The roundtable, which will be conducted virtually across the coming months, will deliver engaging and informative content to readers of Insider (My Plan Manager’s e-newsletter for providers).
What’s in it for you?
We all know how competitive the market is. There are barriers to building a business, navigating the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), and serving clients better, and nothing beats peer support and the opportunity to learn from others’ experiences.
Through participating in the roundtable, you’ll have the opportunity to consider those challenges with colleagues from around the nation, share ideas, unearth solutions, and find support along the way.
In addition to your inclusion in Insider, opportunities will be available to engage and share your knowledge with potential new clients through Choice (our e-newsletter for people with disability and their support networks), as well as via our website and social media channels.
Workshop presentations – showcasing your brand and expertise to our national network of disability sector professionals and our team – will also be explored.
A support coordinator helps you coordinate your support services and help you to make the most out of your NDIS funding. A participant usually starts working with a support coordinator once their plan is approved. It’s completely up to you to decide which support coordinator you want to use. Your support coordinator will work closely with your plan manager (if you have one) to help you make the most of your plan.
You don’t need to use a support coordinator if you, or your support person, are comfortable organising your own support services.
Support coordinators are a private business, separate from the National Disability Insurance Agency, and are funded out of your plan. If you want to use a support coordinator, make sure you discuss this with your planner or LAC at your planning meeting so they can include support coordination funding in your plan.
Read more about what support coordinators do.
There are three levels of support that can be included in your plan:
Support connection enables you to build a connection with informal, community and funded supports to help you achieve your goals. Specialist support coordination is the highest level of support coordination, for participants with complex situations. A specialist support coordinator will help the participant manage the challenges in their support environment and ensure a consistent level of support.
Which type of support coordination is included in your plan depends on your goals.
Support coordinators need to be NDIS-registered providers so they can’t charge more than the NDIS price guide, depending on the type of support coordination included in your plan.
The latest NDIS price guide lists the maximum amount a provider can charge for a service. If you’re able to negotiate a cheaper price with your provider you can, this means you will be able to get more out of your allocated funding.
The price guide also has other useful information about what you may be able to claim through your NDIS funding and what category you can claim it in.
Everyone has different needs and requires different levels of support, so finding a support coordinator who works well with you is an entirely personal decision. A few key things to look for when choosing a support coordinator:
At My Plan Manager, we like to keep the choice and control firmly in the hands of our clients, so we don’t recommend providers directly. But we can certainly help you find the information you need to make you own decisions about providers. We have put together a list of the top NDIS provider search directories to help you find service providers in your local area.
If you’ve found a support coordination company you’re interested but they are full, it’s worth registering your interest in case a spot becomes available. Also ask around among your family and friends or through online NDIS communities, such as My Plan Manager’s online community Kinora, where people with disability and their supports can build capacity, ask questions, and get advice from other members of the community and expert NDIS coaches. You don’t need to be an My Plan Manager client to join our free online community and it allows you to connect with people in similar situations to get support when you need it the most.
