What is the difference between Support Coordination and Plan Management?
Yooralla is commonly asked what the difference is between Plan Management and Support Coordination.
During our conversations with people with disability and their carers as they prepare for their NDIS planning meeting, we are commonly asked what the difference is between Plan Management and Support Coordination.
Support Coordination
Support Coordination is funding in a NDIS plan, where a Support Coordinator will work with NDIS participants and their carers to connect them with service providers to deliver the supports they have received funding for.
They will also support you to build your capacity to exercise your choice and control in selecting which service providers you work with, to coordinate your NDIS funded supports and to access your local community.
Support Coordinators also work with your service providers to complete service bookings and set up Service Agreements.
Support Coordination can be requested in the planning meeting, however it will be up to the NDIS planner/LAC and NDIA to determine if the support is reasonable and necessary. Typically, Support Coordination funding is included when the participant:
- has high and complex needs
- needs new accommodation arrangements
- has limited informal supports (such as a family members) who can help them implement their NDIS plan.
Plan Management
Plan Management is not direct support like Support Coordination. Plan Management refers to one of the four ways you can choose for your services to be paid.
Plan Managers:
- pay your service providers
- keep track of your NDIS funds, and
- provide financial reports.
In your planning meeting you will be asked by the planner how you want your supports to be paid. You have four options: Agency-managed, plan managed, self-managed or a combination of these.
When choosing to have funds self or plan-managed it means you can use both NDIS and non-NDIS registered providers, whereas those who elect to have their funds Agency-managed are only able to use registered service providers, such as Yooralla.
If you are confused about Plan Management and Support Coordination, or any other part of the NDIS, you can contact us.
You can also book a free, one-on-one discussion with Yooralla Connect to answer any of your NDIS questions, no matter what stage of the journey you are in.