Specialised

Support Coordination

Interchange Australia is an approved provider of Specialist Support Coordination (also known as level 3 support coordination). We believe that, as your Specialist Support Coordinators, it is our role to provide you with support that is bespoke to your goals, wishes and needs. Our goal is to empower you to live your life the way you choose. This includes facilitating you to have choice and control over the kinds of supports you need.

What is Specialised Support Coordination?

Specialist Support Coordination is a higher level of support than Support Coordination, with the focus of reducing complexity in a participant’s support environment, and helping the participant overcome immediate and/or significant barriers in accessing their NDIS services.

The NDIA will often approve Specialist Support Coordination when a participant is faced with crisis, or, the participant has complex needs. For example, some NDIS participants have complex needs and also receive support from other sectors, including: justice, youth services, legal, health, and mental health services. Where possible, as your Specialist Support Coordinators, we will work with these services to support you to achieve the outcomes you want.

As your Specialist Support Coordinators, our role is to:

Address complex barriers that affect your access to find supports, and;

  • Try solutions to address these barriers
  • Establish a process to overcome these barriers, including prioritising factors that need to be addressed first and what supports need to be in place immediately.

Design a service plan for your support needs, where appropriate. This includes;

  • Ensuring all services can work effectively and collaboratively to help you to achieve your goals
  • Establishing processes to enable communication, cooperation and collaboration within the participant’s network of funded and non-funded supports
  • Help you, your family and/or carers to resolve issues and unexpected situations
  • Ensure a consistent delivery of service and access to relevant supports in a crisis or unplanned event.

At Interchange Australia, our Specialist Support Coordinators are appropriately qualified, and have extensive experience working with people with complex needs.

The NDIA has a three-tiered approach to Coordination of Supports

  1. Support Connection
    Participants are assisted to implement their plan and connect with their supports. Strengthening your ability to connect with informal, mainstream and funded support, increase your capacity to maintain support relationships, resolve service delivery issues, participate independently in managing your NDIS supports and plans.
  2. Support Coordination
    Strengthening your abilities to connect to and coordinate informal, mainstream and funded support in a complex service delivery environment. Including resolving points of crisis, developing capacity and resilience within your support networks and coordinating supports from a range of service providers who may be required to help you meet your needs and goals e.g. behaviour support; speech therapy; occupational therapy; physiotherapy.
  3. Specialist Support Coordination – Time limited to a maximum of 12 months.
    The highest tier of support set within a therapeutic framework, necessitated by specific high level risks within a person’s situation. Focusing on addressing high risk/complex barriers and reducing complexity in the support environment, while assisting you to connect with appropriate supports and services. Interchange Australia has a dedicated NDIS Case Consultant employed to assist you with the delivery of support linked to this NDIS support cluster. Coordination of Support will only be provided by Interchange Australia when there is capacity to accept the referral.

How do I access Interchange Australia for Specialised Support Coordination?

  1. Arrange to meet with your NDIA Planner to discuss what level of Coordination of Support you require to be included in your plan.
  2. Request and complete your referral form and send it to Interchange Australia. This can be completed by; you, your support planner, NDIA Local Area Coordinator (LAC), family or other representative.
  3. Our NDIS Support Coordinator will contact the you or your representative within three working days of receipt to confirm that Interchange Australia will work with you or to explain why Interchange Australia is unable to accept your referral.
  4. Interchange Australia does not maintain a waiting list/need register for Coordination of Support services.
  5. If Interchange Australia does not have immediate capacity to accept your referral you or the person making your referral will be notified within 3 working days.

*Interchange Australia is registered through the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) to provide Coordination of Support.