Helping Your NDIS Support Team Work Together
When you receive support from several people, keeping everyone informed can feel like another job.
You might have a support coordinator helping organise services, an allied health professional working with you on particular goals, and nurses or support workers assisting with other needs. Each person may see a different part of your everyday life.
Clear communication can help bring those supports together. The starting point is making sure your own priorities remain central.
Start with what matters to you
Before focusing on appointments, reports or rosters, think about what you want support to help you do.
Perhaps you want a calmer morning routine, more confidence preparing meals, or support to attend a local activity you enjoy.
Useful questions include:
What is working well for me?
What feels difficult or frustrating?
What would I like to do differently?
How do I prefer people to communicate with me?
You can share your answers through conversation, writing, pictures, a communication device or another method that works for you. You can also ask someone you trust to help you prepare.
Make everyone’s role clear
It helps to know who is responsible for each part of your support—and who to contact when something changes.
Ask your team:
Who handles changes to my roster?
Who should explain a therapy recommendation?
Who should I contact about my nursing care?
Who will follow up an unanswered question?
Who is the backup contact when someone is away?
A simple contact list can make this easier. Include each person’s role, contact details and the reason you might contact them. Agree on a safe place to keep it and who can access it.
Agree on what information can be shared
Working together does not mean everyone needs access to all your information.
Discuss what information is relevant, why someone needs it and who it may be shared with. Ask how your preferences and consent will be recorded, and how you can review them.
The NDIS Commission’s Practice Standards include collaboration with other providers, including health and allied health providers, with the participant’s consent or direction and as agreed in their service agreement.
Turn recommendations into clear next steps
A report or conversation is more useful when everyone understands what happens next.
For example, if you want support to prepare a meal, you could ask the relevant professional to explain any recommended strategies, equipment or assistance. Your support provider can then clarify what workers need to know before helping you.
Questions worth asking include:
What does this recommendation mean in everyday life?
Does anyone need training or further instructions?
Who will arrange the next step?
When will we check whether it is helping?
If instructions are unclear or appear to conflict, ask the relevant professional to clarify them before a worker changes how they provide support.
Check in before small problems build up
You do not need to wait for a formal meeting to say that something is not working.
A brief, agreed check-in can give you space to discuss what went well, what needs changing and anything still awaiting follow-up. Ask for a record of agreed actions in a format you can use.
The NDIS Commission’s participant conversation guide offers practical prompts for discussing expectations, information sharing and feedback with workers and providers.
A quick checklist for your next conversation
Before your next support discussion, consider:
My main priority is…
Something I would like explained is…
The people I want involved are…
My information-sharing preferences are…
The next action, responsible person and follow-up date are…
Your support team brings different skills and experience. You bring knowledge of your own life, preferences and goals. Good communication makes room for both.
Looking ahead: planning for Supported Independent Living
Dream Beyond Support Services is planning to introduce Supported Independent Living (SIL) soon. As our plans progress, we will share further information about the service, locations and availability once confirmed.
If you are exploring future living support for yourself, a family member or someone you support, you are welcome to contact our team for updates. Your preferences, daily routines, support needs and the people you want involved are useful starting points for a conversation about future arrangements.
Discuss support in Melbourne and Geelong
Dream Beyond Support Services provides Registered Nurse-led community nursing and disability support across Melbourne, Geelong and surrounding areas.
Explore our services or contact our team to discuss your needs and service availability.
Phone: 0424 461 571
We Empower You To Dream Beyond.
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