Brisbane has more support coordination providers than anywhere in Queensland, which makes the choice harder rather than easier. This guide gives you the questions that sort a good Brisbane coordinator from an average one.
Search "support coordinator Brisbane" and you will find hundreds of results, from national organisations to sole practitioners working from a home office in Kenmore. The registration is the same; the service is not. This guide sets out what to look for, what to ask and what the answers mean. MediHealth Connect provides our Brisbane support coordinators across the city, and these are the standards we expect to be judged by.
Brisbane is a collection of regions with their own providers, hospitals and traffic. A coordinator who works the northside knows which allied health practices around Chermside have capacity and how The Prince Charles handles discharges; one who works the southside knows the Princess Alexandra and the Sunnybank providers. Ask a prospective coordinator where their other participants live and which hospitals and providers they deal with regularly. A coordinator managing Brisbane participants from the Sunshine Coast or interstate is at a real disadvantage.
Ask how many participants the coordinator works with and how quickly they return calls. There is no fixed right number, but a coordinator with a very large caseload cannot do the proactive work: checking in before things go wrong, chasing reports early, attending meetings. Ask what happens when they are on leave, and whether the cover person will know anything about you.
Many Brisbane coordination providers also deliver support work, nursing or therapy. That is allowed, and it can be useful, but it has to be managed. Ask directly: does your organisation provide other services, and how do you handle referrals to them? A good answer describes a written process, alternatives always offered, referrals documented, nothing conditional. MediHealth Connect is in this category, since we provide community nursing, and we would rather be asked than assumed.
Coordination for a young person leaving school is different from coordination for someone with psychosocial disability, complex health needs or a housing crisis. Ask what kinds of participants the coordinator has worked with and for an example of a situation like yours. If your needs are complex, ask whether the provider is registered for specialist support coordination or how they would help you request it.
Ask how the coordinator communicates with providers, your GP, your LAC and your family, and whether you will see the reports written about you. Ask how they prepare for plan reviews and when that starts. A coordinator who cannot describe their review process has not got one.
Meet two or three if you can. Take the service agreement away and read it. Trust the sense you get from the first conversation, because you will be working with this person for a year or more. If it does not work out, you can change; our article on how to switch your NDIS support coordinator explains how.
Either can be good. Large providers offer cover and breadth; small ones offer continuity and a personal relationship. Judge the coordinator you will actually work with, not the size of the organisation.
Yes, but it usually costs you local knowledge and quick visits. Ask where the coordinator and their other participants are based.
Search the NDIS provider finder or the NDIS Commission register for the organisation and the support coordination registration group.
MediHealth Connect provides support coordination across South East Queensland.