Questions to ask a support coordinator

Because Tegrity delivers support coordination across Sydney every day, we know which questions actually separate a coordinator who’ll change your year from one who’ll leave your plan sitting in a drawer. Copy this list, or print our resources page, and take it to your first meeting.

The 10 questions at a glance

1. Are you independent — do you have any referral or ownership relationships with the providers you’d recommend?
2. How often will I hear from you, and how do I reach you between check-ins?
3. Who covers my plan if you’re on leave or off sick?
4. How will you track my funding so it lasts the whole plan?
5. Have you worked with someone in my situation before?
6. Is your coordination culturally safe — and are you Aboriginal-owned or led?
7. What exactly will you do in the first month?
8. What happens if I want to change coordinators later?
9. What can’t you do — and who do you refer me to for it?
10. What level of support coordination am I funded for, and is that enough?

Below is why each one matters — and what a strong answer sounds like versus a warning sign.

1. Are you independent, or do you have referral relationships?

This is the single most important question, and the one coordinators are least often asked. Ask it plainly: “Do you have any ownership, referral or commercial relationship with the providers you’d recommend to me?” An independent coordinator recommends supports based on your goals, not on who they’re connected to.

A good answer: they disclose any conflict of interest in writing, and make clear you can choose any provider you like — including one they have no link to. A warning sign: every recommendation points back to their own company, or they can’t give you a straight answer. Tegrity does both coordination and support work, so we tell participants up front: you can use us for coordination and a completely different provider for your workers, and the coordination will work just as hard for you either way. That’s what independent means.

2. How often will I hear from you — and who covers you when you’re away?

“Poor communication” is the number-one reason participants switch coordinators. Pin it down before you sign. Ask how often you’ll have contact in the setup phase versus once things are running, how to reach them between check-ins, and — the question people forget — who picks up your plan if they’re on leave or off sick.

A good answer: weekly or fortnightly contact while supports are being set up, a named backup coordinator, and a clear channel (phone or email) for when something can’t wait. A warning sign: vague reassurance with no specifics, or a solo operator with no cover arrangement at all.

3. How will you track my funding so it lasts the whole plan?

Support coordination funding is a set dollar amount in your Capacity Building budget, and your other supports are finite too. A coordinator’s job is to make the money last the whole plan — not spend the first flush and leave you short in month ten. Ask how they track spend, and how often they’ll show you where you stand.

A good answer: they can tell you at any point how much of each budget is used and how much remains, and they flag problems early. A warning sign: they’ve never mentioned budget tracking, or can’t say how much coordination funding you have left. If you want to understand the numbers yourself first, our guide to the three support coordination levels explains how the funding is set.

4. Have you worked with someone in my situation?

Experience with your specific circumstances — a psychosocial disability, a complex-needs plan, a young person leaving school, an Aboriginal participant, a culturally diverse family — changes how well a coordinator can help. You’re not asking for names; you’re asking whether they understand the terrain.

A good answer: concrete, de-identified examples and an honest “here’s what I’d do in your case.” A warning sign: a generic sales pitch that never touches your actual situation.

5. Is your coordination culturally safe — and are you Aboriginal-owned?

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants, this isn’t a nice-to-have — it changes whether people engage with their supports at all. Ask whether the coordinator or organisation is Aboriginal-owned or led, whether they understand community and family obligations, and whether they can connect you with culturally safe providers.

A good answer: a genuine account of how cultural safety shapes their practice, not a logo on a website. Tegrity is an Aboriginal-owned NDIS provider, so cultural safety is built into how we coordinate — but you should ask any coordinator these questions and expect a real answer. If it matters to you, our First Nations & the NDIS page explains what culturally safe support looks like.

6. What exactly will you do in the first month?

A coordinator who can describe the first 30 days concretely is a coordinator who’s done it before. You want to hear about the intake conversation, reading your plan line by line, shortlisting and phoning providers, arranging meet-and-greets and setting up service agreements so supports can legally start. If you want the full picture, our guide on what a support coordinator actually does walks through the first 90 days week by week.

A good answer: a clear, staged plan with timeframes. A warning sign: “we’ll sort it out once you’re signed up.”

7. What happens if I want to change coordinators later?

Asking this before you sign tells you how a coordinator treats your autonomy. You can change support coordinators at any time — it’s your plan and your choice, no reason or NDIA permission required. A good coordinator will happily explain the process.

A good answer: a plain explanation of the notice period (commonly two weeks) and a promise to hand over your information respectfully so you never go without support in the gap — the same way we describe switching providers. A warning sign: defensiveness, or making it sound difficult.

8. What can’t you do — and who do you refer me to?

Knowing a coordinator’s limits is as useful as knowing their strengths. A support coordinator doesn’t pay invoices (that’s a plan manager — our guide to coordination vs plan management untangles the two), doesn’t provide the hands-on support itself, and isn’t a crisis service. A coordinator who names their boundaries and has a referral network for everything else — therapists, nurses, plan managers, housing — is one you can trust.

A warning sign: a coordinator who claims to do everything. In the spirit of our motto — integrity, built in — Tegrity offers support work and support coordination only, and refers out for plan management, therapy, nursing and SIL/SDA housing.

9. What level of support coordination am I funded for?

There are three levels — support connection, coordination of supports, and specialist support coordination — and they buy different amounts of a coordinator’s time. Ask which you’re funded for and whether it’s realistic for what you need. As an anchor, Level 2 coordination of supports is capped at $100.14 per hour under the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits 2026–27. If you’re not sure, a coordinator should help you understand it — and flag at your next review if you need more.

How to use these questions

You don’t need to fire off all ten like an interrogation. Pick the ones that matter most to you — for most people that’s independence, communication and budget tracking — and listen for whether the answers are specific or vague. If you’re also weighing up the provider more broadly, our guide on how to choose an NDIS provider covers the wider checks. And if you’d like to ask us these questions directly, we answer every referral the same business day.