Is NDIS support coordination changing in 2028?

The short answer

The Australian Government has announced a new NDIS Support Coordination and Connection service, often shortened to SCC. It is planned to start on 1 July 2028. The government says it will replace the way participants get support coordination now.

The government's consultation paper says all participants will keep getting support coordination under existing arrangements until 1 July 2028.

What the government has announced

These points come from the government's own announcements:

• A new 'commissioned' service. Commissioned means the NDIA plans and funds the service, chooses the organisations that deliver it, and checks how well they do. The government announced this in the 2026-27 Budget.
• The planned start date is 1 July 2028. The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing lists this date in its reform timeline. The timeline also says it will be updated as dates are confirmed.
• The government says the new service will replace the current way support coordination is delivered.
• The consultation paper says current arrangements continue for all participants until 1 July 2028.

What is only proposed

In September 2026 the department and the NDIA released a consultation paper with their 'early ideas'. The paper says the final design is a decision for the government. Under these early ideas:

• Support coordination would no longer be funded in your NDIS plan. The NDIA would contract SCC providers and pay for the service.
• Not every participant would be eligible. The NDIA would decide, using criteria the government agrees. Factors in the paper include decision-making capacity, safety risk, how stable your supports and needs are, and the risk of losing touch with services.
• There would be two levels: SCC, and SCC+ for a small number of people with very complex circumstances. Today there are three levels of support coordination, plus psychosocial recovery coaching.
• The NDIA's preferred option is one lead organisation for each region, which would provide or contract all SCC services there. That would mean fewer providers.
• SCC workers would not be able to provide other NDIS supports.
• The hourly fee would be replaced by a new payment model, which is still being designed.

Why the change is happening

The paper says reviews found problems with how support coordination works now. These include uneven quality, unclear roles, conflicts of interest where one organisation provides support coordination and other services, and fraud. The paper also says many participants value their support coordinators.

The proposal builds on earlier work. The independent NDIS Review reported in December 2023. Its Recommendation 4 said the government should work with local 'navigators' to help people with disability find supports in and outside the NDIS. The paper also cites the Disability Royal Commission and the NDIS Commission's inquiry into support coordination. These informed the proposal, but the final design is the government's decision.

The timeline so far

The consultation paper calls the dates for the new service an indicative timeline, so they may change.

• December 2023: the NDIS Review recommends a navigation function.
• 2026-27 Budget: the government announces the commissioned SCC service.
• 7 September to 2 October 2026: public consultation on the early ideas. It is now closed.
• Mid to late 2026: the service model is designed.
• 2027: the NDIA plans to choose SCC providers through a procurement process.
• Early 2028: support for participants and providers before the change.
• From 1 July 2028: the new service is planned to start.

Other changes on the way

The SCC service is one part of the government's plan called Securing the NDIS for future generations. Its timeline lists other changes that could affect your plan before 2028. For example, new framework planning starts from 1 April 2027, and a new panel of plan management providers begins on 1 October 2027 with a six-month transition. You can read more about the scheme on our NDIS information page.

What stays the same until July 2028

If support coordination is in your plan, keep using it as you do now. It is paid from your plan at the level your plan sets. You still choose your support coordinator, and you can change provider if you want to.

Your rights still apply. Providers must follow the NDIS Code of Conduct, and you can raise a concern with the NDIS Commission on 1800 035 544. Read more about your rights.

What you can do now

• Keep using your support coordination. You don't need to do anything yet.
• Ask your support coordinator to help you build your own skills, such as reading your plan, comparing providers and tracking your budget. Building skills and independence is one of the proposed aims of SCC, and these skills are useful whatever the final design.
• Keep your own copies of your plan, service agreements and important contacts.
• Be careful if anyone says you must sign up now to keep a place in the new service. The timeline shows SCC providers are to be chosen in 2027.
• Ask questions. You can email the department at SCCreform@health.gov.au or call the NDIA on 1800 800 110.

Where to find updates

The department says it and the NDIA will share more about the SCC service as it becomes available. Once the government decides, the NDIA says it will work with participants to explain the changes. Good places to check:

• The department's Securing the NDIS page at health.gov.au/securingtheNDIS, which has the reform timeline.
• The Support Coordination and Connection page on the department's consultation hub. It has the paper in Easy Read, Word and Auslan.
• NDIS news at ndis.gov.au, where you can sign up for the monthly email newsletter.

Support coordination at Heart for Care

Heart for Care provides support coordination under the current NDIS rules. What happens after 1 July 2028 depends on the government's final design.

Heart for Care also provides other NDIS supports. If we are your support coordinator, you can choose any provider for your other supports, and that choice won't affect your support coordination. We always show you options outside Heart for Care, and we tell you about any interest we have.

To talk about support coordination, call 1800 148 857, email admin@heartforcare.com.au or use our contact form.