Local Area Coordinators and Support Coordinators both help NDIS participants, but they do different jobs. Here’s a simple guide to who does what, who to contact, and whether you need both.
Same goal, different jobs.
Both roles exist to help you get the most from the NDIS. The difference is where they sit and how closely they work with you.
Local Area Coordinator (LAC)
Your local connection to the NDIS. LACs work for NDIA partner organisations and help you understand the Scheme, apply, build and review your plan, and link in with community and mainstream services like health, education and transport.
- Free, funded by the NDIA
- Help applying for the NDIS
- Explains your plan
- Plan reassessments & NDIA decisions
Support Coordinator
Your hands-on navigator once you have a plan. A Support Coordinator is a provider you choose, funded from your plan, who helps you find providers, set up services, coordinate everything and build your confidence to manage it yourself.
- Funded in your NDIS plan
- You choose your provider
- Finds & connects providers
- Solves problems when things go wrong
“If I already have a Support Coordinator, can I still contact my LAC?”
Yes, you can. They have different roles. Use this guide to work out who to contact for common situations.
Your situation
A Plan Manager is only involved if your plan is plan-managed. Support Plan Navigators provides Support Coordination and Psychosocial Recovery Coaching; we work alongside your LAC and Plan Manager.
LAC vs Support Coordinator, compared.
Who they work for
LAC
An NDIA partner organisation in your community. LACs work on behalf of the NDIA.
Support Coordinator
A provider you choose, such as Support Plan Navigators.
How they’re paid
LAC
Funded by the NDIA. It doesn’t come out of your plan.
Support Coordinator
Paid from the Capacity Building – Support Coordination budget in your plan, if it’s funded.
Can you choose who?
LAC
Usually allocated based on where you live.
Support Coordinator
Yes. You choose your provider, and you can change if it isn’t the right fit.
Main focus
LAC
Helping you understand and access the NDIS, create and review your plan, and connect with community and mainstream services.
Support Coordinator
Putting your plan into action: finding providers, setting up service agreements, coordinating supports and solving problems.
How hands-on?
LAC
Supports many participants, so help is generally more high-level.
Support Coordinator
Works closely with you through funded hours, often with regular check-ins.
Best for
LAC
Getting started, plan questions, NDIA decisions and plan reassessments.
Support Coordinator
Multiple providers, complex situations, service issues and building your skills to manage supports.
Different roles, working around you.
Every NDIS participant can get help from the NDIA and its partners, including LACs. Support Coordination is extra: it’s included in your plan when the NDIA decides you need help to coordinate your supports.
If you have both, think of it this way: your Support Coordinator is your day-to-day contact for organising and coordinating supports, while your LAC or the NDIA handles plan changes, reassessments and decisions. If you’re plan-managed, your Plan Manager looks after invoices and spending.
When everyone knows their role, you get the best of all three, without doubling up or falling through the gaps.
Your questions, answered.
Still unsure who to talk to? Contact us and we’ll point you in the right direction, even if we’re not the right fit.
A Local Area Coordinator works for an NDIA partner organisation in your community. LACs help people understand and access the NDIS, help participants create, use and review their plans, and connect people with community and mainstream services. LAC support is funded by the NDIA, not from your plan.
Connecting Plans to Possibilities.
Want a Support Coordinator in your corner?
Have a question about your NDIS plan, or ready to get started? Have a free, no-pressure chat with our team. We’ll listen first, then explain your options in plain language.