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NDIS Care Team Setup Checklist: What to Add First
Set up shared coordination around the participant's priorities, the people involved, current information and agreed next steps. Includes a worksheet, invitation template and free printable checklist.
Published 19 July 2026 · Updated 23 October 2026
Written by Callum Cruikshank — Founder of Kinovo
Callum draws on his family's lived experience of coordinating support. These resources offer practical coordination ideas, not clinical, legal or NDIS funding advice. No independent clinical review is claimed.
Start with what the participant wants help with, who is involved, the current information those people need and the next steps someone has agreed to take. You can use this NDIS care team setup checklist in a shared document, a secure folder, a paper system or Kinovo.
You do not need to rebuild every record before people can start helping with coordination. Work through the checklist at a pace that suits the person and the situation, while making sure necessary support information is ready before it is needed. The people providing support should help gather and maintain the information they are responsible for.
A note from Callum, Kinovo's founder
Kinovo grew from my family's experience coordinating support around my sister, who has cerebral palsy. Caring people can each hold an important part of the picture, while the work of bringing it together becomes difficult to share. I built Kinovo to give the participant, family and invited professionals a clearer private place for that shared coordination.
You can read more about why I started Kinovo.
Get the free checklist and worksheet
The three-page companion includes a setup worksheet, a readiness checklist and an invitation you can adapt. Print it, edit the text version or copy the templates below. No account or email address is needed.
- Download the care-team setup checklist and worksheet (3-page PDF)
- Download the editable worksheet, checklist and invitation (.txt)
Choose a shared place people can actually use
Ask the participant how they want to be involved and what makes information easier to use. Consider communication aids, accessible formats, preferred language, digital access and whether someone wants help from a chosen supporter.
Then agree where current coordination information will be kept, who can see it and how changes will be communicated. A shared folder or paper system may suit some tasks. If a person cannot use the chosen tool, agree another way for them to receive information and contribute.
You can start with an existing goal or a practical priority such as preparing for an appointment. In this guide, 'care team' means the people involved in supporting the participant; it is not a new formal NDIS role.
What to add first: the care-team setup checklist
Step 1
The participant's priority and preferences
Ask what matters to the person now, what they want help with and what they prefer to manage themselves. Record their words where possible. Include how they communicate, what helps them take part and any chosen support for decisions. Check the summary with them rather than treating another person's account as their approval.
- Priority: I want to feel prepared for my appointment and ask my own questions.
Step 2
Relevant people and agreed responsibilities
List the people connected to that priority, their role, a suitable contact method and what they have agreed to contribute. Distinguish the person doing a task from the person deciding whether to proceed. Include a family member or supporter in that work when they want to take part and have the appropriate role; do not assume they will collect everything.
Step 3
Sharing choices and access
Agree which information each person needs and why. Check the participant's wishes and any relevant representative authority before sharing. Record the arrangement and check the actual folder, document or app permissions. Review access when people or circumstances change. Avoid public links or sensitive details in an initial invitation.
Step 4
Current information and the source documents
Include the relevant preferences, routines, plans, reports and instructions for the work being arranged. A short overview can point to the full current source; it should not replace information someone needs to understand. Record each document's title, author or provider, date or version, location and who will confirm it is current. Keep necessary older records where they are needed for context.
Step 5
Next actions with people who have accepted them
Write the action, the result needed, an owner who has accepted it and a date or trigger agreed with them. If a response or document is missing, record what the action is waiting on and when someone will check again. Mark a task as unassigned until someone accepts it; sending a message does not confirm that the work is covered.
Step 6
How updates and questions will be handled
Agree who maintains each part of the information, how the participant can request a correction and how people will hear about a relevant change. Choose a review point that fits the work, such as after an appointment, when a report arrives or before a new worker starts. Keep the usual urgent and emergency contact arrangements clear.
If the goal needs several steps, use the goal-to-action worksheet.
A fictional example: preparing for an OT appointment
Alex wants to discuss a change in their everyday routine at an OT appointment. They choose to prepare questions with a supporter and decide which existing reports to send. The supporter agrees to help write the questions; the coordinator agrees to ask the clinic what it needs. Alex wants to check the summary before it is sent.
- Item
- Priority
- What the team records
- Alex's questions about the routine, including what they want to keep doing independently.
- Item
- Sharing
- What the team records
- Alex agrees which reports go to the clinic. The coordinator checks the recipient and secure delivery method.
- Item
- Accepted actions
- What the team records
- The coordinator will confirm the clinic's information needs by the agreed date. The supporter will prepare the question list with Alex.
- Item
- A gap
- What the team records
- Two reports have similar names. The coordinator will ask the issuing provider which is current before sending either as the latest version.
- Item
- Review
- What the team records
- Check the clinic's response and Alex's approved question list before the appointment. Record any remaining unanswered questions.
| Item | What the team records |
|---|---|
| Priority | Alex's questions about the routine, including what they want to keep doing independently. |
| Sharing | Alex agrees which reports go to the clinic. The coordinator checks the recipient and secure delivery method. |
| Accepted actions | The coordinator will confirm the clinic's information needs by the agreed date. The supporter will prepare the question list with Alex. |
| A gap | Two reports have similar names. The coordinator will ask the issuing provider which is current before sending either as the latest version. |
| Review | Check the clinic's response and Alex's approved question list before the appointment. Record any remaining unanswered questions. |
The setup helps people contribute without asking Alex or their supporter to reconstruct every record. If the clinic needs more information, the team can agree how to obtain it and whether the appointment arrangements need to change.
Care-team setup worksheet
Prepare this with the participant in a way that works for them. Add space or repeat a section as needed. Mark uncertain details for checking and record who has agreed to help.
Person this is for: [preferred name]
Prepared with: [people involved and how the participant took part]
Updated: [date] | Check again: [date or change that prompts a review]
WHAT MATTERS NOW
Current priority, in the person's words where possible: [...]
Communication preferences and chosen support for decisions: [...]
PEOPLE AND AGREED RESPONSIBILITIES
Name / role / agreed contribution / best contact method: [...]
Decisions or permissions that still need checking: [...]
INFORMATION AND ACCESS
Who needs which information, for what purpose: [...]
Sharing agreed with whom, on what basis and when: [...]
Shared location / who maintains it / how to request a correction: [...]
CURRENT DOCUMENTS AND INSTRUCTIONS
Document title / author or provider / version or date / location: [...]
Who needs access and who will confirm it is current: [...]
Missing or conflicting information and accepted follow-up: [...]
NEXT ACTION - REPEAT FOR EACH AGREED STEP
Action and result needed: [...]
Owner who has accepted it / date or trigger agreed: [...]
Waiting on / next check / who needs the result: [...]
When information or help is missing
An incomplete setup is common. Make the gap visible and agree what happens next, rather than treating it as somebody's assumed responsibility.
- A document is missing or two instructions conflict
- Record the question and ask the issuing provider or responsible professional to clarify the current source. Do not merge or rewrite clinical instructions yourself. If this affects support that is about to happen, contact the provider through the agreed channel before that support proceeds; a task in a shared tool is not enough on its own.
- Nobody has accepted the next step
- Keep it marked unassigned and ask the relevant person or provider what help they can offer. If you have a support coordinator, ask whether they can help organise the work. If you do not, the no-support-coordinator guide below suggests starting contacts. A family member does not automatically become the fallback.
- An invitation or request goes unanswered
- Use the person's usual contact method to check that it reached them and whether they can help. Offer another secure way to contribute if the shared tool is the barrier. Review the timing and any backup arrangements; silence does not mean that the request was accepted.
- There is more history than you can organise now
- Start with what affects the current work, retaining access to relevant history. Older reports, detailed background or other goals can follow when appropriate. Check before postponing anything that may affect safety, support delivery, consent or a time-sensitive decision.
If you are starting with an approved NDIS plan, the plan-approved checklist helps organise the questions and next steps involved in starting your supports.
Invite a useful contribution
Send this privately to an agreed recipient. Check their identity and the sharing arrangements first; the initial message does not need sensitive details.
Hi [name],
We are organising [brief description of the coordination work] with [participant / chosen supporter, as appropriate].
Would you be able to [specific action and result needed] by [date or trigger]? Please let us know if that timing or request needs changing.
We are keeping the agreed information in [shared location]. We can arrange access to the information you need for this contribution, or agree another secure way to share it.
Please reply to confirm whether you can take this on. If something is missing or unclear, contact [agreed person and contact method].
Thanks,
[name]
Check the setup together
Use this to check the coordination arrangements. A completed checklist does not confirm that a worker is ready to provide support.
PARTICIPANT AND SHARING
[ ] The priority reflects what the participant wants, with their chosen support for communication and decisions.
[ ] The people involved understand what they have agreed to contribute and which decisions need the participant or an appropriately authorised person.
[ ] Sharing choices, recipients and actual access settings have been checked. Private information is kept out of open invitations or public links.
INFORMATION PEOPLE CAN USE
[ ] Current source plans and relevant instructions can be found by the people who need them. A short summary points to those sources.
[ ] Necessary information, relevant risks, provider induction and any required training are addressed before the relevant support is provided.
[ ] Missing information or conflicting instructions are recorded, with an agreed person to clarify them and a contact route if support is affected.
FOLLOW-THROUGH
[ ] Each next action has an accepted owner, a clear result and an agreed date or trigger. Unaccepted actions are marked as unassigned.
[ ] People know how to report a change, request a correction or raise an unanswered question, including if they cannot use the shared tool.
[ ] A review point and the usual urgent or emergency contact arrangements are clear. The checklist or app is not the emergency contact route.
Still to resolve / agreed contact / next check: [...]
When you are ready to try a shared workspace, see how NDIS care coordination software works in Kinovo and start with one useful priority from your checklist.
Using the checklist in Kinovo
If Kinovo suits the people involved, use the participant profile for shared context, goals and tasks for agreed work, and relevant documents and support information for the current sources. Invite the people who need to contribute and agree who will keep each part current. You can keep using the worksheet without an account.
A Kinovo Team leader manages the workspace and its access. That software role does not establish legal authority to make personal decisions or disclose information for someone. Read who controls the care team and check permissions before sharing.
For the current document controls, see how document visibility works.
For help choosing the first contact and sharing a follow-up, use the no-support-coordinator starting guide.
Sources and further guidance
Official sources checked for this editorial update on 23 October 2026. Follow the relevant current guidance for your situation; the worksheet is Kinovo's practical suggestion.
From template to live workspace
This is what Kinovo keeps live inside a shared care-team workspace.
Use Kinovo to keep shared context, agreed tasks and relevant documents together, with people contributing the parts they are responsible for. Check that the workspace and access arrangements suit the participant and the team.
Choose a Free account or review optional paid plans. No card is needed for a Free account or no-card trial.
FAQ
Do I need every NDIS document before I start?
You can begin organising the work while some records are still being gathered. Identify the current information needed for the task or support, record what is missing and agree who will obtain it. Necessary plans, instructions, risk information and provider preparation must be addressed before the relevant support is provided.
Who should be involved first?
Start with the participant and the people they want involved, with any appropriate representative arrangements. Include the people who need information or can contribute to the current priority. Agree each person's role and access; there is no required number of people for this checklist.
Who is responsible for keeping the information up to date?
Agree responsibility for each part with the person or provider who can maintain it. The participant or family can contribute in the way they choose, while professionals and providers remain responsible for their own work and records. Record a contact for corrections and a review date or trigger.
Can I use this checklist without Kinovo or a support coordinator?
Yes. The PDF, editable text and on-page templates are free to use without an account or email address. Use a suitable secure document, folder or paper system and agree how people will receive updates. If you need help, ask a relevant provider or your NDIS contact about the options available in your circumstances.
Does the participant need their own Kinovo login?
A Kinovo care-team profile can be set up without giving the participant an email address or login. This does not remove the need to involve them in ways that work for them or establish authority for someone else to decide on their behalf. Check who is managing access and the basis for sharing before adding personal information.
Disclaimer
This is general coordination information, not clinical, legal, privacy or NDIS funding advice. It does not replace current support plans, professional instructions, provider induction or agreed urgent and emergency arrangements. No independent clinical review is claimed.
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