Agree and complete next steps
First Meeting With an NDIS Support Coordinator: Questions, Checklist and Next Steps
For your first meeting with an NDIS support coordinator, bring your main priorities, the questions you want answered and relevant information you are comfortable sharing. Use the conversation to understand how you will work together, what the service costs and who has accepted each next step. You do not need to arrive with every document perfectly organised.
- For:
- NDIS participants, families and chosen supporters preparing to work with a support coordinator
- Includes:
- Practical guide + copyable templates + printable workbook
- Time:
- 9 minute read
Published 22 September 2026 · Updated 22 September 2026
Editorially reviewed 22 September 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.
What is the first support coordination meeting for?
This is a conversation about your priorities and the practical work of putting supports in place. It is separate from an NDIA plan meeting or a funding decision. A useful first meeting establishes what you want help with, what the coordinator can do, what other people are responsible for and how you will stay in contact.
The NDIA describes support coordination as help to understand and use your plan, connect with supports and build your ability to manage those connections. See what a support coordinator does.
You can ask to cover one priority first. You can also ask for information in another format, bring a person you choose or arrange a shorter discussion with a later follow-up. The meeting should make it easier for you to take part in decisions. It should not depend on your family telling the whole story for you.
If you are meeting a potential coordinator before deciding whether to engage them, say that at the start. Ask whether the introductory conversation is charged, what it covers and what you would need to agree before ongoing work begins.
Before you meet: choose a priority and gather the useful information
Start with an ordinary day. What is difficult, missing or taking too much effort? 'I want to get to my community group more reliably' gives the conversation a clearer direction than a long list of services. If you have several concerns, mark the one you want to discuss first and any genuinely time-sensitive issue.
- Write down what is working and should continue, as well as what needs to change.
- Have relevant plan information available to discuss, along with any actual dates or conditions you need clarified.
- List current providers and important contacts where they relate to the priority.
- Choose current reports, agreements or messages that answer a specific question. Note the title and date so people can identify the right version.
- Tell the coordinator about communication, access or meeting preferences in advance where possible.
- Decide who you want involved and what information you agree can be shared with them.
You can ask why a document is needed before sending it. The NDIA explains that sharing your plan with a provider is your choice in how to share your plan with a provider. Work out which information is needed for the proposed task and how it will be sent.
Missing paperwork does not have to stop the whole conversation. Record the unanswered question, who can help obtain the information and whether another step can move ahead while you wait. Avoid agreeing to an action that depends on information nobody has checked.
First meeting preparation sheet
Fill in only what helps. You can bring this on paper, read it aloud or ask someone you choose to help you complete it.
Participant / preferred name: ___
Meeting date, place or call link: ___
People I want involved and their roles: ___
How I want to communicate, including breaks or access needs: ___
What I want to be different in everyday life: ___
My first priority: ___
Something time-sensitive, and the actual date: ___
What is already working and should continue: ___
Current providers / important contacts relevant to this meeting: ___
Documents I want to discuss (title and date, not every file): ___
Information I agree can be shared, with whom and for what purpose: ___
Questions about the coordinator's role, charges or agreement: ___
Other questions I want answered: ___
What I would like to leave the meeting knowing: ___
Questions to ask your NDIS support coordinator
Choose the questions that matter to you. You do not need to work through this as an interview script. Ask for examples if an answer sounds broad, and ask the coordinator to explain unfamiliar terms.
- Topic
- Your priorities
- Questions worth asking
- How would you help with this priority? What could the first practical step be? What needs to be clarified first?
- What to record
- One priority, one next step and any unresolved question.
- Topic
- Their role
- Questions worth asking
- What will you do, and what sits with me, another provider, my plan manager or the NDIA? Who makes each decision?
- What to record
- The limits of the role and the right contact for other questions.
- Topic
- Choice of providers
- Questions worth asking
- How will you help me compare options? Are there relationships with suggested providers that I should know about?
- What to record
- Options to explore, information needed and how your preferences will guide the choice.
- Topic
- Costs and agreement
- Questions worth asking
- What do you charge? How are calls, emails, meetings, travel or reports charged if applicable? What are the cancellation and ending arrangements?
- What to record
- The written terms to read, any explanation needed and when you will decide.
- Topic
- Contact and availability
- Questions worth asking
- What is the best contact method? What response time do you usually offer? Who covers leave? What should I do for an urgent concern?
- What to record
- Normal contact arrangements and the separate urgent pathway.
- Topic
- Information sharing
- Questions worth asking
- What information do you need, why, and who would receive it? How can I change a sharing arrangement?
- What to record
- Specific sharing choices and any limits or questions.
- Topic
- Progress
- Questions worth asking
- How will we check whether this work is helping? When will we review the next steps and the use of the coordination budget?
- What to record
- A realistic review arrangement and what information will be available.
| Topic | Questions worth asking | What to record |
|---|---|---|
| Your priorities | How would you help with this priority? What could the first practical step be? What needs to be clarified first? | One priority, one next step and any unresolved question. |
| Their role | What will you do, and what sits with me, another provider, my plan manager or the NDIA? Who makes each decision? | The limits of the role and the right contact for other questions. |
| Choice of providers | How will you help me compare options? Are there relationships with suggested providers that I should know about? | Options to explore, information needed and how your preferences will guide the choice. |
| Costs and agreement | What do you charge? How are calls, emails, meetings, travel or reports charged if applicable? What are the cancellation and ending arrangements? | The written terms to read, any explanation needed and when you will decide. |
| Contact and availability | What is the best contact method? What response time do you usually offer? Who covers leave? What should I do for an urgent concern? | Normal contact arrangements and the separate urgent pathway. |
| Information sharing | What information do you need, why, and who would receive it? How can I change a sharing arrangement? | Specific sharing choices and any limits or questions. |
| Progress | How will we check whether this work is helping? When will we review the next steps and the use of the coordination budget? | A realistic review arrangement and what information will be available. |
Before accepting service terms, read the written agreement and ask for anything unclear to be explained. The NDIA's service agreement guidance explains what a service agreement is for. This worksheet does not replace that agreement.
Before the meeting ends, agree who will do what
A conversation can feel productive while leaving everyone with a different idea of the next step. Read back the short list of actions. For each one, name the task, the person who has accepted it, a realistic date or next check-in, and what completion will look like.
'Organise therapy' is too broad to check. 'The coordinator will ask two providers about availability and send the participant the replies by the agreed check-in' is clearer. The participant still chooses what happens next. An enquiry does not mean a service has been selected or booked.
Keep proposed actions separate from accepted ones. If a clinician or provider was not in the meeting, record that someone will ask them to take the action. Do not assign them a deadline they have not agreed to. Where the timing is uncertain, agree when to check again instead of presenting an estimate as a promise.
Also record decisions to pause or decline an option. Those choices can prevent someone from continuing an enquiry the participant no longer wants. Finish by confirming who will send the summary and how you can correct it.
Agreed next-step record
Copy this card for each action. Write 'proposed' until the person has accepted it; a name on a list is not acceptance.
Meeting date / participants: ___
Priority this action supports: ___
Decision made, or question still unanswered: ___
Specific next action: ___
Person asked to do it: ___
Acceptance: proposed / accepted on ___ / needs discussion
Agreed needed-by date, if there is one: ___
Next check-in date: ___
What completion will look like: ___
Information, permission or response still needed: ___
Current document / message location: ___
Status and date last checked: ___
People who need this update: ___
Who will send the summary, and when: ___
A fictional first meeting: from a broad goal to two next steps
Alex wants to return to a local art group but is unsure which support arrangements would make attendance possible. Alex brings the group timetable and asks their sister to join the first part of the meeting. Alex wants to choose between options after learning what each would involve.
- Next step
- Ask the group about session times, access information and its usual arrangements for supporters.
- Who accepted it
- Alex, who prefers to email the organiser directly.
- How the team will check
- Alex will share the relevant reply at next Tuesday's check-in.
- Next step
- Clarify which support options can be explored within Alex's current circumstances, then discuss those options with Alex.
- Who accepted it
- The support coordinator.
- How the team will check
- The coordinator will explain what has been confirmed and what still needs advice at the same check-in.
- Next step
- Ask a potential provider about availability if Alex wants to proceed.
- Who accepted it
- Nobody yet; this is a possible later step.
- How the team will check
- Wait for Alex's decision. No booking or funding approval is recorded.
| Next step | Who accepted it | How the team will check |
|---|---|---|
| Ask the group about session times, access information and its usual arrangements for supporters. | Alex, who prefers to email the organiser directly. | Alex will share the relevant reply at next Tuesday's check-in. |
| Clarify which support options can be explored within Alex's current circumstances, then discuss those options with Alex. | The support coordinator. | The coordinator will explain what has been confirmed and what still needs advice at the same check-in. |
| Ask a potential provider about availability if Alex wants to proceed. | Nobody yet; this is a possible later step. | Wait for Alex's decision. No booking or funding approval is recorded. |
The useful result is a shared understanding of the immediate work. Alex's sister has not become the default owner of every task, and no provider has been treated as committed before being asked.
First meeting follow-up email
Keep only the details the recipients need. Ask for corrections without treating a missing reply as agreement.
Subject: Next steps from our support coordination meeting on [date]
Hi [name],
Thank you for meeting with [me / participant's preferred name].
The priority we discussed was [everyday outcome].
We agreed [decision, if one was actually made].
[Name] accepted [specific action], with [agreed date / next check-in].
[Name] accepted [second action], with [agreed date / next check-in].
Still proposed, awaiting acceptance: [action and person asked].
Still unanswered: [question]. [Name] will clarify this by [agreed date].
We agreed to share [specific information] with [person] for [purpose].
The current document or agreed record is [location].
Please let me know if I have misunderstood anything or an agreed date changes.
Our next check-in is [date / arrangement].
Thank you, [name]
After the meeting: check the record, then use it
Read the summary while the conversation is still reasonably fresh. Correct a wrong date, a missing question or an action you did not accept. If you send the summary yourself, distinguish what was agreed from what you are proposing now. No reply should not be treated as fresh consent or acceptance.
At the next check-in, use the action record rather than retelling the whole meeting. What is complete? What response is still needed? Has the participant's priority changed? If a response is late, ask for an updated timeframe and whether anything is needed from you. Repeated messages with no specific question rarely make the work clearer.
Once several people need to discuss a shared decision, use the care-team meeting agenda and action register. It is designed for an ongoing team conversation, rather than this first introduction to a coordinator.
If the next steps involve several people, Kinovo can give your care team a shared place for tasks, documents and updates. Use the agreed action record to decide what belongs there and who should be involved. Keep provider agreements and formal records in their appropriate systems.
Official guidance used in this article
Checked 22 September 2026. The preparation sheet, worked example and email are Kinovo's optional organising resources.
FAQ
What should I bring to my first support coordinator meeting?
Bring your main priorities, questions, relevant plan information and current documents that help explain the work you want help with. Decide what you are comfortable sharing. If something is missing, record who will help find it rather than delaying every other part of the conversation.
Can a family member or another supporter come with me?
Tell the coordinator who you would like involved and how you want them to help. You might want someone there for the whole meeting or only part of it. Agree what information will be discussed and how your own preferences will remain central.
Is a first meeting with a support coordinator free?
Do not assume it is free. Ask before booking whether the introductory meeting is charged, what it includes and what terms apply. Get unclear charges explained before agreeing to ongoing work.
Is my support coordinator the same as my plan manager?
They perform different roles. Support coordination helps with understanding and using the plan and connecting supports. Plan management concerns the financial administration of plan funding. Ask who should handle a particular question instead of assuming one person does both.
What should I have after the meeting?
Aim for a short record of your priority, any decisions, unresolved questions, accepted actions and the next check-in. Also keep the contact arrangements and any service terms you need to review. The meeting does not itself approve funding or commit another provider.
Disclaimer
General coordination information only, not clinical, legal or NDIS funding advice. These optional worksheets are not NDIA forms and do not replace professional instructions, required provider records or agreed urgent and emergency channels. Examples are fictional. Check current official guidance for your circumstances.