NDIS goal action plan template: turn a goal into practical next steps

This worksheet helps a participant and their supporters organise that practical work. It is an optional coordination tool, not a required NDIS form, a clinical outcome measure or a way to determine funding.

The NDIA says goals can be broad or specific, short or long term, and can be written in the person's own words. Goals help inform supports but do not directly determine funding. You do not need to rewrite a meaningful personal goal into technical language to use this worksheet. NDIA: How to set goals.

You can dictate answers, use your usual communication supports or work through the questions with someone you choose. You do not have to complete every field before taking a useful first step.

Begin with something the person would recognise

“Increase community participation” may be meaningful in a plan, but a person might describe the immediate wish as “I want to find somewhere to do photography with other people.” Keep both pieces of context if useful. Do not replace the person's meaning with a task such as “contact three providers”.

Ask what a small, useful change would look like. It could be learning what a group is like, finding out whether a location is accessible or feeling ready to consider a visit. Attending every week does not have to be the first test of progress.

If choosing the direction is the difficult part, pause the action list and explore that choice. A detailed plan for something the person does not want is still the wrong plan.

Choose steps that someone can actually respond to

An action needs a clear finish. Compare:

• “Sort out photography.”
• “Ask the library whether its photography group welcomes visitors, and bring back the session details for us to consider.”

The second request does not decide whether the person will attend. It obtains information needed for that decision.

Start with the few actions needed now. Ask each proposed owner whether they can do the work and what timing is realistic. Family involvement does not mean the family must own every task. A professional, provider contact or other supporter may be better placed to supply a particular answer.

Kinovo's guide to reducing repeated follow-up explains how to make a request's owner, expected response and waiting reason clearer.

If ownership needs a shared conversation, use the care-team meeting agenda.

A fictional example: exploring a photography group

Asha's goal: “I want to do photography with other people.”

Why it matters: Asha enjoys taking photographs but wants an activity with people who share that interest.

First useful sign of progress: Asha understands what one local group is like and can decide whether to visit.

Jordan receives a reply, but the organiser has not supplied a visitor date. Jordan records that missing answer. Mei's action is waiting on a time; it has not failed. Asha can choose to keep exploring, consider another group or pause.

This example does not establish that any service or travel arrangement is funded. Relevant questions still need an answer before commitments are made.

A second example: a daily routine

Ben wants mornings to feel less rushed. The first action is to ask Ben which part is difficult and what change would matter most. If a change to support instructions needs professional guidance, the action is to ask the appropriate professional to clarify it, not to invent a new routine in the worksheet.

A suitable record might say: “Waiting for clarification about the existing recommendation. Priya has agreed to ask the clinician. Ben wants the answer explained before trying a change.” That describes coordination without prescribing an intervention.

Review the goal separately from the checklist

Completing every action does not necessarily mean the goal has been achieved. You might have collected all the information and discovered that the original option does not suit the person.

Ask what the person thinks has changed. Keep observations specific: “We received the group information” is clearer than “Community goal 50% complete.” The person's own account of their experience belongs alongside practical updates, not underneath an automatic score.

Keep a useful history when an action changes. For example: “Closed because the afternoon session does not suit Asha; she wants to look for a morning option.” This makes the next step understandable without treating a changed preference as failure.

Updating a worksheet or a Kinovo goal does not amend an NDIS plan. For formal plan-goal changes, use the current route linked from the NDIA's goal guidance.

Move the agreed work into a shared space if useful

You can keep using the worksheet without an account. If your team wants others to contribute directly, Kinovo can hold a shared goal, its related actions and relevant documents. Creation and editing depend on the member's permissions; the Team leader can help organise the work or review a proposal.

Keep the goal description short and use individual tasks for the actions. Ask invited contributors to update their own part. Kinovo's goal creation and review guide explains the current controls, while the care-team setup checklist helps a new team start simply.

See how a shared goal works in Kinovo.

Questions that often come up

Does every next step need a due date?

A date can help when it is realistic and agreed. Where timing depends on an answer, record that dependency and the event that will trigger the next check. Avoid filling in dates just to make a worksheet look complete.

Can we work on an everyday priority that is not written exactly this way in the plan?

The worksheet can organise a person's practical priorities. It does not establish what NDIS funding can be used for. Check relevant funding or service questions with the appropriate contact before arranging supports.