NDIS Support Coordination Consultation: What the Community Said and What It Means for Navigating I-CAN v6

What we know, what advocates raised, and what participants can do in the transition gap

On 2 October 2026, the Australian Government closed its public consultation on the design of the new NDIS Support Coordination and Connection Service — a commissioned service intended to replace the current support coordination model from 1 July 2028.

At the time of publication, the government has not released a formal summary of submissions. The full analysis process is ongoing. This article does not claim to represent official consultation outcomes.

Disclaimer: This article reflects publicly available information as at November 2026. The consultation closed 2 October 2026; official results have not yet been published by the Australian Government. Information about positions raised by disability organisations draws on publicly available advocacy materials and pre-consultation submissions. This article does not constitute professional disability support or legal advice.

What is clear from the disability sector — from the submissions and position papers published before and during consultation by peak bodies, advocacy organisations, and individual participants — is that the community raised consistent, specific concerns. And at the centre of most of them is a structural problem: the new assessment framework begins more than a year before the new navigation service to support it.

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What Was Being Consulted On

The consultation asked Australians to provide input on the design of the new NDIS Support Coordination and Connection Service, which is the model that will replace the current individual support coordination funding in NDIS plans from July 2028.

Key design questions under consultation included:

• Service model: Should support coordination be commissioned (purchased as a service by the government from providers) or individually funded (as it currently is, directly in participant plans)?
• Eligibility: Who gets access to the new service, and on what basis?
• Standards and safeguards: What quality and safety requirements should apply to providers of the new service?
• Transition: How will participants and providers move from the current model to the new one?
• Specialist support: How will the new service handle participants with complex needs who require specialist support coordination?

The consultation followed the passage of the NDIS Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Act 2026 on 19 August 2026, which provided the legislative basis for commissioning support coordination as a service rather than funding it individually.

The consultation paper was released by the Department of Social Services and the NDIA jointly, and submissions were invited from participants, providers, advocates, and the general public.

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The Transition Gap: The Most Urgent Concern

The single most consistently raised concern across disability sector submissions — and one that has been flagged repeatedly since the legislation passed — is what advocates and sector bodies have called the transition gap.

Here is the timeline:

• 19 August 2026: NDIS Amendment Act passes
• 1 April 2027: I-CAN v6 assessments begin — the new Support Needs Assessment framework is live
• 1 July 2028: New Support Coordination and Connection Service launches — the redesigned navigation service begins

Between April 2027 and July 2028, participants face a 15-month period in which they must navigate a fundamentally changed assessment system without the redesigned support coordination service that was supposed to help them do it.

This matters because the I-CAN v6 assessment is genuinely different from what came before:

• It involves a structured three-hour interview rather than the previous planning conversation model
• Budgets are set by an algorithm based on assessment responses, rather than negotiated in a planning meeting
• Assessors do not need professional registration — they are trained by the NDIA — meaning the quality and experience of assessors may vary
• Administrative Review Tribunal powers to review assessment outcomes are limited, reducing the avenues for participants to challenge unsatisfactory results
• Evidence and preparation have become more important than ever, because the assessment is the primary mechanism through which support needs are recorded

Support coordination was — and for now remains — one of the key pathways through which participants get help preparing for, navigating, and understanding their NDIS assessments. For participants currently without support coordination funded in their plans, the transition gap means self-navigation during one of the most significant changes to the NDIS since its creation.

Advocates have described this as asking participants to navigate a new system without a map, while the map is still being drawn.

The article on what happens after your I-CAN v6 assessment covers the post-assessment process in detail — the steps from assessment to receiving your plan, and what to do if the outcome does not reflect your needs.

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Key Themes the Disability Community Raised

While official consultation results are not yet published, the following themes were consistently raised across published submissions, sector briefings, and advocacy materials before and during the consultation period.

1. Choice and Control in a Commissioned Model

The proposed commissioned model represents a significant shift from the current individual funding model, where participants choose their own support coordinator and fund them directly from their plan.

Disability organisations — including People with Disability Australia (PWDA), the National Disability Services (NDS), and multiple advocacy bodies — raised concern that a commissioned model risks concentrating support coordination in the hands of large providers, eroding participant choice.

The specific concerns included:

• Will participants be able to choose their preferred support coordinator, or will they be allocated one?
• How will the commissioned model preserve relationships that participants have built with their existing coordinators?
• What happens when a commissioned provider is not a good fit for a participant's needs or communication style?

The sector consistently argued that choice must remain central — that the commissioned model should enable rather than restrict participant agency in selecting who navigates the NDIS with them.

2. Equity of Access

Currently, not all NDIS participants have support coordination funded in their plans. Access to support coordination has been inconsistent — often correlated with disability type, communication capacity, and whether the participant had an advocate to argue for its inclusion.

Advocates raised the question of how the new commissioned service would ensure equitable access — particularly for:

• Participants with communication disabilities who have historically had difficulty self-advocating for support coordination
• First Nations participants in remote communities
• Participants from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
• Participants transitioning from the children's program to the adult NDIS
• People with psychosocial disability, who have had particularly variable access to support coordination

3. Small and Specialist Providers

A consistent and practical concern from the provider side — echoed by advocacy organisations — was that a commissioning model favours large, well-resourced providers who can compete for government contracts over small, specialist, and culturally appropriate providers who may not have the administrative capacity to navigate procurement processes.

This matters because some of the most effective support coordinators are specialists in particular disability types or community groups — and their value is precisely in that specialisation, which large generalist providers often cannot replicate.

4. Continuity of Existing Relationships

Support coordination relationships, when they work well, are built on trust developed over months or years. Participants with complex needs, communication disabilities, or psychosocial disability often have deep and important relationships with their support coordinators.

The consultation raised the question of continuity: will participants be able to maintain their existing support coordinator relationships when the new service launches, or will they be required to start again with a commissioned provider?

The sector argued strongly that continuity provisions should be built into the transition design, with opt-out rather than opt-in mechanisms for participants who want to maintain their current relationship.

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What Good Support Coordination Looks Like for I-CAN v6

While the policy debate continues, it is worth being clear about what effective support coordination for the I-CAN v6 process actually looks like — because regardless of which model delivers it, these are the functions that matter for participants.

A support coordinator who is genuinely prepared for I-CAN v6 will help you:

• Understand the 12 I-CAN v6 domains and how your disability affects each one
• Gather and coordinate allied health evidence — helping you identify what reports you need, who to request them from, and what to ask
• Prepare your functional documentation — either directly or by connecting you with tools like ICANReady
• Interpret the assessment process — explaining what will happen, what the assessor needs, and what to expect
• Advocate during the planning meeting — ensuring the assessment outcome accurately reflects your needs
• Follow up on the plan — helping you understand your funded supports and connect with providers

A support coordinator who does not know the I-CAN v6 framework, who is not familiar with the 12 domains, or who treats the preparation process as optional is less equipped to help you navigate the new system.

The guide on how support coordinators prepare for I-CAN v6 is designed specifically for support coordinators and the participants they work with.

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What the New Service Is Designed to Do

Based on the consultation paper (before results are published), the new NDIS Support Coordination and Connection Service is intended to provide:

• Navigation support — helping participants understand their plans, their rights, and the services available to them
• Connection to providers — practical assistance in identifying and engaging with disability support providers
• Quality standards — consistent training, competency, and safeguarding requirements across all providers of the service
• Monitoring and safeguarding — ongoing quality oversight of service delivery
• Specialist support coordination — a dedicated stream for participants with complex needs who require more intensive navigation support

The government has indicated that the new service will be available to all NDIS participants, not just those who previously had support coordination funded — which would address one of the key equity concerns raised by advocates.

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What Participants Can Do in the Transition Gap

For the 15 months between April 2027 and July 2028, here is what participants can do to navigate effectively.

If you currently have support coordination funded:

• Use this period actively — ask your support coordinator to help you prepare for your I-CAN v6 assessment as a priority
• Ask them specifically about the 12 domains and how your disability affects each one
• Request help gathering and organising your evidence

If you do not currently have support coordination funded:

• Build your own preparation documentation using ICANReady — a structured approach to documenting your support needs across all 12 I-CAN domains
• Connect with a disability advocate through the Disability Advocacy Network Australia (DANA) — disability advocates are independent of the NDIA and can help you prepare for and navigate your assessment
• Contact the NDIA directly for information and guidance about the assessment process
• Ask your GP or allied health team to brief themselves on the I-CAN v6 framework so their reports are as useful as possible

For everyone:

• Treat your preparation document as your most important asset — the assessment is the primary mechanism, and the quality of what you bring to it shapes the outcome
• Know your rights: you can have a support person present, you can request reasonable adjustments, and you can ask for clarification during the assessment

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What to Watch For

As the government works through consultation submissions and designs the final service, the following milestones are worth tracking:

• Consultation summary release — the government will publish a summary of submissions; check health.gov.au/our-work/ndis-legislation-changes
• Sector analysis — PWDA, DANA, and National Disability Services will publish their own analyses of the consultation outcomes; subscribe to their communications
• Rules and standards development — the detailed rules governing the new service will need to be developed through 2027 before the July 2028 launch
• Transition provisions — the specific arrangements for transitioning existing participants will be a key design decision; advocate organisations will push for strong continuity protections

The consultation was not the end of the process. Disability organisations will continue to engage with the design as it develops, and participants have ongoing opportunities to make their needs known through those organisations.

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Sources

• Australian Government Department of Social Services, NDIS Support Coordination and Connection Service — Consultation Paper (2026)
• NDIS Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Act 2026, passed 19 August 2026
• People with Disability Australia (PWDA), Submission to NDIS Support Coordination Consultation (2026)
• Disability Advocacy Network Australia (DANA), Support Coordination Briefing (2026)
• National Disability Services, Support Coordination Commissioning — Sector Position Paper (2026)
• NDIA, I-CAN v6 Rollout Timeline and Participant Information (2026)