Plan Manager vs Support Coordinator vs Local Area Coordinator: Who Does What in Your NDIS Plan

Three roles, three different jobs

People new to the NDIS often assume these are the same person with different titles. They are not. One manages money, one manages services and one helps you understand the scheme. The confusion costs people real time, because asking a plan manager to find a therapist, or a local area coordinator to chase an invoice, gets you nowhere.

	Plan manager	Support coordinator	Local area coordinator (LAC)
Main job	Pays invoices, tracks your budget	Finds, sets up and coordinates your supports	Helps you understand and access the NDIS, prepares you for planning
Who pays	Your plan (dedicated budget)	Your plan (dedicated budget)	The NDIA directly - free to you
Budget line	Capacity Building - Improved Life Choices	Capacity Building - Support Coordination	None
Who gets it	Anyone who asks	Only if stated in your plan	Everyone in an LAC area (most of Australia)
2026-27 price limit	$104.45 per month	$80.06 to $190.54 per hour by level	Not applicable

The plan manager

A plan manager is a registered financial intermediary. When a provider delivers a service they invoice the plan manager, who checks the invoice against the price limits and your plan, claims the money from the NDIA and pays the provider. You get regular statements showing what has been spent and what remains.

The practical benefit is choice: plan-managed participants can use unregistered providers as well as registered ones, which roughly doubles the pool of therapists and support workers available, while still having someone else handle the paperwork. That is why plan management is now the most common option.

It costs you nothing from your other supports. If you ask for plan management at your planning meeting, the NDIA adds an Improved Life Choices budget that covers the monthly fee. A plan manager who offers "extras" - budgeting apps, faster payments, phone support - is competing on service, since the fee is fixed. Our plan management guide compares the three management options, and the plan management directory lists providers.

The support coordinator

A support coordinator helps you turn the plan into working supports. That means explaining what each budget funds, finding providers that match your goals, negotiating service agreements, coordinating several providers so they work together, and stepping in when something breaks down - a provider withdraws, a housing arrangement collapses, a hospital discharge needs organising. A good one also coaches you to do more of this yourself over time.

Support coordination is not automatic. It is funded only if the planner decides it is reasonable and necessary, which usually depends on how complex your situation is: multiple providers, health or housing issues, limited informal support, or a history of plans going unused. When funded, it sits in its own Capacity Building - Support Coordination line and is billed hourly against the level approved. The support coordination guide explains the three levels, and the support coordination directory lists providers by state.

The local area coordinator

LACs work for partner organisations (Partners in the Community) that the NDIA contracts in most regions. Their job sits around the plan rather than inside it: helping you apply, explaining how the scheme works, gathering information before a planning meeting, connecting you with community and mainstream services, and doing a light-touch check-in on how your plan is going. In many areas the LAC is also the person who runs your planning conversation.

Because they are funded by the agency, LACs are free and available to everyone in their area. Their limitation is capacity: an LAC may carry hundreds of participants and cannot do the detailed, ongoing coordination a support coordinator provides. If your LAC is your only help and things are getting complicated, that is the moment to ask for support coordination at your next plan review.

Two exceptions: in remote areas without an LAC partner, and for children under 9, the NDIA uses different partners. Children are supported by early childhood partners rather than LACs - see our early childhood early intervention guide.

Which ones do you need?

• Simple plan, confident with admin: self-manage, use your LAC for questions. No cost to the plan.
• Want provider choice without paperwork: plan manager plus LAC. This is the most common combination.
• Several providers, changing needs, or things keep falling over: plan manager plus support coordinator. Ask for support coordination explicitly at planning and explain why.
• Complex health, housing, justice or child protection involvement: ask for Specialist Support Coordination (level 3), delivered by a qualified practitioner.

Conflicts of interest

Support coordinators should not steer you toward their own organisation's services, and the NDIA and NDIS Commission have tightened expectations here. It is reasonable to ask a coordinator whether their employer also delivers the supports they are recommending, and to choose an independent coordinator if you prefer. Plan managers must be registered and are bound by the same conduct rules.

Finding them

AusCareGuide lists registered plan managers and support coordinators across Australia, searchable by state and suburb. For your LAC, search the NDIS website for your postcode or ask the NDIS on 1800 800 110. Our guide to finding the right NDIS provider has the questions to ask any of them.

Price limits on this page are from the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits published by the NDIA and are current as at August 2026. Limits are usually updated each 1 July, and the NDIA can change them mid-year. Always check the current document on ndis.gov.au before relying on a figure. This guide is general information, not financial or legal advice.