Information for NDIS Participants & CoastMind.
If you’re seeking mental health/psychosocial disability support, navigating the free-market-style landscape of the NDIS in its’ current form can be daunting.
That’s why, in addition to offering what can be explored through us in terms of support, I’ve also elected to add some information here for Participants irrespective of who you go with - see ‘Resources’ further below.
I’d like to begin by specifying exactly what types of support you can expect from CoastMind, as an NDIS Participant. We offer an inclusive service which is structured around self-empowerment and having a mindful eye on ‘intersectionality’. Essentially, this term means we will be working alongside yourself and your formal/natural circumstances with a respectful and mindful approach towards where your lived experience may be challenged by conditions in society - policy, discrimination, resource access, etc.
With extensive experience in the disability sector, both as a support worker/service manager, advocate and other roles, as Lead Practitioner I’ve had involvement with everything from direct support work, advocating for Funding reviews/appraisals and assisting in support linkages, referrals and direct work to assist interfacing with the NDIA.
We look to working with you alongside your existing/upcoming support teams where your judgement and consent deem it best.
Rather than over-extend ourselves, our disability services are tailored to providing specialist supports as part of your existing Plan/Review, but are always happy to work alongside staff, Plan Managers, Support Coordinators and other allied health supports where you deem it appropriate.
We’ll never pressure Participants or consumers into joining with us, but we’re always open to discussions around how our services might help boost your recovery, community participation, skills-building and increased independence.
See below for information on our NDIS service delivery, and also some great take-home resources for all Participants further down!
(Note: If you’re considering engaging a Participant with our services, we ask in first instance for consent to share information being provided ahead of any service contact/ahead of considering referrals. Please refer to the ‘Contact Us’ section for our contact details/business hours).
We prefer any opportunity to speak with Participants directly alongside supports - if additional communication assistance is required, please be in touch to discuss how we can help support best methods of contact/communication).
CoastMind - NDIS Services:
Ahead of time, I’d like to encourage you to check out the NDIS Pricing Guide as of July 2025.
We encourage having a discussion with your own natural supports, Support Coordinator/s, Plan Manager or the NDIA to get a sense of what services may be most appropriate for you at this time & relevant to your Funding Package, goals and needs.
You can access the latest Pricing Arrangements guide via this link.
Further down, we’ve also included some great and accessible resources to help inform these decisions without getting too overwhelmed in the details!
Services Provided By CoastMind For NDIA Participants (as of July, 2025):
You can expect our services to work alongside you to help build on the following:
doing activities of daily living – that is, go about your daily life
taking part in your community, your social life, study and work
regaining and rebuilding skills and confidence in your usual activities of daily living.
therapeutic supports built around the above goals, to assist you in improving independence, quality of life and community access as part of your plan.
working with your natural/formal supports where requested, to help exist as part of your overall NDIS care team. Your information and data in our sessions remains confidential and private, aside from that you choose to be shared.
What our supports in this space do not include, as per NDIA guidelines:
Formal diagnosis, assessment or re-formulation of mental health disorders, neurological conditions, intellectual disability etc.
Support Coordination services.
Specific Positive Behaviour Planning/Functional Capacity Assessment reporting. We will, however, work alongside any Behaviour Support Planning and Capacity Assessments, naturally!
Capacity for Participants under NFIS funding streams - at present, we are open to referrals from Self-Managed/Plan-Managed Participants.
Medication management, review and monitoring.
Community-based direct support work, i.e. assistance with transport, etc.
Where these supports are identified, we will discuss options both within your existing support team and/or provide suitable resources to explore further. We are also open to assisting you in having conversations with your support team where gaps have been identified with the above support needs.
To be eligible for therapeutic support under Social Work, you will need:
To be 16 and over
Have a NDIS Package with psychological therapies / social work funded through Improved Daily Living included in your capacity building funding.
In-Person (Face-To-Face) Support:
Therapeutic Interventions (Disability-Focused Counselling/Psychosocial Skills Development):
Under NDIS Item 15_621_0128_1_3 (Assessment Recommendation Therapy or Training - Social Worker) - $193.99 per hour (GST not included/charged).
Travel costs are not incurred as part of our in-person fees for Participants, generally. This will be discussed with Participants ahead of time where such costs may be incurred.
Please note that face-to-face availability within the Bellarine Peninsula/Greater Geelong Region is subject to availability depending on time/distance required, to help us accommodate our waitlist and appointment schedule.
Remote (Virtual) Support:
Offering our services virtually/via telehealth incurs an adjusted fee, at $156.16/hr under the Pricing Guidelines.
Under NDIS Item 15_621_0128_1_3 (Remote: Improved Daily Living Skills - Counselling)
TBA - Game Therapy : Therapeutic Gaming Supports
We are still determining our capacity and scope to provide Game Therapy supports. These will involve direct support for game-therapy related community support and other interventions, either in the local region and/or online.
We will be releasing more information on the website about what Game Therapy involves soon.
In short, Game Therapy involves a specialist blending of recreational, play and art therapies, and is delivered by trained professionals within the community + online.
For more information ahead of time on what ‘game therapy’ entails, you can check out The Game Therapy Network’s website. This is an alliance of Australian human services workers providing therapeutic support, with a high focus on (but not exclusive to) NDIS participants and those living with disability, mental illness and/or similar.
We reasonably foresee that fees will align with the following category, for gaming-therapy services provided in community locations (such as GUF Geelong, community centres, in-home, etc):
Type of Support: Access Community Social and Recreational Activities - Standard
Item: 04_104_0125_6_1
Hourly Rate: Varies, based on time of support provided (e.g. Weekday Daytime - $70.23, Weekday Evening - $77.38, etc).
NDIS/Disability-Focused Resources
NDIS - Support Guides:
The NDIS has provided a number of great easy-to-read, accessible guides to help break down what can often feel like a lot of terms and information - including our article! If you’re after something to have on hand that you can easily stick up on the fridge or somewhere that has a clean visual and isn’t too full of lengthy, hard-to-understand terms, these guides may help in both understanding and communicating your needs and wishes.
Link to NDIS Support Guides (includes ‘easy-read’ versions) - available in PDF and Word (.doc) formats for free download.
NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission:
Acts as a channel through which you can resolve disputes, lodge complaints and formally request a review of any part of support provided to you. This is especially useful in situations where you feel unable to resolve an issue with a service provider or other NDIS-facing providers (Support Coordination, external services, etc) via negotiating between parties.
See here for information about your rights to have an independent advocate involved in your care.
See here for a step-by-step process breaking down how to lodge a complaint if you have had issues with your support.
Individual Advocacy Support (Disability Gateway):
A highly-recommended resource for NDIS Participants, individuals living with disabilities and important stakeholders (carers, families, advocates, etc). Disability Gateway also provide opportunities for individual advocacy, perfect for anyone requiring additional advice, advocacy, information or services related to navigating the NDIS, support services and the like.
Link: https://www.disabilitygateway.gov.au/
Contact: 1800 643 787.
DARU (Disability Advocacy Resource Unit):
A fantastic state-wide resource that combines services, advocates and other important opportunities for Victorians living with disability.
If you’re unsure where to start in getting additional information on services and resources in Victoria, I would highly recommend contacting this service, as they’re networked with many fantastic agencies and advocacy groups. I can vouch for them as helping me a lot in my time down here as a Social Worker, too, so they’re also useful for your support team too!
Link: https://daru.org.au/
Location: VCOSS Level 8, 128 Exhibition Street Melbourne Vic 3000
Contact: (03) 9639 5807
