Navigators to show us the way

_{An image of a wooden table with a cameras, a laptop and small plants scattered about. A large map is at the centre of the table, with two people’s hands over it. One person is holding a pen, the other is holding a cup of coffee.}

At the moment, being on the NDIS feels like the most complex, important journey of your life and all you’ve got to find your way is a 1998 street directory that you found crushed in the back of an old car.  

Sure, it’ll get you some of the way there, but gosh it’s hard work and sometimes you think you’re heading in the right direction and then suddenly there are new roads that aren’t even on the map. You’re flipping between pages, some are torn out and you’re just praying you don’t run out of fuel (energy!) before you get the supports you need.  

The NDIS Review heard loud and clear from people with disability that it’s too hard to navigate the NDIS and the current systems in place that are supposed to help you just aren’t working.    

That’s where the new role of Navigator steps in. Throw out your referdex, if things work how they’re supposed to, we’re about to get Google Maps.

The first big change is that everyone will get a Navigator. Unlike Support Coordinators, who were only given to some people on the scheme and had a limited budget, Navigators will be available to all people with disability on and off the NDIS and will not be budgeted.  

That means even at the access stage before you’ve been accepted onto the NDIS, you can have a Navigator help you through the process. No more driving off the cliff before you’ve even started the trip! 

There will also be specialist navigators to help people who are dealing with complex or specialised areas of the NDIS.  

As someone who just went through the home and living process, I cannot tell you how confusing and overwhelming it was and how valuable it would have been to have a Housing and Living Navigator by my side to step me through it. I would have spent a lot less time going round and round in circles.  

This is the same for people with psychosocial disabilities and children and families on the scheme who would be able to access specialist navigators.  

Just like Maps, a navigator can direct you to places you’ve never been, including mainstream services outside the NDIS. Connecting your NDIS supports to mainstream supports will mean that you are able to access the community more easily and get more from your NDIS budget.  

Of course, the devil is always in the technical details and the roll out of these new Navigators won’t come quickly. We’re stuck with our street directories for some time yet.  

But overall, the hope is that the Navigator will give people with disability a smoother, easier and more accessible journey through the NDIS, reaching their goals before the estimated time of arrival!