Psychosocial Recovery Coaching referrals for NDIS coordinators
Recovery-oriented support for participants with psychosocial disability — building skills, motivation and connection, drawing on lived-experience or learned knowledge.
NDIS registration group: Psychosocial recovery coaching
What Recovery Coach is under the NDIS
Psychosocial Recovery Coaching is a capacity-building support funded under the NDIS for people living with psychosocial disability arising from a mental health condition. A recovery coach works alongside the participant, and with their family, carers and other services, to build capacity, grow recovery skills and support meaningful engagement with the NDIS and the broader service system.
Recovery coaches bring either lived experience of psychosocial disability or learned knowledge of mental health and recovery. They take a recovery-oriented approach that focuses on the person's strengths, hope and goals rather than on clinical treatment. They help the participant understand and navigate the mental health and NDIS systems, coordinate their supports, and maintain motivation and continuity, including through periods of increased distress.
Recovery coaching is distinct from both support coordination and clinical mental health treatment. It combines coordination-style functions with an ongoing, relationship-based coaching role. It is funded from the Capacity Building budget and is listed with its own price limits in the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits.
What it covers
- Developing a recovery-oriented plan collaboratively with the participant
- Building recovery skills, motivation, resilience and self-agency
- Coaching to increase daily living capacity and independence
- Coordinating and connecting NDIS-funded, mainstream and community supports
- Supporting engagement with the NDIS, including plan use and reviews
- Working alongside clinical and mental health treatment services
- Involving and supporting family, carers and informal networks
- Maintaining continuity during periods of heightened distress or hospitalisation
- Building connections to community, social and economic participation
- Helping the participant navigate the mental health and disability systems
Who it suits
Coordinators refer for recovery coaching when a participant has a psychosocial disability and would benefit from a sustained, relationship-based support that blends coordination with recovery-focused coaching.
It suits people who need more intensive, ongoing engagement than standard support coordination, particularly where episodic distress, fluctuating motivation and system navigation are the main barriers to using a plan well.
How to refer Recovery Coach on Novida
Start by searching Novida for verified providers offering psychosocial recovery coaching in the participant's area. Filter by location and delivery mode, and shortlist coaches whose approach, lived or learned experience and specialisations match the participant's goals.
Check each shortlisted provider's registration status and current capacity or waitlist before you make contact, so you refer only to a coach who can actually take the participant on. Then contact the provider directly with a complete referral: participant consent, NDIS number, plan-management type, the relevant funding or line items, preferred frequency or hours, the participant's goals, and any specific requirements or risk information the coach should know.
Novida is free to use and never sits in the middle of the referral. You contact and engage the provider directly and manage the referral yourself, which keeps the relationship between the participant, the coach and you as the coordinator.
What to check before you refer
- Confirm the participant's plan actually includes recovery coaching funding (it is named separately in the Capacity Building budget) and how that budget is managed.
- Confirm the coach has lived experience or learned knowledge of psychosocial disability, relevant qualifications, and current NDIS Worker Screening.
- If the plan is NDIA-managed, confirm the provider is NDIS-registered for the relevant registration group; plan- and self-managed participants may also use unregistered providers.
Recovery Coach — NDIS price limits (2026–27)
- Psychosocial Recovery Coaching - Weekday Daytime — $100.14 per hour (07_101_0106_6_3)
- Psychosocial Recovery Coaching - Weekday Evening — $110.27 per hour (07_102_0106_6_3)
How it’s priced
Psychosocial recovery coaching is priced against the national price limits set out in the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits (PAPL), with rates that can vary by time of day and by location loadings. Always check the current PAPL on ndis.gov.au for exact limits rather than relying on a fixed figure.
Coordinator FAQs — Recovery Coach
- What is the difference between recovery coaching and support coordination?
- Recovery coaching combines coordination functions with an ongoing, recovery-oriented coaching relationship, delivered by workers with lived or learned experience of psychosocial disability. It generally involves more frequent, sustained contact than support coordination and focuses on building the participant's recovery skills, motivation…
- Can a participant have both a recovery coach and a support coordinator?
- Generally no. The NDIA expects recovery coaching and support coordination to be alternatives rather than duplicated, because a recovery coach already performs coordination functions. In exceptional cases with a clear, non-overlapping rationale a plan may include both, but you should be able to document why each is needed. Check the…
- Does a psychosocial recovery coach need to be registered?
- Recovery coaching is not a support that legally mandates registration the way behaviour support or Specialist Disability Accommodation do. However, if the participant is NDIA-managed they must use an NDIS-registered provider registered for the relevant group. Plan-managed and self-managed participants may use registered or unregistered…
- What qualifications should a recovery coach have?
- The NDIS expects recovery coaches to hold either lived experience of psychosocial disability plus a Certificate IV in Mental Health Peer Work, or a Certificate IV in Mental Health or equivalent, together with relevant knowledge and skills. This is guidance rather than a strict legal barrier, so check qualifications, experience and current…
- Which budget funds recovery coaching?
- Recovery coaching is funded from the Capacity Building budget and is named separately from the support coordination levels. Confirm the participant's plan actually includes recovery coaching funding, and note how that budget is managed, whether agency, plan or self-managed. The management type affects which providers the participant can…
- How many hours of recovery coaching does a participant receive?
- There is no fixed number. Funded hours depend on the participant's needs and goals as reflected in their plan, and recovery coaching typically supports more frequent contact than support coordination. Check the plan's stated funding and discuss expected frequency with the provider, so the support can be delivered consistently and…
- Is recovery coaching a clinical mental health service?
- No. Recovery coaching is a non-clinical, recovery-oriented capacity-building support. It does not provide diagnosis, treatment or therapy. A recovery coach works alongside clinical treatment and mental health services rather than replacing them. If a participant needs clinical intervention, the coach helps them connect with and engage…
- How do I refer a participant for recovery coaching through Novida?
- Search Novida for verified providers offering recovery coaching in the participant's area, check each provider's registration status and current capacity, then contact your chosen provider directly with a complete referral. Include consent, NDIS number, plan-management type, the relevant funding, preferred frequency and the participant's…
Related NDIS registration groups
How to check a provider’s credentials
- NDIS Commission provider register — NDIS registration
- How worker screening works — Worker screening
- Make a complaint to the NDIS Commission — Complaints & conduct