Disclosure Log - FOI 24/25-0952 DOCUMENT 5 OFFICIAL Knowledge Article
For Internal Use Only The contents of this document are OFFICIAL.
Understand social and community participation supports for participants in a shared living arrangement
Guidance in this document is not approved for use unless you view it in PACE.
This article provides guidance for a planner delegate, home and living delegate, liaison officers (HLO/JLO), review officer and planner (non-partnered area) to:
• understand social and community participation (SCP) supports • consider SCP supports for a participant in a shared living arrangement.
Recent updates
4 November 2024
Guidance updated to include link to new article Understand supports for participants who need help to move around in shared living arrangements.
Before you start
You have read and understood:
• Our Guideline – Social and recreation supports (external) • Our Guideline – Reasonable and necessary supports (external) • Our Guideline – Supported Independent Living (external) • article Support Categories • article Understand and update the plan conversation support tool • article Understand supports for participants who can move independently in shared living
arrangements • article Understand supports for participants who need help to move around in shared
living arrangements
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For Internal Use Only • the participant’s informal, community and mainstream supports. From the Person
Account, review information in the Relationships and My Profile tabs • the evidence from providers (reports, progress notes, functional capacity reports) to
make sure you fund the right supports that meet the NDIS funding criteria (external).
You have:
• confirmed the participant lives in a shared living arrangement. If the participant doesn’t
live in a shared living arrangement, go to article Understand self-care and community
access supports • made a decision to add SCP supports for the participant • access to the plan conversation support tool (PCST).
Understand social and community participation supports
Social and community participation supports
Social and community participation (SCP) supports allow participants to engage socially, connect with others and participate in community activities. They’re delivered as individual or shared supports in the community, in a centre or a combination of both.
SCP funding is for the extra help the participant needs to take part in activities, it isn’t funding for the activity itself. The participant needs to pay for the cost of the activity, for example, membership or entrance fees, art classes or movie tickets. If the participant wants to play elite level sport or compete for prize money, they’re responsible for the extra costs of competing at that level. For example, competing at state or national championship level, or in an award for innovation or creative writing. For more information, go to Our Guideline – Social and recreation supports (external).
Research evidence shows many benefits of SCP delivered in groups. This includes building relationships, improving social skills and making sure everyone feels included. The ability to develop and maintain social connection is as important as physical care for living successfully in the community.
Group-based supports
SCP activities in a group-based setting can be delivered in a centre or in the community, or a mix of both. Providers delivering group-based supports can claim additional costs to plan for
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For Internal Use Only and deliver the activities. These are called capital costs when the activity is delivered in a centre. Where relevant, they can be claimed per hour per participant.
Non-face-to-face support costs are for the indirect, behind-the-scenes tasks the provider does to make sure participants can safely and effectively engage in the activity. Indirect, non-face- to-face costs must be agreed to by the participant or their nominee and itemised on the quote and invoice.
Participants may have a Program of Support for their group-based SCP activities. This is an up-front agreement between a provider and the participant for supports to be regularly delivered over a specific period of time. The provider can claim a regular amount for delivering the agreed supports for the duration of the program, even when the participant doesn’t attend all sessions. A Program of Support can be for up to 6 months.
A Program of Support should be tailored to the participant. The total cost includes attendance hours, individual support, group support, non-face-to-face, transport and centre capital costs. Programs of Support are not mandatory but may be a service offered by some providers. For more information, go to the Group-Based Supports Transition Guidance (external).
Consider SCP supports for a participant in a shared living arrangement
A participant in a shared living arrangement is supported 24 hours per day, 7 days a week. This may be through a mix of in-home and SCP supports. By in-home supports, we mean support the participant needs to complete personal care tasks such as brushing their teeth and showering, and general tasks such as household chores and cleaning.
Supports provided in the participant’s shared living arrangement are stated and included in the Home and Living support category. SCP supports are flexible core supports and included in the Assistance with Social, Economic and Community Participation support category. To learn more, go to article Support Categories.
You’ll need to make sure that supports provided in the participant’s home and SCP supports aren’t duplicated in the participant’s plan. Remember, all funded supports must meet the NDIS funding criteria (external).
When you decide to include SCP supports, think about:
• if the participant is supported for the full 24-hour period in their shared living arrangement
and when outside their home engaging in SCP or other activities
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For Internal Use Only • supports provided in the home and living budget and the recommended SCP supports.
Make sure supports aren’t duplicated. To learn more, go to Duplication of supports in
article Develop a social and community participation budget for participants in a shared
living arrangement.
Look at all the evidence provided by allied health professionals (AHP) and the participant’s informal, mainstream and community supports. Evidence may also be provided by the participant’s other supports including support coordinators and employment providers. When deciding to include SCP supports, consider if you have enough evidence to justify the decision. To understand why and how we record justification, go to article Add budget justifications.
All funding decisions must be reasonable and necessary and must consider each participant’s individual situation. NDIS-funded supports must be reasonable and necessary individually and as a package of supports.
Factors to think about
Participant factors:
• Current functional capacity when accessing the community. • Capacity to safely and independently access an activity in the community or complete an
activity. • Informal support available. For example, are additional formal supports needed or can
family or friends provide informal support? • Living arrangements. How many other participants do they live with? This could provide
evidence the participant can share some SCP supports. For example, participants living
together may participate in social activities or day programs together. • Cognitive capacity. Does their disability impact their ability to safely participate in an
activity? For example, can they use basic hygiene practices in a group cooking class? • Tendencies towards risk-taking behaviours, harm to self or others, and other behaviours
of concern. • A goal to access the community or to participate socially in the community.
Environment factors:
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For Internal Use Only • Can SCP support be shared? For example, SCP in the community might mean the
participant needs individual support to push a wheelchair or provide behaviour support.
For a centre-based activity, this support could be shared with others. • Duplication of supports. If SCP supports duplicate any shared living supports funded in
the participant’s plan, you’ll need to adjust the SCP funding. To learn more, go to section
Duplication of supports in article Develop a social and community participation budget
for participants in a shared living arrangement. • If the activity is in the community, consider any risks involved. For example, going to
sporting event in a large stadium crowd. • Ability to respond to directions in a community environment. For example, would they
need help crossing a busy road or in an emergency? • If the activity is in a centre. There may be less risks and better facilities in a centre, so
shared supports could be suitable. For example, there may be less traffic, no busy roads
and reduced exposure to strangers. You may need to include centre capital costs or non-
face-to-face supports. • If the participant is spending time with family or friends, they may need minimal or no
funded supports.
Levels of support
This section provides guidance to include SCP funding in the participant’s plan. It helps you understand the level of support the participant needs outside their home and if this support can be shared.
Each participant’s situation is different and these examples won’t apply to everyone. You’ll need to review all available information to decide if SCP funding meets the NDIS funding criteria (external).
No support needed
This could be when:
• the participant is accessing the community with support from informal, mainstream or
community supports. For example, family members support the participant when they
access the community.
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For Internal Use Only Minimal level of support needed
This could be when:
• one support worker provides support to 3 participants • there are no barriers to the participant independently interacting with others • the participant needs supervisory support or verbal prompts. This could be a reminder to
line up at a cafe to buy a drink and wait for their change and receipt • the participant can independently use simple, low-risk assistive technology to move
around. This includes items like as a 4-wheeled walker or a walking stick. Or they can
propel their own wheelchair • the participant doesn’t need more than one hour of individual support in the group activity • the participant lives with and shares support with 2 other people in a shared living
arrangement.
Partial level of support needed
This could be when:
• the participant lives with and shares supports in a shared living arrangement with one
other person • one support worker provides support to 2 participants • the participant has behaviours of concern that need additional support from staff and are
low risk when sharing supports. For example, the participant takes items that doesn’t
belong to them, and their behaviour support plan includes strategies implemented by
their community-access support workers • the participant can independently use simple, low-risk assistive technology to move
around. This includes items like a 4-wheeled walker or a walking stick. Or, they can
propel their own wheelchair • the participant has limited opportunities to engage in social activities and needs higher
levels of individual support to build their capacity. This is a time-limited support level that
reduces to a minimal level of support in the future
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For Internal Use Only • the participant’s capacity has increased. For example, the participant was supported in
the community with a full level of individual support. They now have greater capacity to
interact and engage successfully with a partial level of support • the participant needs individual support beyond supervision and nonverbal or verbal
prompting for part of the activity. If they want to develop their independent living skills, a
partial level of support can allow the support worker to physically help the participant
more often.
Full level of support needed
This could be when:
• one support worker supports one participant • the participant uses more complex assistive technology like a power wheelchair to move
around and need support to operate or transfer in and out of the chair during SCP
activities. They also rely on support for their cognitive and physical capacity. For
example, the participant needs help to use the toilet using a hoist and a second support
worker. Or they need support to eat or access the community • the participant has significant behaviours of concern and the evidence shows risk to
themselves or others if they’re not provided a full level of support in the community • the participant can’t complete any part of the activity or task themself • the participant has complex disability-related health supports and needs a higher level of
support.
Complex level of support needed
This could be when:
• one or more support workers support a participant • the participant can’t complete any part of the out-of-home activity without support • the participant has behaviours of concern or other factors that affect the time or support
they need to participate in activities outside their home.
Note: Consider if the participant needs a full level of support for short periods. For example, to help with personal care tasks. For more information go to Our Guideline – Disability-related health supports (external).
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For Internal Use Only Hours of support
The way you calculate hours of support depends on if the support is individual or shared in a group-based setting. For group-based, shared support, you’ll need to consider the number of participants in the group or who are sharing the support. To learn more about calculating individual or shared supports, go to section Individual, group-based and shared supports in article Develop a social and community participation budget for participants in a shared living arrangement.
Note: These are general examples and only relate to participants in a shared living arrangement.
3 to 6 hours a week of SCP is generally suitable for participants who:
• attend or request scheduled, group-based activities of up to 3-6 hours per week • can access the community with minimal support, are involved with community-based
groups and have informal supports • need minimal assistance and can engage in larger group activities. This means they can
share supports with others • may need individual, active support when they start attending a new mainstream local
community group or activity. As the participant gains independence, informal supports
are enough and the need for funded individual support reduces over time.
10 to 15 hours a week of SCP is generally suitable for participants who:
• attend or request scheduled, group-based activities for up to 10-15 hours per week or
across several days of the week • have a goal of increasing their community access.
25 to 30 hours a week of SCP is generally suitable for participants who:
• attend or request a full week of scheduled, group-based activity • have limited informal support and social networks • have low levels of community participation but want to expand and explore new activities • display behaviours of concern and need daily access to the community as part of their
routine.
Next steps
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For Internal Use Only e To learn more about developing the SCP budget, go to article Develop a social and
communi articipation budget for participants in a shared living arrangement.
e To learn more about calculating SCP supports and view case examples, go to article Understand social and community participation supports for participants in a shared
living arrangement — Case examples.
Article labels
PACE user role names
No change.
Topics
No change.
Case names
No change.
Ownership
No change.
Version control
Amended
Version by Brief Description of Change Status
1.0 JC0088 Class 3 BM Approved (SG and APPROVED | 2024-08-28 H&L Reforms) — new article to help you understand and determine levels of support for assistance with social and community participation for participants living in shared living arrangements.
JC0075
Class 1 approved to include link to 2.0 ED0024 new article Understand supports APPROVED | 2024-10-22
for participants who need help to
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For Internal Use Only move around in shared living arrangements (article ID: 452218685).
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