The Breaking Point: The Mental Health Toll on NDIS Support Coordinators

The Breaking Point: The Mental Health Toll on experienced and long term NDIS Support Coordinators


Within the NDIS, Support Coordinators serve an absolutely essential role, connecting participants with the services and support they need to navigate the complexities of their lives and assisting them to navigate and manage the layers of beurecracy and occasional insanity, that we all face when dealing with the NDIS. And all the other things that we seem to end up doing..........that fall very much outside that role. 

Beneath the surface of this very important role, lies a grim reality – a broken system that is rife with ongoing problems, bureaucratic hurdles, and systemic incompetence. This blog aims to dive deep into the increasingly harrowing experiences of SCs, who find themselves teetering on the brink of mental exhaustion due to the relentless pressures and challenges within the NDIS. 

Looking around me, I am starting to see people openly post on social media about the mental toll of working in this role and how it is affecting them. People are broken, they are jaded, upset, angry and feeling quite used and abused by the NDIS system.  I am right there beside you, experiencing these things first hand.  

In my opinion, as someone who was part of the roll out of the NDIS in my area, the role of an SC has always had a shelf life, but most of us keep going, and going some more. It can be a very stressful and difficult job. Even when the NDIS was more responsive and the people working there seemed to be fairly well trained, knowledgeable, and at times, they certainly seemed to care a lot more than they do today, it was still difficult. In the current climate, it is near on impossible to navigate. The act of managing the NDIS plans of multiple people who require help NOW and not in months, who are experiencing crisis, facing bureaucracy and sometimes just having a very hard life in general, can be  overwhelming. The SC's I know (and there are a lot) don't do it for the thanks, we are often driven by a passion for doing the right thing and helping support people who face all kinds of vulnerabilities.. Including unscupulous providers. Who else got into this role because they wanted to make a difference? We are nurturers and protectors. Many of us have our own lived experience of disability, or care for others. Yes, there are terrible Support Coordinators out there, nobody is saying there isnt, but even that aspect of it is the fault of the NDIS. You cannot create a role where a person can make a significant hourly rate as an independent, but refuse to give any clear and straightforward guidelines, and rules, or make that role open to just anybody.

I find it hard to believe that with all the groups, government staff and others who developed the role of Support Coordinator, not one person stod up and said,  "Many, many people will take advantage of the lack of guidelines,  and take advantage of people!"  

And here we are today, we have PACE, we have new legislation being smashed through parliament, we have Bill Shorten trying to spin things as best he can, we have a level of incomeptence within the NDIS that would make people on the outside laugh. 
[Manuel Fawlty Towers Gif]

But, I had participants to provide support for, and a lot of them. And failure was not an option. So I managed, and managed, and managed, until I simply couldn't manage anymore. I started to realise that my mental health and wellbeing is paramount. I could not keep going the way I was and wind up healthy in any way. It was time to stop. I have always been very open and honest about my past experiences with severe and complex mental illness. However, I have been well for a very long time. I had learnt to manage my mental health, stay on top of it and not only that, use my mental health experiences to help others. Realising that my mental health was starting to suffer, and having other people kindly support me to understand that, has been a heavy experience. Me, who runs a few businesses, who mentors and supports others, who trains and educated others! Me?! The good news is, recognising when you have hit your limit, means you can stop yourself from falling down the other side.   

I have made the decision that I don't want to work within the confines of the NDIS anymore.  The impact on my mental health is not acceptable. You CANNOT work in a way where every minute of every day you are either frustrated and angry at the utter incomeptence of somebody else (NDIS) or someone is frustrated and angry at the incompetence they feel you are showing, (participants - who have every right to be frustrated when they are being left stuck in their beds due to not havig the required supports, for example)

I am a resillient person and I have managed my complex mental health successfully without any worry for over ten years. I'm genuinely concerned for myself and my colleagues right now. This is not a joke, this is not embellished and it is not okay. People are not okay. We are falling apart.   



The Uphill Battle:

Operating within the NDIS always felt like traversing a labyrinthe, with obstacles cropping on every corner and NDIS staff who you often feel like they woke up that day and just wandered ito a local NDIS office and they gave them a job and put them straight on the phone. The sheer bureaucracy of the system is beyond manageable, with convoluted processes and ever-shifting guidelines leaving SCs trying to hold their tempers in the hope of some clarity and direction beofre they get "accidentally" hung up on.

Embarrisingly for the NDIA, A complete lack of consistency in the interpretation and application of NDIS legislation and guidelines among staff members only serves to infuriate everyone further, forcing SCs to navigate untrained staff, staff who seem to feel they are trained but are not actually trained, the stalwarts who have been around forever and talk over you or simply will not do what they need to do. They certainly are murky waters and we are without any flotation device.

The amount of times I have heard businesses deal with the call centre incomeptence by using this rule:  "If you ring the call centre and someone gives you and answer thats wrong, ring back until you get someone who knows the right one" is not in the least bit funny, but it is asentence I hear over and over again. In the first 4 years of my life as a SC, I refused to call the call centre, there was no point. Nothing they had to say was ever correct, and it just served to make me angry. I had prided myself on undrstanding the legislation and guidelines anyway, I didn't need the call centre. 

All these years later it is astonishing that we still cannot get any kind of consistent or factual information from the call centre. How is this still happening? How?   

The recent introduction of the Customer Relationship Management system (PACE) has only exacerbated these challenges. Despite warnings from the trials, the NDIA has rolled this system out and it is the most useless, broken, pointless, frustrating, incompetent system they possibly could have brought in. We know it didnt work in Tasmania, we watched the problems occur. Go and watch Mr Bates Vs the Post Office on Netflix, and tell me you don't see the similarities. A broken system  that is breaking people. We cannot get anything done for the peope we work with. We are met with responses such as, "I'm sorry, its a system glitch we don't know how to fix it, you can email some random email nobody ever answers if you like!" 

Jodie and I cant sit next to each other and ring the call centre with the same question as the same time and one person will tell you organisational consent doesn't mean orgaisational consent, and another person will just spill their guts to you regardless of what consent is there. Both Jodie and I know more about the legislation and guidelines of the NDIS, than most of the people we have dealt with in the call centre. How? Why? That is not my job, my job should include the ability to ring the NDIS and speak to a competent person, who has factual answers and can ensure that the infomration I pass onto the participant is correct. Why do I have to become a lawyer and give participants caveats and guidelines like; "the information I am about to give you is not the same that the NDIS has given you, sorry." 

Its been over ten years. 

You cannot expect a whole bunch of people, who's role is to help participants navigate (see what I did there) this system, to stay a the same broken treadmill, over and over again and them not fall off eventually. The NDIS needs to acknoweldge the impacts and burnout on people who have been in the role for an extended period of time and take on some kind of responsibility. 

As for the newcomers, as much as people chatter and are seemingly frustrated with the ones out there alone who may not know what they are doing. Maybe we need to take some more time to consider what I considered, these are the people we need to nuture and train and educate, because this job will require new, fresh faces who are not jaded and burnt out.  

 

 

The Toll on Mental Health:

Amidst the chaos and confusion of the NDIS, SCs find themselves grappling with profound mental health challenges. The relentless stress and pressure of their roles can take a significant toll, leaving them feeling drained, disillusioned, and on the verge of burnout.

The emotional weight of supporting participants through their struggles can be particularly burdensome. SCs bear witness to the profound impact of disability on individuals and families, often navigating complex and distressing situations with limited resources and support. Over time, this emotional labor can erode their resilience, leaving them feeling overwhelmed and despondent.

Furthermore, SCs often find themselves caught in the crossfire of escalating tensions between NDIS staff and participants. As frustrations mount and tempers flare, SCs become easy targets for blame and recrimination. They bear the brunt of participants' dissatisfaction, fielding angry calls and emails from those who feel let down by the system. Meanwhile, they face scrutiny and criticism from NDIS staff who are themselves overwhelmed and undertrained.

The Impact on Participants:

The repercussions of the breakdown within the NDIS extend far beyond the SCs themselves. Participants are left stranded, unable to access the support and services they desperately need. For many, this means being denied opportunities for independence, inclusion, and fulfillment.

The consequences can be dire, with some participants facing genuine risks to their health and safety due to gaps in support. Families are left to navigate the system alone, often feeling overwhelmed and powerless in the face of bureaucracy and indifference. It's a heartbreaking reality that underscores the urgent need for reform within the NDIS.

The Call for Reform:

Despite the myriad challenges and frustrations, SCs remain steadfast in their commitment to the core principles of the NDIS: empowerment, inclusion, and dignity for all. However, meaningful change is needed to ensure that these principles are upheld in practice.

First and foremost, there must be better training and support for NDIS staff at all levels. This includes ongoing education on NDIS legislation, processes, and best practices to ensure that all employees have the knowledge and skills to effectively support participants and their families.

Additionally, there needs to be greater transparency and accountability within the NDIS. Participants and SCs alike should have access to clear guidelines and procedures, as well as avenues for recourse when issues arise. This would help to foster trust and confidence in the system, while also providing a framework for continuous improvement.

Furthermore, the government must take responsibility for the failings within the NDIS and commit to meaningful reform. This includes addressing the systemic issues that have contributed to the breakdown, as well as providing adequate funding and resources to support SCs and participants alike.

Conclusion:

The challenges facing SCs within the NDIS are profound and multifaceted, but they are not insurmountable. With greater support, resources, and commitment to reform, we can work towards a system that truly reflects the values of empowerment, inclusion, and dignity for all. It's time for the government to listen to the voices of those on the front lines and take decisive action to ensure that the NDIS fulfills its promise of support and opportunity for people with disabilities. Only then can we begin to heal the wounds inflicted by years of neglect and dysfunction, and build a future where all Australians can thrive.