NDIS Recovery Coaching Australia
Recovery Coaching Australia
Recovery coaching is specialist NDIS support for participants whose primary disability is psychosocial, meaning it arises from a mental health condition. It’s focused on your goals, your progress, and building the skills and confidence you need to live more independently.
St Jude’s has experienced teams in Perth, the South West, and South East Queensland, and we offer telehealth recovery coaching across Australia, so you can work with us wherever you live. Talk to us about what recovery coaching could look like for you.
What recovery coaching involves
Unlike clinical mental health services, this support is about looking forward. A psychosocial recovery coach works alongside you to identify what a good life looks like for you and then helps you take practical steps toward it. That might involve building daily routines, strengthening your connections to the community, or learning to manage the ups and downs that come with living with a psychosocial disability.
A psychosocial recovery coach isn’t a therapist, a case manager, or a crisis worker. They’re a coach. A recovery coach is NDIS-funded support designed to walk alongside you as you work toward your own goals, at your own pace.
In practice, your coach might help you set personal goals, whether that’s getting back into a routine, reconnecting with friends, or building the confidence to try something new. They can help you understand your NDIS plan, prepare for plan reviews, and connect you with community services and mainstream health supports so that everything works together rather than pulling in different directions.
Because psychosocial disability can be episodic and complex, your coach stays engaged through the difficult stretches too. They help you build strategies for managing the harder periods, so you’ve got a plan in place before things get tough.
To access this support, you’ll need psychosocial recovery coaching funded in your NDIS plan, under the Support Coordination and Psychosocial Recovery Coaches category of your Capacity Building budget. Not sure if it’s there? Your support coordinator, plan manager, or Local Area Coordinator can help you check, or you can contact the NDIS on 1800 800 110.
Recovery coaching across WA and QLD
St Jude’s delivers recovery coaching through local teams who understand the communities they work in and who take the time to get to know you as a person, not just a plan number.
Western Australia
Our WA team supports participants across the Perth metropolitan area, Bunbury, and the South West region. Whether you’re looking for support to build daily living skills, reconnect with your community, or work toward longer-term goals around employment or education, our Perth and South West teams are here to help.
Queensland
Our Brisbane-based team supports participants across South East Queensland. Our QLD recovery coaches work with you to set goals, build resilience, and strengthen your connection to the people and services around you.
Telehealth across Australia
Not near one of our local teams? You can still work with a St Jude’s recovery coach by telehealth, wherever you live in Australia. Your coach will help you with the same things our local teams do, like setting goals, building daily routines, and staying connected to your community, just without the travel.
Who is recovery coaching for?
This support is available to NDIS participants with a psychosocial disability and recovery coaching funding in their plan. Psychosocial disability refers to the functional impact of a mental health condition on your everyday life, things like maintaining relationships, keeping a routine, or engaging with your community.
It’s designed around recovery and independence, for people who want to move forward, set goals, and gradually build the skills and confidence to do more on their own. It isn’t a crisis service or a clinical mental health intervention. If you’re not sure whether this is the right fit, get in touch with our team to talk it through.
How this differs from support coordination
This is one of the most common questions, and it’s a fair one. Both roles are funded under Capacity Building, and both involve helping you get the most out of your NDIS plan, but they work quite differently.
A support coordinator helps you implement your plan across all types of disability. They connect you with providers, set up service agreements, and manage the logistics of your supports.
A recovery coach specialises in psychosocial disability and focuses on your personal recovery journey. The emphasis is on coaching, goal-setting, and building your capacity to manage daily life and stay connected to community. Recovery coaches can also coordinate your services, which is why most participants will have one or the other rather than both.
Some participants have both, depending on their needs. For a more detailed comparison, read our guide on how a psychosocial recovery coach compares to a support coordinator.
How to get started with recovery coaching
Getting started through St Jude’s is straightforward.
First, confirm your NDIS plan includes funding for psychosocial recovery coaching, under the Support Coordination and Psychosocial Recovery Coaches category of your Capacity Building budget. If you’re unsure, your support coordinator, plan manager, or Local Area Coordinator can check this with you, or you can contact the NDIS on 1800 800 110.
We support participants in person across Perth, the South West, and South East Queensland, and by telehealth anywhere in Australia.
Once we hear from you, we’ll take the time to understand your situation, your goals, and what matters most to you. We’ll match you with a coach who’s the right fit, and together you’ll start building a plan that reflects where you want to go.
You don’t need to have all the answers before you reach out. If you’ve got this funding in your plan and you’re looking for someone in your corner, that’s a great place to start. Call us in WA on (08) 9279 4343 or in QLD on (07) 2800 6050.
Frequently Asked Questions
This support is available to NDIS participants whose plan includes psychosocial recovery coaching funding under Capacity Building (Support Category 07). You’ll generally receive this funding if your primary disability is psychosocial. The NDIA decides on funding during your planning process, and if you already have a plan, your plan manager or Local Area Coordinator can help you check, or you can contact the NDIS on 1800 800 110.
A recovery coach specialises in psychosocial disability and focuses on personal recovery goals, resilience, and community connection. A support coordinator works across all disability types and focuses on implementing your plan and connecting you with providers. They’re separate line items with different pricing. Read the full comparison in our recovery coach vs support coordinator guide.
Yes. The NDIA confirms you can have both if your situation calls for it, though most participants will suit one or the other. Having both might make sense if you need specialist psychosocial support alongside broader plan coordination, for example during a transition to new housing or a major change in supports.
The NDIA decides how many hours to fund based on your individual needs. Generally, plans include 30, 50, or 100 hours of recovery coaching. If you’re not sure how many hours are in your plan, your support coordinator or plan manager can help you check.
No. This isn’t a clinical service, and it isn’t designed as crisis support. It’s a coaching-based approach focused on personal goals, daily living skills, resilience, and community connection. If you need clinical mental health support, your coach can help connect you with appropriate services, but their role is focused on recovery and building independence over time.
Contact us
If you or a loved one could benefit from this support, contact our friendly team today to find out how we can help you.