Local Area Coordinator (LAC): What They Do and How to Find Yours

What does a local area coordinator do?

LACs work for community organisations called NDIS partners, which the NDIA funds. They aren't NDIA staff. They can help any person with disability, and their family and carers, including people who aren't NDIS participants. Depending on where you're up to, your LAC can:

• Explain the NDIS and help you apply. They can explain the eligibility requirements, talk you through the evidence the NDIA needs and help you complete your application.
• Help with your plan. Your LAC talks with you about your situation, your goals and the supports you have now. The NDIA then decides what goes in your plan.
• Help you start using your plan. In an optional plan implementation meeting they can explain what each part of your funding can buy, how to manage it and how to find providers.
• Connect you with your community. They can point you to local groups, sporting clubs and government services such as health, education and transport, even if you're not eligible for the NDIS.
• Check in with you. Your LAC checks in at least once a year to see how your plan is working, and usually contacts you about 2 to 3 months before your plan's reassessment date.
• Be your my NDIS contact. If you're 9 to 64, your LAC is usually your main contact for questions about your plan.

What can't an LAC do?

• Approve your plan or set your budget. LACs don't approve plans, decide which supports are funded or allocate funding. An NDIA planner does that.
• Ask for an unscheduled plan reassessment for you. Since 27 August 2026 only you, your plan nominee or your guardian can, and only after a significant and ongoing change in your support needs or circumstances. Your LAC can still explain the evidence you'd need.
• Change an NDIA decision. If you disagree with a decision about your plan, you can ask the NDIA to review it. See our guide to NDIS plan reviews.

LAC, early childhood partner or NDIA planner: who will you work with?

Who you deal with mostly depends on your age and where you live. Your main contact is called your "my NDIS contact", and can be an early childhood partner, an LAC or someone at the NDIA.

• The early childhood age went up from younger than 7 to younger than 9, phased in from 1 July 2023, so older documents may still say 7.
• You must be younger than 65 when you apply to the NDIS. If you join before your 65th birthday, you can stay on the NDIS after you turn 65. See how to apply for the NDIS.

LAC vs support coordinator: what's the difference?

Both can help you use your plan, but they're different roles. Most people aged 9 to 64 have an LAC. You only have a support coordinator if your plan includes support coordination funding.

This is changing. From 1 July 2028 the NDIA will appoint providers to a new Support Coordination and Connection service, and support coordination will no longer be paid from your plan. The government notes that LACs and early childhood partners also provide coordination supports.

If you have a psychosocial disability, your plan may fund a psychosocial recovery coach instead of a support coordinator. More on how NDIS support coordination works.

Is a local area coordinator free?

Yes. You don't pay to see your LAC. The NDIA funds the partner organisations that provide local area coordination, and there's no LAC item in the NDIS price list, so it doesn't come out of your plan funding. That's a key difference from support coordination, which is paid from your plan.

How to find your local area coordinator

1. 1

   Search the NDIS office finder

   Enter your suburb or postcode on the NDIS Offices and contacts in your area page. It shows the closest NDIS and partner offices.

2. 2

   Or check your state's NDIS page

   Each state and territory page on ndis.gov.au lists the LAC and early childhood partners for each area.

3. 3

   Confirm your partner with the NDIS

   Your nearest office may not be the partner allocated to you. LACs cover set local government areas, so call 1800 800 110 to confirm which one is yours.

4. 4

   No partner near you?

   Some remote areas have no NDIS partner. Call 1800 800 110 and someone from the NDIA will work with you directly.

Search now: NDIS Offices and contacts in your area. Or open your state or territory's page:

• NDIS partners in New South Wales
• NDIS partners in Victoria
• NDIS partners in Queensland
• NDIS partners in Western Australia
• NDIS partners in South Australia
• NDIS partners in Tasmania
• NDIS partners in the ACT
• NDIS partners in the Northern Territory

Ways to contact the NDIS

• Phone: 1800 800 110, Monday to Friday, 8am to 7pm local time.
• First Nations Connect: 1800 411 640, a phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
• Interpreter: call TIS National on 131 450 and ask for the NDIS.
• Hearing or speech impairment: TTY 1800 555 677, or the National Relay Service on 1800 555 727.

How to prepare for a meeting with your LAC

Before a planning conversation, the NDIA reads your application and any reports from your doctors, allied health professionals and other assessments. Your LAC then asks about your life now, so it helps to have notes on:

• your goals, big or small, short or long term
• where you live and who you live with
• how you get around
• who supports you now, paid and unpaid
• what help you need with self-care and everyday tasks
• any new reports or assessments since you applied
• your questions about managing your funding and finding providers.

You can bring a family member, friend or other supporter. For a full list of what to bring and ask, use our NDIS planning meeting checklist.

How to complain about your LAC

The NDIS suggests these steps if you're unhappy with your LAC, an early childhood partner or NDIA staff:

1. 1

   Talk to your LAC

   If you feel you can, tell them about your concern.

2. 2

   Talk to someone you trust

   A family member, friend or other supporter may be able to help you sort it out.

3. 3

   Make a complaint to the NDIA

   Use the online feedback form on ndis.gov.au, email feedback@ndis.gov.au, call 1800 800 110 or go to an NDIS office. If you'd like a different LAC, say so.

4. 4

   Ask for a review of how it was handled

   If you're not happy with the outcome, ask for a supervisor or manager to review your complaint. You can also contact the Commonwealth Ombudsman.

Complain online through the NDIS feedback and complaints page. If your concern is about the safety or quality of a provider's service rather than your LAC, contact the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission on 1800 035 544. Our NDIS complaint guide covers both.

What's changing for LACs and NDIS planning?

• LAC agreements run to 30 June 2027. When the partner agreements were extended, the NDIA said nothing would change for participants.
• Reassessment requests (since 27 August 2026). Only you, your plan nominee or your guardian can ask for an unscheduled plan reassessment, and the NDIA has up to 90 days to decide.
• Budget reset (from 1 October 2026). As plans are created, reassessed or renewed, funding for social, economic and community participation supports is cut by 50% and for improved daily living skills supports by 10%. Essential supports, like help at home with personal care, aren't affected.
• New framework planning (from 1 April 2027). Participants start moving to a new way of planning, where a trained NDIS assessor interviews you for a support needs assessment that sets your budget. Your current plan stays in place until you move.
• Support coordination (from 1 July 2028). It moves out of plans into a new NDIA-funded Support Coordination and Connection service for participants who are eligible.

Need providers once your plan starts?

Your LAC can help you look for providers, but finding one with room near you is often the hard part. Help Alliance is a free, independent matching service: tell us what you need once, and providers near you who can start get in touch. You choose who to go with.

Local area coordinator questions