Social and community participation

Social and community participation is about meeting people with similar interests and joining in social and community activities. It means going where others go, doing what others do, with other people and choosing activities you enjoy. Social and community participation also means different things to different people. It can include going to your local cafe, joining a netball team, bushwalking with a friend, doing a craft class, getting work experience, or volunteering.

Social and community participation is important because it can:

• help you feel included and connected to others
• give you opportunities to build relationships with friends
• grow your social networks and help you feel more included
• increase your confidence and build your ability to participate with your peers
• help you develop skills to be more independent and feel safe in your community
• build skills and relationships that help with getting a job
• help you find activities you enjoy doing.

It can be good to try different activities. You may not know if you enjoy something until you try it. It may feel different at first, but with the right support and help you may find activities you enjoy. These activities can also change over time as your needs and interests change. Research shows that activities you enjoy and people who make you feel valued will give you the most benefits.

The Guides show supports that may be available to help you do things you would like. These are your goals. These supports may be available through your NDIS plan or mainstream and community supports. Mainstream and community supports are available to everyone, whether or not you have a disability. 

The Guides also show you where you can find more information. When thinking about supports that may suit you, remember a support that works for someone else may not be right for you and vice versa. The availability of supports may also vary depending on where you live.

NDIS resources

• You can read Our Guidelines – Social and recreation support. This explains how we make decisions, the types of supports we can fund or provide through the NDIS, and supports available outside your NDIS plan.
• More information about the supports we can fund is available on the ‘Would we fund it’ website

NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission

• Speak Up Resources
• NDIS Workforce Capability Framework

Evidence about Social and Community Participation

• Understand the evidence on Social and Community Participation 
• NDIS Support Coordinators

 
If you want more information about social and community participation, you can talk to:

• Family, carers, and friends
• Your local area coordinator
• Your NDIS planner
• Your support coordinator or other people who support you
• Your psychosocial recovery coach 
• A peer support network

Other resources

• Disability Gateway has information and services for people with disability, specific to leisure activities. These include:
  • Competitive and recreational sports
  • Community programs
  • Holidays and going out
  • Social life
• Carer Gateway has information for carers and provides services to support carers in their caring roles.

We have an easy read checklist to help you think about your supports. You can use it to keep a record of what you have read. You can also use it to list questions you have and who can answer them. 

You can use the checklist when planning:

• a meeting with your NDIS planner or local area coordinator (LAC)
• an appointment with a provider of a support or activity.

You can also take the checklist to your meeting and fill it out together.

We have a list of providers you can search on the Provider Finder webpage.

A provider is a person, business or organisation who delivers NDIS-funded supports and services to participants. They have different areas of experience and knowledge so it’s important to find the right one for you.

Your NDIS planner, local area coordinator (LAC), support coordinator, psychosocial recovery coach, or other professionals can help you find a provider . 

What to look for in a provider

Choose a provider who:

• Listens and is respectful towards you as the expert in your own life
• Asks about your interests, needs and goals
• Asks what you have enjoyed in the past, as well as what worked and didn’t work for you
• Offers to explore what you may like if you are unsure
• Has staff with knowledge in connecting people with community participation activities

Questions you can ask a provider

It can be useful to ask how they will work with you and your family and carers. This can help you decide if they are the right provider for you. You may have your own questions or you can ask questions like these:

Skills and experience:

• How will you help me learn about supports that may be best for me now and in the future?
• What experience do you have in working with people on the autism spectrum, with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities?
• What outcomes can your supports, programs and activities provide me?

Working with you and your family and carers:

• How will you work with me to meet my individual needs?
• What evidence will you use to help me decide on the best ways to meet my participation needs?
• Can you connect me with other people like me for peer support?

Delivering supports:

• How will I know if I am benefiting from this service?
• What will you do if I am not reaching the promised outcomes?

These guides are based on a scientific review of research. The research comes from:

• A review that looked at interventions (supports, programs and activities) for supporting social, community and civic participation for adults (≥18 years of age) who are on the autism spectrum or who live with an intellectual or psychosocial disability.
• A research project that looked at how NDIS participants think about community participation.

This research was done in 2021 by the NDIA Research and Evaluation Branch. 

We also talked to NDIS participants, their families and carers, and organisations that support people with disability. 
Combining research with people’s experiences helps to understand how well supports work.

The research used to develop these guides is in the following publications:

1. National Disability Insurance Agency 2021. ‘Interventions to improve social, community & civic participation of adults on the Autism Spectrum or living with Intellectual or Psychosocial Disability: A systematic review. Australia. Prepared by M Giummarra, L O’Brian.
2. National Disability Insurance Agency 2021. ‘Getting out into the world’: pathways to community participation and connectedness for NDIS participants with intellectual disability, on the autism spectrum and/or with psychosocial disability. Australia. Prepared by L Smith, M Bennett, B Gardner, R Morello.