Social and community participation across Melbourne's south-east.

Any activity outside the home that connects you to other people or community life and needs a support worker because of your disability. Sport, clubs, classes, shopping, religious services, volunteering, visiting friends, appointments or learning to use public transport all count. The test is whether the support helps you pursue a goal in your plan and is reasonable and necessary, not whether the activity is formal.

Usually only the worker. Your Core budget pays for the support worker's time, and the worker's own entry fee where a venue charges them. Your ticket, membership, meal or class fee is a day-to-day living cost and is paid by you, as for anyone. The exception is a Capacity Building program whose fee includes the skill-building; your plan will say if you have that funding.

It depends on your goals. One-to-one support suits specific goals like travel training or settling into a course, and people who find groups stressful. Group support, with two or three people who chose the same activity, costs less per person and suits people who want company. Many people use both, and we change the mix as you go.

Yes, where it is in your plan and safe to do so. Workers can drive you in their own insured vehicle, and the NDIS allows a per-kilometre charge for that, or travel with you on public transport, which we encourage because it builds independence. Transport is a separate line in your plan, so check it with your plan manager before the first trip.

In its Annual Pricing Review for 2026-27, the NDIA recommended that from 1 January 2027 unregistered providers delivering social, community and civic participation supports be limited to a price 10 per cent below the registered rate, with no further indexation. The published Pricing Schedule had not yet been updated when we wrote this. Newdawn is registered, so the standard limit and indexation continue to apply.

Yes, where the support relates to your disability rather than the job itself. A worker can help you get to and settle into a TAFE course, a volunteering role or a workplace, build routines and handle the social side. Workplace adjustments remain the employer's responsibility, and some employment supports are funded separately. We help you and your coordinator work out which is which.

Yes. You choose the activities, the places and the pace. We suggest options you may not have thought of, especially local ones, and we flag when something is unlikely to fit your plan. The written weekly plan belongs to you and can change whenever you want. Tell your worker or call us to try something new.

Tell us and we change the worker. A good match matters more here than almost anywhere else, because you spend hours together doing things you care about. We ask about interests, personality, language and gender before matching, and check in after the first few outings. You never need to give a reason to ask for someone else.