Support to get out there and join in

Connect Support Group’s occupational therapists work with you across Victoria on assessments, equipment, home modifications and rehabilitation. We see participants at home, at our Vermont office and by telehealth.

Why Choose Us

Registered NDIS Provider

Provider Number 4050087037

Swift Response Time

Changes and extra support at short notice

Multilingual Team

Mandarin, Cantonese and Vietnamese speaking staff

NDIS Registered Provider · PN: 4050087037

NDIS

Registered Provider
PN: 4050087037

Core

Supports budget funds this service

$0

Out of pocket cost for worker time

Home

Languages: English, Mandarin, Cantonese and Vietnamese

VIC

Support delivered across Victoria

Understanding the Support

What is Social and Community Access?

Being part of your community should not depend on whether someone is free to take you. Social and Community Access funds a support worker to be alongside you so you can go to the things you want to go to, meet people, and build a routine outside the house.

What the Support Covers

Note: this support sits in the Assistance with Social, Economic and Community Participation category of your Core Supports budget, which is a different category to Assistance with Daily Life, although Core funding is usually flexible across both.

Why Choose Connect Support Group?

We plan around what you actually want to do, not a fixed activity timetable:

Our Activities

What Connect Support Group Helps With

Activities are chosen by you, so no two schedules look the same. These are the four areas participants ask us for most often.

Cultural Experiences

Days out that give you something to talk about afterwards, at a pace and length that suits you.

Physical Activities

Regular movement with someone beside you, whether that is a weekly session or a walk in the fresh air.

Learning and Skill Development

Classes that build something you can use at home, chosen around a goal rather than filling time.

Social Saturdays Program

Our group program, for participants who would rather build a circle than go out one to one.

NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27

How Social and Community Access is Funded

This support is paid from the Assistance with Social, Economic and Community Participation category of your Core Supports budget, so there is no out of pocket cost for the support worker’s time. The NDIA publishes maximum price limits each year and Connect Support Group charges at or below them. These limits are national, so the same cap applies everywhere in Victoria.

When support is delivered	Line item	National price limit
Weekday daytime	04_104_0125_6_1	$73.58 / hour
Weekday evening	04_103_0125_6_1	$81.07 / hour
Saturday	04_105_0125_6_1	$103.54 / hour
Sunday	04_106_0125_6_1	$133.50 / hour
Public holiday	04_102_0125_6_1	$163.46 / hour

Transport and set up costs: travel that happens during an activity is claimed separately as activity based transport (04_590_0125_6_1), charged per kilometre. A once off establishment fee (04_049_0125_1_1, $735.80) exists in the schedule for participants starting with a new provider, and we confirm in your service agreement whether it applies to you.

What your funding does not pay for: entry fees, class fees, tickets, meals and drinks are ordinary living costs and stay with you, as does the cost of the support worker’s own ticket or meal. We tell you what an outing is likely to cost before you commit to it.

Important: figures above are national price limits from the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27, effective 1 July 2026. They are maximums rather than set fees and they change annually. Confirm current limits at ndis.gov.au/providers/pricing-arrangements or with your plan manager. Connect Support Group confirms your rates in a written service agreement before support begins.

Our Group Program

Social Saturdays

Going out one to one suits some people. Others want the same faces every week and a reason to look forward to the weekend. Social Saturdays is built for the second group, and it is often where new friendships actually start.

1

A group setting, not a crowd

Small enough that you get to know people rather than being one of many.

2

A variety of experiences

The activity changes, so there is something new without having to organise it yourself.

3

Relationships that last beyond the day

Seeing the same participants regularly is what gives friendships the chance to form.

4

Workers who already know you

The same team supports the group, so your preferences do not need re-explaining each week.

Our Process

How Support Gets Started

Four steps from first phone call to your first outing, with your choices recorded in writing before anything begins.

1

Initial Consultation

We talk through your interests, your goals and your preferences, including language, gender of worker and how much support you want on the day. There is no cost and no obligation.

2

A Plan That Matches Your Goals

We set out the supports, hours and rates in a written service agreement, and check the schedule against what your plan can sustain for the year.

3

Activity Selection

You choose from what is on locally, or we help you find it. Individual outings, a regular class, a club, volunteering, or the Social Saturdays group.

4

Ongoing Support and Review

A matched worker goes with you and we check in regularly, swap activities that are not working, and keep records that help at your next plan review.

Flexible and goal oriented

We work flexibly with you to reach your goals and make the most of your NDIS funding. That means changing an activity when it stops suiting you, building your skills so you can do more of the outing independently, and being upfront when something would be better funded a different way.

If you already have a provider and want to change, you can. Participants choose their own providers under the NDIS. You end your current agreement according to its notice period and sign a new one with us. No NDIA approval is required.

Accessing Our Services

Who Connect Support Group Supports

Community access works differently for everyone. Some participants want one outing a fortnight to start with, others are out several days a week. Wherever you are on your NDIS journey, give our friendly team a call for an open chat about what would actually help.

Who we work with

Not sure if your plan covers this? Social and Community Access sits in Core Supports, and Core funding is usually flexible across categories unless your plan says otherwise. Call (03) 9874 8628 and we will look at your plan with you before you commit to anything.

Language support

Where We Work

Social and Community Access Service Areas Across Victoria

We are based in Vermont and support participants to get out into their own community right across Victoria. Availability varies by location, activity and shift time, so it is worth a quick call to confirm what we can arrange for you.

Melbourne East

Vermont
Doncaster
Blackburn
Mitcham
Croydon
Wantirna
Rowville
Scoresby

Inner Melbourne

South East and Bayside

Regional Victoria

Geelong
Ballarat
Bendigo
Warrnambool
Mornington Peninsula
Latrobe Valley
Other areas on request

The suburbs above are where we run community supports most often. We are a Victoria wide service, so if your area is not listed, call (03) 9874 8628 and we will let you know what we can arrange.

Victoria, Australia

Social and Community Accessacross Victoria

Support workers join participants at activities acrossgreater Melbourne, and are arranged in regionalVictoria on request.

COVERAGE

Registered NDIS Provider 4050087037

Call (03) 9874 8628 to check your area

Connect Support Group delivers Social and Community Access across Victoria, with the most availability across greater Melbourne. If your area is not marked, call (03) 9874 8628 and we will confirm what we can arrange.

2/31 Redland Drive, Vermont VIC 3133

In person meetings available at our office, or at home across Victoria. Remote coordination available Australia wide.

Why Choose Connect Support Group

Support That Fits Around Your Life

Community access only works when the person beside you understands what you want out of the day and communicates in a way that suits you. That is what we hire and roster for.

Experienced and compassionate team

Workers trained for person centred support and matched to the person, not just to the shift.

Swift response time

We can add support or change an arrangement at short notice when your week shifts.

NDIS expertise

We know which line item covers what, so your funding is claimed correctly and lasts the year.

Multilingual staff

Support in Mandarin, Cantonese and Vietnamese as well as English.

A wider social circle

Greater independence

Practical new skills

Improved overall wellbeing

Progress against plan goals

Questions Participants Ask

Frequently Asked Questions

Straight answers on what this support covers, what it does not, and what it costs. If your question is not here, call (03) 9874 8628.

What is Social and Community Access under the NDIS?

Social and Community Access is funded from the Assistance with Social, Economic and Community Participation category of the NDIS Core Supports budget. It pays for a support worker to be alongside you so you can take part in activities in the community, including social outings, cultural events, sport and recreation, classes, clubs and volunteering.

The worker helps with whatever makes the activity possible: getting there, communicating, personal care during the outing, and managing the environment.

How is Social and Community Access funded?

It is funded from the Core Supports budget, under the Assistance with Social, Economic and Community Participation category. Core funding is usually flexible across categories unless your plan states otherwise, so many participants move funding between daily living support and community access as their needs change through the year. There is no out of pocket cost for the support worker time itself.

Some participants also have Increased Social and Community Participation funding in their Capacity Building budget, which pays for structured skill building programs rather than ongoing support work.

Do I have to pay for activity costs like tickets and entry fees?

Yes. Your NDIS funding pays for the support worker who goes with you. Activity costs stay with you:

Entry fees and tickets · Class and membership fees · Meals and drinks · Equipment not related to your disability.

The NDIS does not fund the cost of the worker's own ticket or meal either, so we plan outings with that in mind and tell you the likely cost before you commit.

Can I choose my own activities and change them later?

Yes. You choose the activities, and you can change them whenever you want. The NDIS is built around choice and control, so if something is not working, is no longer interesting or does not suit you, we will help you try something else. Nothing is locked in by your service agreement.

Is transport included in Social and Community Access?

Travel that happens as part of the activity can be claimed as activity based transport under line item 04_590_0125_6_1, which is charged per kilometre.

That is different from the separate Transport budget some participants have in their plan for getting to and from regular commitments. We confirm which applies to you in writing before support starts.

How often can I access this service?

That depends on how much funding is in your plan and what your goals are. Some participants use a few hours a fortnight for one regular activity, others use support several days a week.

We work out a schedule that uses your funding at a rate it can sustain across the plan period, and adjust it if your needs or your plan change.

What if I need specialised support to take part in an activity?

Tell us what makes the activity hard and we will match a worker with the right training rather than sending whoever is free. Where a participant has complex health related needs or behaviour support needs, higher intensity line items exist in the NDIS Pricing Schedule and workers with additional training are rostered.

We are also upfront when something is outside what we can safely staff, and will say so rather than take the booking.

What is the Social Saturdays program?

Social Saturdays is our group program. Participants come together on a Saturday for an activity chosen from a rotating mix of outings and experiences, which means you meet the same faces regularly and friendships have a chance to form.

Are there age restrictions for NDIS community participation?

You must be younger than 65 on the day you apply to the NDIS. Once you are a participant you can stay in the scheme after 65.

Children younger than 9 are supported through the NDIS early childhood approach and work with an early childhood partner rather than the standard pathway. There is no age limit on using community participation funding once it is in your plan.

Which areas of Victoria do you cover for community access?

We are based at 2/31 Redland Drive, Vermont VIC 3133 and deliver Social and Community Access across Victoria. Coverage is strongest across greater Melbourne, including:

Melbourne east: Vermont, Box Hill, Doncaster, Ringwood, Blackburn, Nunawading, Mitcham, Forest Hill, Croydon, Bayswater, Wantirna, Knox, Rowville, Boronia, Scoresby
Inner Melbourne: Kew, Hawthorn, Richmond, North Melbourne, Parkville, Carlton, Fitzroy, Collingwood, Abbotsford, Camberwell
South east and bayside: Glen Waverley, Mount Waverley, Dandenong, Springvale, Clayton, Oakleigh
Regional Victoria: Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Mornington Peninsula, Latrobe Valley and Warrnambool, where we currently support participants

Availability varies by activity and shift time, so call (03) 9874 8628 to confirm your suburb.

Can I switch to Connect Support Group if I already have a provider?

Yes. Participants choose their own providers under the NDIS. You end your current service agreement according to its notice period and sign a new one with us. No NDIA approval is required, and we can start while another provider continues delivering a different support.

Tell us what you would like to be doing

Book a free, no obligation consultation. We will look at your plan, explain what community participation funding can and cannot cover, and tell you plainly whether we can staff what you have in mind. No pressure and no jargon.