What Is a Psychosocial Recovery Coach?

What Does Recovery Mean Here?

The NDIA describes recovery as being able to live a purposeful and meaningful life. It's about the life you want to build, not about a cure.

A recovery coach isn't a clinician and doesn't treat mental illness. The NDIS says the aim is to help increase your choice and control, your connection to your community and your job opportunities. Treatment stays with your GP, psychologist, psychiatrist or mental health service, and a recovery coach can help you stay connected to them.

Who Is a Recovery Coach For?

NDIS participants with a psychosocial disability, which means reduced capacity to do daily activities because of a mental health condition.

The NDIA says a recovery coach will generally be funded in plans for people with psychosocial support needs. You don't have to choose a recovery coach if you don't want one. Our page on psychosocial disability explains what the term means, and how it differs from a diagnosis.

What Does a Recovery Coach Help With?

Working out what you want, finding the right supports, and keeping everything connected, including services outside the NDIS.

• Getting to know you, and the people important to you, so they understand your needs
• Finding out about services and supports and how they could help
• Finding, planning and organising your NDIS supports
• Getting support from mental health services, and connecting with community and mainstream services
• Making sure your services work well together and stay connected
• Coaching that builds on your strengths, knowledge, skills, resilience and decision-making
• Understanding the NDIS and your plan

The NDIA's pricing arrangements describe recovery coaching as support designed to keep you engaged through periods of increased need, because mental illness can be episodic. Recovery coaches work with participants, families, carers and other services to identify, plan, design and coordinate NDIS supports. There's more detail on our page about what a recovery coach does.

Do Recovery Coaches Have Lived Experience?

Some do. You can choose a recovery coach with lived experience of mental ill health and recovery, and the NDIA suggests you might find it helpful.

A recovery coach with lived experience uses their own experience of mental ill health and recovery to inform their work. Others come to the role through training and work experience. The NDIA's pricing arrangements say the work requires lived and/or learnt experience.

Under the 2026-27 NDIS Pricing Schedule, a recovery coach has to hold at least a Certificate IV in Mental Health Peer Work, a Certificate IV in Mental Health or an equivalent tertiary qualification in a related field, or have at least 2 years of demonstrated professional experience in mental health related work. Our page on recovery coach qualifications has the detail.

How Is a Recovery Coach Funded?

From the capacity building budget in your NDIS plan, under the support category for support coordination and psychosocial recovery coaches.

The number of hours depends on your needs, and your NDIA planner or NDIS partner works them out with you. Recovery coaching is charged by the hour, and the NDIS sets a maximum hourly price that changes with the time of day and how remote you are. Our recovery coach price guide has the current 2026-27 figures.

When you get a new plan, your NDIA planner sends a request for service to the recovery coaching provider you choose, and the provider has to accept it before they can be paid from your plan.

Is a Recovery Coach the Same as a Support Coordinator?

No, although they overlap. Both help you use your plan and coordinate supports, but a recovery coach brings mental health knowledge and coaching for psychosocial disability.

The NDIA's recovery coach factsheet says that for most people it recommends having only a recovery coach, because it's a better use of the plan, though depending on your plan or situation you may have both. Our comparison page sets out the differences side by side.