Aligning Case Notes with NDIS Participant Goals: A Guide for Support Workers and Providers

With recent changes to the NDIS, there's a growing emphasis on evidence-based support—where every hour of support is clearly linked to a participant’s NDIS goals. For support workers and providers, this means case notes are no longer just a compliance task—they are a vital tool for demonstrating progress and alignment with goals.

Why Link Supports to NDIS Goals?

NDIS planners and reviewers are increasingly looking for:

• Evidence of goal-oriented service delivery

• Descriptions of how support hours are helping participants achieve outcomes

• Progress updates aligned with the participant’s plan review timeline

This shift empowers participants, improves accountability, and ensures funding is being used effectively. But how do we make this work in practice?

Step 1: Help Participants Identify Their Goals (The SMART Way)

Support coordinators or LACs can guide participants to create SMART goals—goals that are:

• Specific: Clearly define what the participant wants to achieve.

• Measurable: Include ways to track progress.

• Achievable: Ensure the goal is realistic within their support network.

• Relevant: Connects with their life needs and aspirations.

• Time-bound: Tied to a time frame or NDIS plan cycle.

👉 Tip: Keep NDIS plan goals broad and aspirational—this offers flexibility. For example:

“I want to build my independence and confidence in daily life.”

Step 2: Break Goals into Support Tasks

Once broad goals are in place, participants and their providers should collaborate to identify specific tasks and supports that contribute toward achieving those goals. These might include:

Goal	Example Support Tasks
Build daily living skills	Cooking together, managing a weekly schedule
Increase social participation	Attending a community group, supported travel
Improve physical health	Going for walks, attending allied health sessions

Step 3: Writing Goal-Linked Case Notes

Each shift or interaction should be documented in a way that links back to a participant’s NDIS goals. A strong case note answers:

• What support was provided?

• How did it relate to the participant’s goals?

• What progress (or barriers) were observed?

“Supported Jane to attend her local craft group today, helping with transport and social engagement. This aligns with Jane’s goal to increase community participation and confidence in social settings.”

These notes not only show value—they also prepare for plan reviews, support continuity of care, and give participants clear insight into their own journey.

How LAMA Care Helps You Capture This

At LAMA Care (www.lamacare.com.au), our Client Management System is built to make goal-linked documentation simple and effective.

Support workers can:

• View a participant’s broad goals at a glance

• Select the goal(s) their shift supports

• Write quick, structured notes that automatically link supports to outcomes

• Track progress across multiple shifts and providers

This ensures every hour of support is connected to what matters most: achieving outcomes for the participant.

Final Thoughts

As the NDIS continues to evolve, aligning support delivery and documentation with participant goals isn’t just best practice—it’s essential. By using tools like SMART goal setting, task alignment, and goal-linked case notes, providers and support workers can deliver meaningful, accountable support.

With LAMA Care, capturing this information is no longer a chore—it’s part of your everyday workflow.

Ready to streamline your service delivery?👉 Visit lamacare.com.au