Psychosocial Recovery Coach

Psychosocial Recovery Coaches work with NDIS participants whose primary disability is a mental health condition. The core of the role is helping a person set goals, understand their NDIS plan, and connect with the services and supports that suit their situation. This is not clinical therapy. It is closer to intensive, relationship-based support coordination, with a strong focus on building a person's own skills and confidence over time. Coaches often work for community mental health organisations, disability service providers, or as sole traders registered with the NDIS.

A typical day could include meeting with a participant to review how their current supports are working, helping them prepare for an NDIS planning meeting, or contacting a service provider on their behalf. Coaches write progress notes and keep records that meet NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission requirements. They may also spend time on the phone with families, carers, or allied health professionals to coordinate care. Travel between appointments is common, particularly in regional areas. Paperwork and reporting take up a meaningful share of each day.

The most common pathway is a Certificate IV in Mental Health or an equivalent qualification in community services, disability, or a related field (JSA Occupation Profile). Lived experience of mental health challenges is formally recognised as a relevant credential in this occupation, which makes it one of the few roles in the sector where personal experience can substitute for, or complement, formal study. Providers registered with the NDIS must also meet worker screening requirements, which means a current NDIS Worker Screening Check is generally required before starting. For information on funded training options, see yourcareer.gov.au or dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/free-tafe.

The emotional weight of this role is real. Coaches work with people who may be in crisis, disengaged from services, or dealing with complex trauma alongside their mental health condition. Maintaining professional boundaries while building genuine trust is a skill that takes time to develop. The administrative load is also significant. NDIS compliance requirements mean coaches spend considerable time on documentation, which can feel at odds with the relational nature of the work. People moving into this role from other sectors often underestimate how much the NDIS system itself needs to be learned, including plan categories, funding rules, and the appeals process. Burnout is a known risk in psychosocial support work, and finding an employer with strong supervision and team support structures matters a great deal.

In practice, roles tend to follow NDIS participant numbers, which means metropolitan areas hold the largest share of positions. Regional and rural areas also have demand, and some providers offer remote or outreach-based roles to cover areas with fewer local services.

Published for ANZSCO unit group 4117, the wider group this job sits in, not for this job on its own.

This is the median for full-time employees who are not managers and are paid at the adult rate, before tax and salary sacrifice. It is a guide to what the work pays, not a wage rate.

Source: ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.

• Disability Services Officer: what carries over
• NDIS Support Coordinator: what carries over
• Local Area Coordinator: what carries over

• Active Listeningcore
• Capacity buildingcore
• Case Note Writingcore
• Confidentiality and Privacy Compliancecore
• Cultural Awareness and Sensitivitycore
• Disability Support Coordinationcore
• Empathy and Emotional Intelligencecore
• Inclusive Practicecore
• NDIS Plan Navigationcore
• Participant or Client Advocacycore
• Referral Coordinationcore
• Risk Identificationcore
• Service Navigation and Referralcore
• Trauma-Informed Communicationcore
• Verbal Communicationcore
• Written Communicationcore
• Conflict De-escalation
• NDIS myplace Provider Portal
• Professional Boundaries Maintenance
• Regulatory and Legislative Awareness

• ABS OSCA 2024, occupation definition and task statements
• ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.

Role data is drawn from official Australian Government sources, and each figure names where it comes from. Where a role is not in the ABS classification, the page shows no government figures for it. Data may not reflect every local variation.

Where our numbers come from.

Last updated: 10 October 2026