Innovative Community Participation

Specialized mentoring and coaching programs designed to build social confidence and skills to navigate the community independently.

What Innovative Community Participation is

Innovative Community Participation (ICP) is a Capacity Building support funded by the NDIS. It is designed to build your skills and confidence so you can participate in community life more independently over time.

It is not a support worker accompanying you to activities. It is not ongoing assistance with day-to-day social access.

ICP is structured, goal-directed, and time-limited. It is for participants who want to build specific skills, social, practical, or vocational, that will reduce their reliance on paid support in the future.

If your goal is to get out into the community now with support, that is community participation support (0125). If your goal is to build the skills to do that more independently, that is ICP (0116).

What we support you to build

SA Holistic Care is registered under NDIS registration group 0116, Innovative Community Participation.

We design programmes around your goals. Examples of what ICP can fund include:

Social skill development

Structured programmes to build communication, relationship-building, and confidence in social settings.

Digital access and literacy

Learning to use technology to connect with your community, access information, and participate in online civic and social life.

Volunteering and civic participation

Structured support to find, access, and establish a volunteer role in your community.

Employment readiness

Building practical skills for the workplace, including communication, routine, and workplace navigation.

Creative and arts-based programmes

Structured skill-building through art, music, photography, or other creative pursuits with a defined learning outcome.

Independent transport and navigation

Building skills to use public transport and navigate community environments independently.

Peer support and mentoring

Connecting with peers who have shared experiences to build confidence and community knowledge.

Each programme is individually designed. A quote is required and must be approved by the NDIS before support begins.

How ICP is different from community participation support

Both services help participants engage with their community. They are not the same thing.

FeatureCommunity Participation (0125)Innovative Community Participation (0116)
BudgetCore SupportsCapacity Building
PurposeAccess and attendance nowSkill-building towards independence
DurationOngoingTime-limited
Worker roleSupport worker assists youStructured programme with defined outcomes
Quote requiredNoYes

If you are not sure which support is right for you, your support coordinator or LAC can advise. Both can appear in your NDIS plan at the same time.

Is this support right for you?

Innovative Community Participation may be right for you if:

  • Your NDIS plan includes Capacity Building funding under Increased Social and Community Participation (Category 09)
  • You have a specific goal related to building skills or independence in your community
  • You want to reduce your reliance on paid support over time, not just access activities now
  • There is a clear outcome you are working towards, a volunteer role, a social group you can access independently, a skill you want to develop
  • ICP is not open-ended. To be funded, the programme must have a defined skill-building goal, a clear pathway towards greater independence, and a plan for what happens when the support ends.

    If you are not sure whether your plan includes this funding, your support coordinator or LAC can confirm. ICP funding sits under Category 09, Increased Social and Community Participation.

    Our approach

    We design each ICP programme around the participant's specific goals, not a standard package applied to everyone.

    Before any programme begins, we talk with you and your support network to understand what you want to achieve, what barriers exist, and what a realistic pathway to independence looks like. We then build a programme around that, develop the quote, and work with your plan manager or support coordinator to get it approved.

    Progress is tracked throughout. As you build skills and confidence, the level of structured support reduces. That is the point.

    How to get started

    Our process is designed to make it easy for you to start with us

    1

    A conversation about your needs

    Call us, submit an enquiry , or book a free consultation. Tell us your current situation, your routine, and what's most important to get right.


    2

    Goal and programme scoping

    We work with you and your support coordinator to identify your goals and design a programme with clear, measurable outcomes. This forms the basis of the quote submitted to the NDIS.


    3

    Quote approval

    ICP is a quotable support. We prepare the quote and work with your plan manager or support coordinator to get it approved before anything begins.


    4

    Programme begins

    Your structured programme starts on an agreed schedule. Progress is documented throughout.


    5

    Review and transition

    We review progress at agreed milestones. As your skills and independence grow, the programme adjusts. The end goal is that you need less structured support, not that support continues indefinitely.


    FAQ's

    Common questions

    Most frequently asked questions about our Innovative Community Participation service

    What is the difference between ICP and standard community participation support?

    Community participation support (0125) funds a support worker to help you access activities now. ICP (0116) funds structured programmes to build the skills so you can access activities more independently in the future. One is Core Support, the other is Capacity Building. They serve different purposes and can both appear in your plan.

    Does my NDIS plan need to specifically include ICP funding?

    Yes. ICP is funded under Capacity Building — Increased Social and Community Participation (Category 09), registration group 0116. If your plan does not currently include this, speak with your support coordinator or LAC about requesting it at your next plan review. You will need to demonstrate a goal related to skill-building and community independence.

    Why does ICP require a quote?

    ICP is a quotable support because each programme is individually designed. The quote describes what the programme includes, what outcomes it aims to achieve, and the cost. It must be approved by the NDIS before support begins. We prepare this with you and your support coordinator.

    How long does an ICP program run?

    It depends on your goals and the complexity of the programme. ICP is time-limited by design, it is not ongoing support. We will give you a realistic timeframe based on what you want to achieve before the programme begins.

    Can ICP and community participation support run at the same time?

    Yes. Many participants have both in their plan. ICP builds skills, community participation support assists with access in the meantime. They are complementary, not mutually exclusive.

    What happens at the end of an ICP program?

    The goal of ICP is to reduce your reliance on structured paid support, not to continue it indefinitely. At the end of the programme, you should be able to access community activities with less support, or independently. If further goals exist, a new programme can be scoped and quoted.

    Who can refer someone for ICP?

    Participants can contact us directly. Support coordinators can also refer. We work with both. If you are a support coordinator looking to discuss a referral, call us directly.

    Related Support: Life Skills Development

    ICP builds your community independence. Life Skills Development builds your independence at home. Both are Capacity Building supports and work well in parallel toward the same broader goal.

    Related Support: Employment Support

    The confidence and practical skills developed through ICP — communication, independent travel, managing social situations — feed directly into employment readiness. We coordinate across both where your goals overlap.

    Related Support: Life Stage Transitions

    If your ICP goal is a major transition — moving toward fully independent community participation, leaving school, or stepping into a new life stage — Life Stage Transitions support provides the structured planning that makes those changes manageable.

    Ready to book or just want to ask some questions?

    Call our team on 0430 505 394, or submit an enquiry and we'll respond within 4 business hours.

    SIL participant folding her clothes and support worker is guidig her