What Does a Person-Centred Approach Mean in NDIS Support
Experience Truly Person-Centred Support
Every provider will tell you their approach is person-centred. But there’s a real difference between a service that talks with a person and one that talks about them — between planning with someone and planning them. Understanding that difference helps participants and families recognise what genuine person-centred support looks like.
What Is a Person-Centred Approach?
A person-centred approach is a way of working that keeps the individual receiving support at the centre of every decision. It originated in the disability sector and is now used across mental health, aged care, and healthcare more broadly. Rather than fitting a person into a standard service model, person-centred practice starts with what matters to that person and builds support around it.
Person Centred vs Service Centred: The Difference That Matters
Person Centred
- Talking with the person
- Planning with the person
- Focused on strengths, abilities and skills
- Family and community seen as true partners
Service Centred
- Talking about the person
- Planning for the person
- Focused on labels, diagnosis and deficits
- Family and community seen as peripheral
How Person-Centred Thinking Works in Practice
📝 One-Page Profiles
A simple document capturing what matters to a person, what they like and admire, and what others need to know to support them well — especially useful for new or occasional support workers.
🔄 Person Centred Review
A way of facilitating planning meetings using person-centred thinking tools, leading to clear, individual outcomes rather than generic goals imposed by a service.
🎯 Person Centred
Outcomes developed with the person, not for them, based on what they’ve said matters most — increasing the likelihood those outcomes are actually achieved.
Building Person Centred Outcomes Step by Step
Person-centred planning generally follows a few key steps:
- Checking what matters to the person — often captured through a one-page profile
- Understanding the current situation — from the person’s own perspective, not just a service’s view
- Prioritising together — identifying which issues matter most, by mutual agreement
- Defining what success looks like — specific to that individual, not a generic template
- Setting clear, actionable goals — with the resources needed to make them achievable
- Recording it in the plan — including how progress will be reviewed
How Senami Put Person-Centred Support Into Practice in South Australia
Senami builds person-centred practice into every part of how we work — from initial planning conversations through to ongoing support coordination and service delivery.
We can help with:
- Developing one-page profiles and person-centred plans with participants and families
- Facilitating person-centred reviews ahead of your NDIS planning meetings
- Ensuring your support workers understand what matters to you, not just your diagnosis
- Keeping your family and support network genuinely involved in decision-making
Discover What Truly Person-Centered Support Can Look Like
A person-centered approach is about more than delivering services—it’s about understanding your goals, respecting your choices, and providing support that reflects what matters most to you. The right support should help you build confidence, independence, and a better quality of life.
At Senami, we work closely with participants and their families to create personalized support plans that evolve with changing needs and aspirations.
Schedule a call with Senami today to discuss your goals, explore your options, and find out how a person-centred approach can help you achieve the outcomes that matter most.