Helensvale · Gold Coast
Community
Group activities work brilliantly for some people and not at all for others. We’re a registered NDIS provider on the Gold Coast, and we support people to take part in group activities, including working out whether they’d suit you at all.
How we help
Group settings are easier when someone there already knows you. That’s usually where we fit, from finding the right group to getting you there and back.
Your own support worker alongside you, so a room full of new people isn't a room full of strangers.
There's a lot on offer and not all of it will suit. We'll help you work out what's worth trying.
Transport is often the thing that stops people going. It doesn't have to be.
Going once to see how it feels is a perfectly reasonable way to start.
What to expect
Day programs have a reputation, and some of it was earned. The old model was a room, a roster and not a great deal happening.
That’s largely shifted. Most group supports now happen out in the community rather than in a building. A cooking group, a gym session, a bushwalk, an art class, a regular coffee somewhere the same faces turn up each week.
Size matters too. A group of three is a completely different experience from a group of twelve, and the ratio of workers to participants changes how much attention anyone actually gets.
If you’ve tried something like this before and it wasn’t for you, that’s worth saying out loud. It doesn’t mean group supports are off the table. It usually means the group was the wrong one.
Talk it through
That’s a fair place to start. Tell us what you’d enjoy and what you’d rather avoid, and we’ll be honest about whether it’s worth trying.
Funding
Group supports come from the same part of your plan as one-to-one community participation, in Core.
What’s different is how the cost works. In a group, the cost of the session is shared between everyone in it, so the same funding buys considerably more hours than one-to-one support would. If you want to be out regularly, that maths matters.
It’s also worth knowing that budgets for social and community participation are being adjusted from late 2026. For most people that arrives at their next plan review rather than on a set date, and the NDIS website is the place to check what applies to you.
If your plan ends up tighter than it was, group supports are often how people keep getting out.
Honest take
Worth saying plainly, because plenty of pages won’t. Some people thrive in a group and some find it exhausting, and neither is a problem.
You want company, you're comfortable around new people, or your week has got too quiet.
Noise and crowds are hard, you'd rather have someone's full attention, or you've got something specific in mind.
Before you decide
Worth asking before you commit to anything regular.
Group size changes everything. Ask for a number rather than a description.
It affects how much support you actually get, and what the session costs you.
Ask for a real example of a session, not a list of activity categories.
A trial visit is a reasonable ask. Be wary if it isn't possible.
Ages, interests and support needs vary a lot. It's fair to ask who you'd be with.
Ask how you leave, what notice is needed, and whether you're locked into anything.
FAQs
Anything where support is delivered to a few people at once rather than one-to-one. That might be a cooking group, a gym session, an art class or a regular outing. It can happen in a centre or out in the community.
From the same Core budget as one-to-one community participation. The cost of the session is divided between the people in the group, which is why it stretches further than individual support does.
Per hour, yes, because the cost is shared. Whether it’s better value depends on what you want. A group buys you more hours out. One-to-one buys you someone’s full attention.
Not necessarily. Some groups run as an ongoing programme with an agreement attached, others are more casual. Ask how it’s structured before you commit to anything regular.
Often yes, and for a lot of people it’s the thing that makes a group manageable. Having someone there who already knows you takes the edge off walking into a room of new faces.
Fair enough, and it’s worth saying so rather than writing off the whole idea. Group supports vary enormously in size, pace and what actually happens. The one you tried may simply have been the wrong one.
Budgets for social and community participation are being adjusted from late 2026. For most people it applies at their next plan review rather than on a set date. The NDIS website has the current position and it’s worth checking rather than guessing.
Here to help
Tell us what you’d enjoy and what you’d rather avoid, and we’ll help you find something that fits. We support participants across the Gold Coast, and we’ll be straight with you if a group isn’t the answer.
Support coordinator? Send a referral and we’ll be in touch.
Loving Hearts Care Group is a registered NDIS provider, ABN 99 674 548 862, registered for group and centre based activities and for community participation. Our registration is listed as Approved on the NDIS Provider Register and is in force until 27 March 2029.
