Navigating complexity: testing elements of the proposed navigator role – evaluation report

To what extent can navigation improve access to support, and where are its limits in the absence of adequate services?

At a glance

Most Australians with disability are not National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants and rely on health, employment, income support, education and community services. Navigating these fragmented systems can be complex, while supports people need may be unavailable, unaffordable or inaccessible. To address these gaps, the 2023 NDIS Review proposed navigator roles and expanded foundational supports. From January 2024 to November 2025, BSL ran a pilot to test elements of a General Navigator role.

Dive deeper

The Navigator pilot was run in Melbourne’s Hume and Merri-bek local government areas and served 126 clients aged 18 and over. Navigators supported clients to identify needs and goals, build confidence and capability, and connect with mainstream, community and disability supports through home and community-based sessions.

The evaluation found that with navigator support, client confidence to access support and set and meet goals increased. They particularly valued the in-home and community delivery of the pilot, the use of interpreters, warm referrals and sustained follow up navigators were able to provide. Clients received an average of seven sessions and 14.3 hours of support. It was noted, however, that navigation was constrained by long waiting lists, high costs, restrictive eligibility criteria, transport barriers, inaccessible information and limited local services.

The report makes several recommendations to policymakers and to future designers of a navigator model. These include:

• create a navigator role that works across sectors
• adequately fund navigator services
• invest in foundational supports
• address the underlying complexity of service access
• invest in foundational supports
• track referrals so any impacts can be properly measured.