Who Should Receive Your Support Roster? A Conversation Checklist

Only the people you agree to should see your support roster. It is not automatic that a family member, coordinator or plan manager gets a copy just because they are involved in your life. You decide who is added, what they see, and for how long. This checklist works through who might reasonably ask, what to ask them back, and how to change your mind later without it becoming awkward.

1. Start with yourself, and be specific about what you want shared

Before anyone else is added to the list, decide what a roster actually needs to show for your situation. Do you want just the day and time, or also the worker's name, the tasks planned, and any notes from the last shift. Being specific here makes every later conversation shorter.

• What level of detail am I comfortable with someone else seeing: times only, tasks, or full notes
• Do I want this shared automatically each week, or only when I choose to forward it
• Is there anything on my roster I would never want shared, such as a health detail folded into a shift note

2. Your rostered support workers need enough to do the shift, not your whole history

Workers generally need their own shifts and the client details relevant to those shifts, not a running archive of every note ever written about you. If a worker seems to have more background than the shift requires, it is fair to ask why.

• Can I see what information my worker has access to before a shift
• If a new worker is rostered on, what do they receive about me and when
• Who removes a worker's access once they are no longer supporting me

3. A family member or chosen support person, only if you want one

Some participants want a parent, partner or close friend to see the week at a glance. Others do not, and that is equally valid. If you do want someone included, agree the boundaries together rather than assuming they know.

• Do I want this person to see the full roster, or just confirmation that shifts are happening
• Should they be told about changes and cancellations, or only asked when there is a problem
• What happens if I later want to remove them from this list

4. Your support coordinator or plan manager, limited to their part

A coordinator or plan manager may need to know that supports are happening as planned, particularly around funding use. That is different from needing the same detail your support workers see. Keep their view scoped to what their role actually requires.

• What does my coordinator or plan manager actually need to see to do their job
• Am I comfortable with them seeing shift notes, or just confirmed hours
• Has anyone asked me directly, or is this an assumption carried over from an earlier plan

5. Backup or on-call staff, kept to a smaller subset

If your provider uses backup workers for sick leave or urgent cover, they may see a narrower slice of your roster just before a shift, not your ongoing history. Some providers can send you a plain email reminder ahead of a shift too, which is worth asking about if you like a heads-up.

• What do backup workers see, and for how long before it is removed again
• Is there a way to get a simple email reminder of upcoming shifts, separate from full roster access
• Who confirms that a backup worker's access ends once the shift is over

6. Revisit the list, at least once a year or after any change

Circumstances shift. A family member who used to help coordinate everything might step back. A new support coordinator might start. Treat the roster access list as something you revisit, not something you set once and forget.

• Has anything changed in the last year that means someone should be added or removed
• Is there a simple way to update this list without repeating the whole conversation from scratch
• Who do I tell if I want to remove someone effective immediately

A worked example

Consider a fictional participant we will call Dev. When Dev started with a new provider, his mother had been receiving every shift update by default, a habit left over from an earlier, more hands-on stage of his life. Dev was now managing his own week and wanted that changed. He asked his provider for two things: his mother would keep getting a plain notice if a shift was cancelled, since that affected the household, but she would no longer see full shift notes. His two regular workers kept the detail they needed for the shifts they worked. His plan manager received confirmation that hours matched his plan, nothing more. The whole conversation took one meeting, because Dev had already worked out what he wanted before he asked.

The practical takeaway

Write a short, one page note that lists who currently has access to your roster, what they see, and why. Bring it to your next check in with your provider or coordinator and update it on the spot. It takes minutes, and it means nobody is guessing what you are comfortable with. For related reading, see What to Include in a Support Handover: A Practical Checklist for Families and Workers, and 5 Questions to Ask When Your Support Roster Keeps Changing, both on this site.