SupportAbility Data Replicas
March 2026 Update - Data Replica subscriptions are no longer available to new subscribers.
SupportAbility is working toward API-based connectivity as a supported alternative for organisations requiring direct access to their data.
Database replication is the process of creating copies of a database and storing them across various destinations. It improves data availability and accessibility. Any system connected to a SupportAbility Data Replica can access a copy of the same up-to-date data displayed in a provider’s live SupportAbility installation.
Database replication is a continual process. Whenever data changes in a provider’s SupportAbility installation, those changes are synced to the replicated database to ensure all systems have access to the latest and most accurate data.
Data Replicas allow providers to connect third-party Business Intelligence (BI) systems such as Power BI or Tableau directly to their SupportAbility data in a safe, read-only manner that does not affect the performance of their SupportAbility installation.
Audience: Authorised Representatives, Executive Management, IT
Summary
The following list summarises the content within this article. Click on the links below to take you to the relevant sections:
- What benefits does the Data Replica service provide?
- Important information about the SupportAbility Data Replica service
- Why is accessing a Data Replica an additional subscription fee?
- Do you provide a data schema for SupportAbility?
- Do you provide a data dictionary for SupportAbility?
What benefits does the Data Replica service provide?
The SupportAbility Data Replica service provides direct access to the SQL data that underpins your organisation’s SupportAbility installation.
This can be used to deliver a range of beneficial outcomes, including:
- Data Warehousing
For organisations that deliver services other than NDIS and have other systems to manage those services, extracting targeted data from each of these systems into a centralised data warehouse for whole-of-business reporting can be incredibly valuable. - Data Mining & Analysis
Data mining is the process of sorting through large data sets to identify patterns and relationships that can help solve business problems through data analysis. Data mining techniques and tools enable enterprises to predict future trends and make more informed business decisions. - Fully Customisable Reporting
The ability to create custom reports and dashboards internally using Business Intelligence (BI) systems such as Power BI or Tableau. - Read-Only Integrations
Create custom integrations that can extract data from SupportAbility in a scheduled or on-demand manner to import into third-party systems.
Important information about the SupportAbility Data Replica service
The following are some important elements to consider when evaluating the utility of the Data Replica Service:
- Read-Only Access
Data replicas provide read-only database access. I.e. Only SELECT queries are allowed. INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, CREATE, DROP, and other statements will be denied. - Replication Lag
The data replica service is usually less than 1 second behind the live master database but may be up to 60 seconds behind the master when under extreme load. - Security Credentials
Each SupportAbility Data Replica comes with a single MySQL access username and password, which has access to all tables and fields in the SupportAbility database. - IP Address Allowlist
Providers must nominate an IP address to allow connections and queries from. Your provisioned MySQL user account will be locked to only allow requests from the nominated IP addresses. - Encryption
All traffic to and from the data replica server is encrypted using SSL. Any third-party MySQL-compatible client that allows the configuration of an SSH tunnel can be used to connect to the SupportAbility Data Replica.
Once a secure SSH connection has been established, the third-party MySQL client will have read-only access to the full database, and data can be fetched using MySQL queries.
It is important for providers to verify that their preferred third-party tool supports connections to MySQL database servers via SSH tunnels. - Access Raw Data, Not Calculations
The SupportAbility database only stores the raw, normalised SQL data that underpins SupportAbility.
Many of the complex calculations, such as Client NDIS Funding utilisation figures, are not stored in the database directly but are calculated dynamically in the SupportAbility codebase using a series of separate SQL queries and code-based logic.
These complex calculations require a programming code to calculate and cannot be calculated with SQL queries alone.
Why is accessing a Data Replica an additional subscription fee?
SupportAbility uses separate hardware to deliver the Data Replica Service and provides a range of additional security controls and supports around this service designed for enterprise-grade data access.
To significantly reduce the potential risks of raw SQL access affecting the system security, availability and performance, we create a read-only data replica of the master database, which:
- is identical to the live master database (usually less than 1 second behind the master database)
- contains only that service provider’s data
- is restricted to read-only SQL queries
- has its own resources (RAM and CPU) for handling significant query volumes and is better at handling bad queries
- does not affect the performance or availability of the production system
- does not affect the security of the master database and production system
Creating and hosting a separate, read-only data replica incurs additional hosting, configuration and support costs.
A Data Replica is only ever provisioned by SupportAbility upon request and once a provider has accepted the additional subscription fees associated with this service.
Please contact support if you have questions about your existing subscription.
Do you provide a data schema for SupportAbility?
Yes. Providers with a current Data Replica subscription will have access to an additional privilege in the User Details tab of Staff records called 'View Database Schema':
Staff with the 'View Database Schema' privilege access will have access to the 'Current Schema' and 'Schema Changelog' for SupportAbility, accessible via the Reports menu:
Staff with the 'View Database Schema' privilege access will have access to the 'Current Schema' and 'Schema Changelog' for SupportAbility, accessible via the Reports menu:
With every SupportAbility version released, both the Current Schema and the Schema Changelog will be updated to reflect any changes made to the schema.
It is important to note that advance notification cannot be provided for schema changes.
Do you provide a data dictionary for SupportAbility?
SupportAbility does not currently provide a data dictionary for the SupportAbility database schema.
However, we can support organisations with a current Data Replica Subscription to craft SQL queries to meet your specific needs, as long as that support is channelled via your two nominated SupportAbility Authorised Customer Representatives.