Providers are people or organisations who offer services or equipment to people with an NDIS plan. They will provide you with any supports that are reasonable (fair) and necessary to reach your NDIS plan goals and aspirations. These services are then paid for using your NDIS funds.
Your providers must be registered to offer NDIS support services (unless you are self-managing part, or all, of your funds). The Provider Toolkit on the NDIS website explains how providers get registered.
For more information on becoming a provider check out information for providers on the NDIS website.
There are a huge range of NDIS providers out there and sometimes choosing a provider can feel overwhelming.
When choosing a provider, you need to know how to:
It is important to choose providers that are right for you.
Find information about selecting providers at the following websites:
Your NDIS-funded supports are delivered by service providers; these are workers or organisations of your choice. You will have made a written agreement with your provider that is called a Service Agreement. These are usually simple and explain how, when and by whom your supports will be delivered. The Service Agreement also explains how to renew or cancel the service.
For more information on Service Agreements check out the NDIS website.
If you want to change support workers, check if the Service Agreement has a process for this.
Your Service Agreement should clearly state:
Like all contracts, you can request changes before signing. They do not have to agree to your changes, but it is always worth asking and making sure the Agreement works for you.
Remember, you have choice and control over the delivery of your supports. This means choosing who provides your supports and how they are provided. It also means being reasonable about what you expect from providers and how you deal with them.
The NDIA has tools to help you make a Service Agreement. These include an Easy English Guide to Service Agreements and a simple model Service Agreement, which are available here:
www.ndis.gov.au/document/service-agreements-providers
You can use these to make a Service Agreement with your providers. You can adapt it to suit your needs.
Information about your rights and the rights of service providers in case of cancellation or a “no show” can be found on the Finding a registered Provider page of the NDIS website.
Direct employment of your own staff gives you more choice and control over the people you work with, their hours and tasks. Direct employment is only an option if you self-manage part or all of your NDIS funding.
It is not necessary to directly employ all staff who deliver your NDIS funded supports. You can choose to have a combination of NDIA registered providers, staff you directly employ and other service providers with different funding arrangements for each.
By self-employing you will have additional responsibilities around tax, superannuation, insurances, pay rates, and criminal record checks, etc. You can use another type of business to manage these employer responsibilities for you.
For further information visit ndis.gov.au/participant/self-managing-budgets and read about the responsibilities of self-managing budgets in your plan.
Some useful websites for finding your own staff are:
As you explore the 6 steps to accessing the NDIS, you will be guided to activities in the Reimagine Your Life Workbook, where you can complete questions and activities to support your application.
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