Choosing a provider
Questions worth asking any NDIS provider before you sign
A service agreement is a contract, not a favour. You are allowed to interview the people who want to work in your home, and here is what to ask them.
I am going to do something slightly against my own interests here and tell you how to interrogate a provider, including this one. Ask us these questions. If we cannot answer them, that tells you something useful.
About the people coming to your home
- Who exactly is coming, and will it be the same person each week?
- Does every worker hold a current NDIS Worker Screening Check?
- What training do they have for my specific needs, not in general?
- Can I meet them before the first shift, or speak to them on the phone?
- What happens if I do not get on with them?
About the roster
This is where most of the frustration in this sector lives. Ask it plainly: who covers the shift when my worker is sick? A provider with an honest answer will tell you it is sometimes hard. A provider with a rehearsed answer will tell you it never happens.
- How much notice will I get if a shift has to change?
- How far ahead is the roster set?
- Can I change my usual days, and how much notice do you need from me?
About money
- Which line items will you claim against, and at what rate?
- Do you charge for travel, and how is that worked out?
- What is your cancellation policy, in writing?
- Will I see an itemised invoice, even if my plan manager pays it?
About what happens when something goes wrong
Every provider has a bad week at some point. What matters is what they do next.
- How do I make a complaint, and who reads it?
- What will you do if I raise something serious about a worker?
- Do you tell me when you have reported something to the Commission?
If a provider suggests that complaining might affect your supports, stop there. That is not how this works, and the Commission needs to know.
Three answers that should worry you
- "We can start tomorrow" before anyone has asked what you actually need.
- Vagueness about price, or a service agreement that arrives already signed.
- Any pressure to decide in the room. A good agreement will still be there next week.
Take the agreement away. Read it with someone you trust. Ring us with the awkward questions, and ring the other providers with them too.
General information only. For advice about your own plan, talk to your planner, your support coordinator, or ring us on 0435 785 828.
