NDIS Service Providers FAQs
What are NDIS Service Providers?
Registered NDIS service providers are accredited individuals, organisations, or businesses that provide products or services to NDIS participants. These accredited NDIS Service Providers have gone through the strict and rigorous process of meeting all requirements put forth by the NDIS. This means that registered NDIS Service Providers have all the qualifications, experience, approvals, and resources to deliver all of their services or products to NDIS participants.
Through the NDIS, these registered NDIS service providers are given funding to help NDIS participants by delivering their support, resources, and services to help the NDIS participants with whatever area of their life they are in need of assistance.
It is the main job of registered NDIS service providers to help NDIS participants develop their skills, gain independence. and alleviate the challenges they face with their disabilities to live their lives as normally as possible.
These NDIS service providers are specifically chosen for the NDIS participants in consideration of their unique needs and personal goals.
What is the NDIS?
The NDIS or National Disability Insurance Scheme put forth by the Australian Government in 2016 is a programme that funds NDIS Service Providers to help people with disabilities face short and long term challenges.
The NDIS makes it possible for Australians with disabilities to receive funded professional services that help them with treatment for their disabilities, lessen the challenges they face with their disabilities, and over time, assist them in developing skills to gain independence. Through NDIS funding for these professional services, NDIS participants have a bigger offs of living life as normally as possible.
The NDIS participants provide their participants with a customised NDIS plan, given that they meet all the requirements set forth by NDIA or the National Disability Insurance Agency who administer and manage the NDIS. Amongst these requirements is that prospective NDIS participants should have a permanent and significant disability, be an Australian citizen, residents or special visa holders, should be between the ages 7 and 65, and needs significant support or certain equipment due to their disability.
The NDIS customised said NDIS plan following their participant's unique needs and individual goals. The NDIS participants are also given access to a vast resource of NDIS Service Providers for them to choose from to help with their disabilities.
What types of support or services do NDIS Service Providers deliver?
Registered NDIS service providers greatly vary in the types of support, services, or resources they deliver to NDIS participants. But all of them greatly contribute to helping with different ways to cope with the NDIS participant’s disabilities.
Not all NDIS participants will have the same set of registered NDIS service providers to help them and the NDIS does not provide a packaged set of services or support NDIS participants can get from registered NDIS service providers. It all comes down to the specific needs and unique goals of the NDIS participants in choosing which registered NDIS service provider to include in their NDIS plan.
Some of the services, resources, or support these registered NDIS service providers deliver to NDIS participants include but are not limited to:
Household support for everyday living
Assistance with self-care and other activities in the community
Cost-efficient transportation services
Access to certain equipment to help NDIS participants better mobility in the household and the community
Psychological services and mental health support
Learning and educational support
Employment support
How can I find these NDIS Service Providers?
With the rollout of the NDIS throughout Australia, it is getting easier and easier to find a registered service provider in your area. If you want to see an exhaustive list of registered NDIS service providers, there is an available one on the NDIS’s website for anyone to see. The list is categorised by Australian territories.
You can also consult with the local NDIS office in your area to find a list of registered NDIS service providers near you.
How can I pick and choose NDIS Service Providers for my NDIS Plan?
NDIS participants are allowed to customise their NDIS Plan which means they can pick and choose which registered NDIS service provider to help them with meeting their unique needs and achieving their personal goals.
Depending on the NDIS participant’s disability and how it impacts the participant’s life, the funding for their NDIS plan can be classified into three categories. This determines the types of resources, services, and support they can acquire from registered NDIS service providers.
Core Support
This is considered to be the most flexible in terms of which services, resources, or support they can choose for their NDIS plan. NDIS participants with the Core Support funding are more focused on getting help for their daily activities with their disability-related needs and achieving their individual goals.
The services they can include transportation, assistance with social and community participation, assistance with daily living, and access to consumable products to help with the participant’s disability.
Capital Support
For the Capacity Support funding, NDIS participants are singularly focused on acquiring resources from registered NDIS service providers that will alleviate issues with their mobility. They can acquire assistive technology and home modifications for this funding category. Examples of the services they can get from registered NDIS services providers are assistive technology and equipment for home and vehicle modifications.
Capacity Building Support
Lastly, funding for Capacity Building Support helps NDIS participants by providing them with registered NDIS service providers that will help them achieve their long-term goals. This is through help the NDIS participants build skills that can make them more independent.
The services and support registered NDIS service providers can give to NDIS participants with this type of funding category include help with support coordination, improved living arrangements, increase social and community participation, finding and keeping a job, improved relationships, improved health and wellbeing, improved life choices, and improved daily living.
What are the advantages of using NDIS Providers?
NDIS participants are given the options to also avail the services of those not registered with the NDIS to help with their disabilities. But this can cause some complications and might lengthen the process of getting their NDIS plan approved.
The advantage of availing services from registered NDIS service providers is that they already went through the strict and rigorous process of proving to the NDIS that they are qualified, equipped, and are highly trained to provide NDIS participants the best services possible. They have met government standard tests and are certified to provide their clients with quality services.
Furthermore, since they already have experience with NDIS, registered NDIS service providers know their way around the NDIS system and how to properly handle and communicate with their clients through the NDIS. This makes the experience for both parties more efficient and worry-free as possible.
Read more about NDIS Support: What is Covered?