Consultation

Are you a small business working with clients who are on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)? Do they want to use their NDIS funds to pay for your services? Perhaps you haven’t accepted any NDIS participants as clients because you are unsure of what is involved?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the above, chances are that you have questions about how the NDIS works. At Care Factor, we can help advise you on matters concerning the NDIS and answer your questions – if we don’t know the answer, we’ll find out for you!

Care Factor can be contacted by phone or email to provide consultancy at an hourly rate. Before you contact us though, below are some Frequently Asked Questions about the NDIS and providing services to participants.

FAQ

What is the National Disability Insurance Scheme / Agency (NDIS / NDIA)?

  • Simply put, the NDIS provides people living with disabilities with money to pay for services, therapies, or equipment that they wouldn’t otherwise need if they did not have a disability. The NDIA is the government organisation that oversees the amount of funding participants receive annually.

How do I get paid?

  • If an NDIS Participant has a Plan Manager, either the participant or your business will need to provide the Plan Manager with an invoice for the services you provided. They will then pay this directly to your bank account.
  • If an NDIS Participant self-manages their plan, your business will need to provide the participant with an invoice. They will pay the invoice from their personal bank account as any other client would. The only difference is that the client/participant will later submit a request to the NDIA to be reimbursed from their NDIS Plan.
  • If an NDIS Plan has funds that are NDIA/Agency Managed, you cannot be paid for your services using the funds in the NDIS Plan (unless you are an NDIS Registered Provider).
  • The NDIS has set hourly rates that a business or sole trader can charge for providing services. The most up-to-date pricing can be found at https://www.ndis.gov.au/providers/pricing-arrangements

What Services do Participants Usually Request from Companies that aren’t solely Providing Services for those Living with Disabilities?

  • Gardening
  • House Maintenance (i.e. cleaning of gutters, fixing a door, etc.)
  • Cleaning (either as a once-off or on an ongoing basis)
  • Massage Therapists
  • Art Classes and other Skills Classes

What should I be doing for/with an NDIS Participant?

  • Provide the same quality of work to them that you would for any of your clients.
  • They may ask you to liaise with a particular person instead of directly with them; please respect this.
  • Treat them with respect as you would any other paying customer.