If you’re a small business or self-employed contractor, you may provide goods or services to National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants.

Disputes can arise, for example, about payment, service quality, or contracts. It can sometimes be difficult to understand your options or next steps. 

Understanding your options

Your options depend on who the dispute is with.

If your dispute is with another business or organisation

We may be able to help you resolve the dispute.

If your dispute is with an individual (NDIS participant)

We might not be able to help you directly, however we can:

  • help you understand your options
  • guide you on next steps
  • connect you with organisations that may be able to assist.

Common dispute scenarios

Below are some examples of cases people have raised with us and how we’ve helped.

Disputes involving NDIS participants

Scenario 1 – Unpaid invoice

A contractor did 20 hours of cleaning for a NDIS participant. The participant complained about the work and decided not to approve the contractor’s invoice.

What you can do:

  • start by following our Five steps to resolve your dispute
  • try to resolve the dispute directly and informally
  • if unresolved, consider debt recovery or legal options (such as taking the matter to a court or tribunal).

Scenario 2 – Payment through a digital platform

A contractor accepted work for a NDIS participant through a digital platform. The digital platform acted as a go-between, matching support workers to NDIS participants and managing the payments.

The participant did not make the payment to the digital platform, and the platform did not pay the contractor.

What you can do:

  • contact the digital platform to understand if they are pursuing payments
  • check the platform’s policies, procedures and timeframes around obtaining that payment. They may use a debt collection service or take the participant to court. Some digital platforms will only make attempts up to a certain number of days and then cease follow up
  • you can discuss with the digital platform if they are continuing to pursue a debt, or if they are no longer going to
  • if they are not pursuing the debt, you can then follow the Five steps to resolve your dispute, and contact the NDIS participant directly. However, if the platform is not responding or appears to be acting contrary to the terms of its service, we may be able to assist
  • if you can’t resolve the dispute informally, consider debt collection or taking the matter to a court or tribunal.

Disputes involving businesses or organisations

When the dispute is between 2 businesses (or sole traders) or between a business (or sole trader) and a service organisation, we might be able to help.

Scenario 3 – Contracting to a service provider

A contractor was hired directly to a service provider, providing the service to the NDIS participant, and invoiced the service provider directly. The service provider did not pay the invoices, saying they did not have the funds.

What you can do:

  • follow our Five steps to resolve your dispute
  • if unresolved, use our Dispute Support tool to check your options. For these types of disputes, you can usually request assistance from us or a state-based Small Business Commission (depending on the location of both parties).

Scenario 4 – Plan manager rejects invoices

A small business provided art programs to an NDIS participant whose payments were managed by a plan manager. The plan manager rejected the invoices due to claims of incorrect formatting. The small business changed the invoice format, but the plan manager still refused to pay.

What you can do:

  • clarify invoice requirements with the plan manager
  • attempt to resolve the dispute directly and informally by following our Five steps to resolve your dispute
  • if you’re unable to reach a resolution, use our Dispute Support Tool to check your options. For these types of disputes, you can usually request assistance from us or a state-based Small Business Commission (depending on the location of both parties).

Before you take on NDIS work and other considerations

Understanding how the NDIS works can help you avoid disputes. There are rules around who can work with participants (e.g. registration rules) and how much you can charge.

It is important to understand this information before agreeing and accepting work with an NDIS participant.

There are NDIS training sessions that are available online.

Sessions include:

The way NDIS participants can receive support under their plan may be subject to conditions and may change. For example:

  • they may only be able to use registered providers
  • they may not have any funds left
  • the way that the plan is managed may change.

Please note that while plans are under review, they are not placed ‘on hold’. Plan reassessment is either completed by the reassessment date, or the participant is given interim funding to ensure that they can continue accessing their approved supports.

You need to know how you will be paid. For example, you might be paid directly by an organisation as a contractor or through a NDIS participant’s plan for each service you provide.

Check where your payment will come from before you start work. If you are paid through a NDIS participant’s plan and can’t confirm the funds are available, take extra care.

Send invoices at the time of providing services, or at regular times. Keep track of payments to make sure you are paid.

Consider the following:

  1. Have a written agreement. Use a service agreement or contract that clearly sets out roles, services and payment terms.
  2. Confirm funding in advance. Check that funds are available before starting work. You can do this by discussing this with your NDIS participant, or their plan manager. Make sure you understand provider rules and pricing limits – and do not assume that funding will become available.
  3. Understand how you will be paid. For example:
    1. directly by a business
    2. through a participant’s plan
    3. via a plan manager or platform
  4. Consider becoming a registered provider with the NDIS and approved under a plan so that you have visibility of funding. This also means that you would be eligible to be paid should the plan become agency-managed (self-managed and plan-managed funding can be paid to registered or unregistered providers).
  5. Invoice regularly. Issue invoices promptly and monitor payments.
  6. Ensure invoices are compliant with the details required such as provider, participant, service details.
  7. Continue to engage on funding with the NDIS participant, support coordinator or plan manager to ensure ongoing sufficient funding (particularly if you are not a registered provider who has been approved as part of a plan). Where there is a change in circumstances, the participant is able to apply to have a plan altered (noting that this process may take some time and should be considered at the earliest time).
  8. Keep records of your work. This can help if your work is later questioned.
  9. Consider public and personal liability insurance. Ensure your insurance covers the work you provide.
  10. Consider the information for providers on the NDIS website and attending training sessions

Getting help

If you need assistance with a dispute, use our dispute tool. You can also contact us for support.

We provide free, independent support for small businesses.

Feedback and complaints in respect of the NDIS may also be made directly to the NDIS online.

Providers have a dedicated telephone line – 1300 311 675.

Note that from 1 January 2027 digital platforms will need to become registered providers and the Commission may review conduct that may be misleading or misrepresenting of circumstances. The Commission handles complaints about providers’ compliance with the Code of Conduct. This provides an avenue for providers to complain to the Commission if they consider another provider (a support coordinator or plan manager) has misled them about a participant’s plan and this has led to them being out of pocket.

For information on the mandatory registration transition pathway for digital platforms please refer to the NDIS Commission’s mandatory registration transition pathway online.

When a person or provider raises an issue with an organisation like the National Disability Insurance Agency or NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and the person or provider is not satisfied with the response, the first step is to escalate the issue through the complaint channels of that organisation. Where the person or provider remains unsatisfied with the way that the National Disability Insurance Agency or NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission has handled their concerns, they can make a complaint to the Commonwealth Ombudsman.