The Service Agreement Every NDIS Provider Needs With Each Participant

The NDIS Practice Standards expect every registered provider to have a written service agreement with each participant before services start. The NDIS Code of Conduct extends similar expectations to non-registered providers. Yet a surprising number of providers operate on verbal agreements or generic templates pulled off Facebook groups — and discover the gap only when something goes wrong.

What a proper NDIS service agreement covers

• The parties. Provider details (registered name, ABN, NDIS registration number if applicable) and participant details (name, NDIS number, nominee or guardian if relevant).
• The services. Specific support categories from the participant’s plan, line items, frequency, and duration.
• Pricing. Reference to the current NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits, hourly or unit rates, travel charges, cancellation fees, and how price changes are notified.
• Payment. Who pays (NDIA, plan manager, or self-managed), invoice frequency, payment terms, and what happens for non-payment.
• Cancellation. Notice required, the cancellation fee structure (the NDIS allows 100% of the support price for short-notice cancellations within agreed thresholds), and what counts as a no-show.
• Quality and safety. The NDIS Code of Conduct, complaints handling, incident reporting, the participant’s right to choice and control.
• Privacy. How participant information is handled, who it’s shared with, retention periods.
• Termination. Notice period from either side, what happens to outstanding invoices.
• Signatures. Provider and participant (or nominee), with dates.

Why this matters for your business

Without a written service agreement:

• Unpaid invoices are harder to recover. A tribunal will ask for the agreement that established the price and terms. No agreement, weaker case.
• Cancellation fees can’t be enforced. The NDIS allows them only if they’re documented in the service agreement.
• Disputes escalate faster. Without a clear written record, every disagreement becomes “he said, she said”.
• Compliance risk increases. An NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission audit will flag the gap.

Drafting one for a flat fee

Claim Done’s Service Agreement product is built for Australian businesses generally and adapts cleanly to NDIS provider–participant relationships. The wizard asks about the support type, the pricing model, cancellation terms, and any NDIS-specific clauses you want included. Our Programmatic Algorithms draft the agreement; you review, sign, and send to the participant for counter-signature.

Flat $49 fee. You can use the same agreement as a template for every new participant, with minor tweaks for service-specific details.