Whether you’re a sole-trader support worker, a SIL/SDA operator, a behaviour support practitioner, or a multi-staff registered provider, the same handful of legal documents come up again and again. Most providers either don’t have them in place, or pay a lawyer hundreds of dollars per document when a flat-fee alternative would do. Here’s the 7 that actually matter.
1. Service Agreement (with each participant)
The single most important document an NDIS provider can have. The NDIS Practice Standards (Core Module 4) and the NDIS Code of Conduct expect a written service agreement with every participant before services start. It sets out scope, fees, cancellation policy, NDIS price-guide alignment, and what happens when funding runs out. Without it, you have no contractual basis to enforce your terms — including chasing unpaid invoices.
2. Independent Contractor Agreement (with each subcontractor)
If you engage support workers, behaviour support practitioners, or allied health professionals as ABN contractors rather than employees, you need a written contractor agreement. It clarifies their status (avoiding sham-contracting issues under the Fair Work Act 2009), sets the scope, and protects your participant relationships from being poached.
3. Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
Used when bringing in a contractor, consultant, or potential business partner who’ll see participant information, NDIS plan details, internal systems, or pricing. The NDIS Privacy Policy obligations make confidentiality enforcement a basic operational need, not an optional extra.
4. Letter of Demand (when an invoice is unpaid)
The first formal step when a plan manager, self-managed participant, or other party hasn’t paid. A properly-drafted demand letter creates the paper trail you need for any later escalation, and in most cases prompts payment within a week.
5. Final Demand
The escalation step after a Letter of Demand has been ignored. Sets a clear final deadline and outlines the specific tribunal or court action that will follow. Most debtors fold at this point because the cost-benefit shifts against them.
6. Payment Plan Agreement
When a participant or their family genuinely can’t pay the full balance immediately but is willing to commit to instalments. Locks the arrangement in writing — amount, schedule, default consequences — so you’re not relying on a verbal promise.
7. Tribunal Application (NCAT, QCAT, VCAT, SAT)
The formal escalation when demands and payment plans have been exhausted. Each Australian state has a tribunal with jurisdiction over civil debts up to $25,000–$100,000 depending on the state. Filing fees are typically $80–$350.
The cost reality
A solicitor charges $300–$800 to draft any one of the documents above. Multiply that by every participant onboarded, every contractor engaged, every unpaid invoice chased — most NDIS providers can’t justify the cost, so they go without. That’s where Claim Done sits: each document above is available as an AI-drafted, Australian-law-compliant PDF for a flat $79 (or $79 for tribunal applications and bundles).
If you’re not sure which document fits your current situation, the wizard takes about ten minutes and walks you through it.