A timely break for disability service providers
NDIS asks providers to hold off registering until after July 1.
The long-cherished aspiration to have consistent quality in service standards Australia-wide in the disability sector, will soon start to become a reality.
The NDIS is hoping to provide a smooth transition for service-providers when its new Quality and Safeguards Commission (NDIS Commission) rolls out in NSW and SA after July 1.
For this reason it is encouraging caution.
Service-providers are being asked not to register for the NDIS in those states until after the roll out.
In this way, they will be in a better position to manage the complicated and unfamiliar official processes involved in transferring to the new national disability-care regime.
As pathfinders for this national revolution in disability care, service-providers in NSW and South Australia must navigate and correctly adhere to the policies and procedures involved in NDIS registration.
This often comes at great cost in time and expense to the provider.
Some are being charged around $4,000 by lawyers to draw up the 14 new documents (see full list below) needed to meet NDIS registration requirements.
On top of this, it can take between two and 10 workhours to then lodge the application.
Such a large operating overhead will hit small business operators hard.
The NDIS Commission knows that providers applying in the coming few weeks are unlikely to be approved before July 1. In which case, they will need to start the registration all over again.
Help for providers
As the administrating body, the NDIS Commission is limited in the amount of assistance it can offer would-be applicants, beyond help and guidance.
The online NDIS Provider Toolkit explains the process and offers links to useful resources. But the cost and legwork still has to be borne by the provider.
To take the financial pain and aggravation out of NDIS registration, Centro ASSIST offers the full-range of policy documents needed for provider-registration:
Business Insurance
Code of Conduct
Conflict of Interest
Maintenance, Records and Audit
Pricing Policy
Restrictive Practices
Service Agreements
Complaints Management
Incident Management
Risk Management
Worker Screening
Participant Rights
Service Continuity
Support Provision
Subscribers to Centro ASSIST are able to access and use these NDIS-compliant documents to complete their registration.