Once you have found some service providers you are interested in, it is important to arrange a meeting with them. A visit will give you the chance to see the organization in action and get a feel for their culture.
Things to discuss:
– the cost of the supports they offer;
– how, when and where you would like your supports to be provided;
– how long you will need the supports to be provided;
– when and how your Service Agreement will be reviewed;
– how any problems or issues that may arise will be dealt with;
– your responsibilities under the Service Agreement, such as letting your provider know if you can’t make an appointment;
– your provider’s responsibilities under the Service Agreement, such as working with you to deliver your supports in the right way.
When your decision has been made, you will need to do a Service Agreement with the service provider. A Service Agreement is a contract between yourself and the organisation that is going to provide the service. The Service Agreement is about delivering those supports. See Get Started to find out more about making a Service Agreement.
You will need to work out with your service provider how they will get paid. There are several different ways the funds from people’s packages can be dispersed and managed. They can be self-managed, agency managed, plan managed or a combination of these. The N.D.I.S. website has fact sheets to assist you with managing your plan.
N.D.I.S. plans are managed through the online N.D.I.S. portal. The portal is called myplace. It is a secure website for participants or their nominee to view their NDIS plan, request payments and manage services with providers. See Get Started for a user guide to the NDIS portal.
GET STARTED
Service providers are required to register with the N.D.I.S. To view a list of current registered provided, take a look at Find a registered provider on the NDIS website.
This document is big, but you can use the search function by pressing Ctrl and then the ‘f’ key on your keyboard, then typing in what you are searching for (eg. support coordination). Choose the list of Tasmanian providers only, to make it quicker to search.
All current providers have been through a state government registration process and during the next 2 years, all providers will have undergone a quality and safety audit to make sure they meet the N.D.I.S. standards.
To read more about these standards, check out the NDIS Practice Standards and Quality Indicators.
There are national and state standards for disability service providers, these guidelines are very useful tools when choosing the right service provider. You can compare the service you are considering against the standards. Take a look at the Australian Government Department of Social Services’ National Standards for Disability Services.
Be clear about the supports and services you require to reach your goals, and how you want those services provided.
It may sound complicated, but you will find that your N.D.I.S. planner, your appointed Local Area Coordinator and your chosen Service Providers will guide you through the process. They do it on a regular basis are are very familiar with what is required.
To access all of the up-to-date N.D.I.S. fact sheets, take a look at Booklets and factsheets on the NDIS website.
For information about making a Service Agreement with a provider, see Making a service agreement, also on the NDIS website.
For information about and help to use the NDIS portal, take a look at this user guide.
Check out our handy ACD Tas How to Choose a Service Provider guide.
The Raising Children website also has a great article called Partnerships with disability professionals to help you work effectively with your service providers and other professionals.
ACTION STEPS
Here you can find a simple list of the best actions to take if you are interested in this topic:
1 . Review your plan
and think about the goals you identified to work out what services and supports you need to reach them.
2 . Find services
that may suit your needs. They are listed on the link in the Get Started section of this page.
3 . Visit services
to determine if they suit your needs and provide the type of service you are seeking.
4 . Service agreements
work with your providers to get service agreements that suit your needs.