Short version: NDIS participants choose their own providers, so growth comes from being easy to find, easy to trust and easy to work with. The most dependable sources are referrals from support coordinators and plan managers, local relationships, your own website and word of mouth from families. Whichever you use, describe your services honestly and be ready to respond quickly. Before you grow, make sure you can roster and cost the work. Our free shift profit calculator shows what a rostered shift costs against what you charge.
How NDIS participants actually choose a provider
Under the NDIS, participants have choice and control over who delivers their supports. There is no allocation system that hands clients to providers. Participants, families and the people who help them (support coordinators, plan managers, local area coordinators, allied health professionals and other families) look for someone who suits their goals, location, schedule and personality. That has a practical consequence: you are not competing on price alone, because many supports are priced within NDIS pricing rules. You are competing on availability, reliability, communication and fit.
Your registration status also affects who can choose you. Participants with agency-managed plans can only use registered providers, while self-managed and plan-managed participants can use registered or unregistered providers, and some supports require registration. See our guide on how to become an NDIS provider for the wider picture.
Ways NDIS providers find clients
1. Support coordinators and plan managers
Support coordinators spend their day helping participants find and connect with providers, so they are one of the most common referral sources. Introduce yourself by email or at a local network meeting, explain clearly what you deliver, where, and when you have capacity, and make it easy for them to send you a referral. Keep your availability honest and up to date: a coordinator who refers a participant and finds you cannot start will not refer again. Remember that participants make the final choice, and coordinators are expected to put that choice first.
2. Allied health, hospitals and community organisations
Occupational therapists, speech pathologists, physiotherapists, schools, hospital discharge teams and local community groups often meet people who need support. A short, clear description of your service and a named contact is more useful to them than a brochure.
3. Your own website and online listings
Families often search online. A simple website that says who you support, which suburbs you cover, what services you offer and how to enquire does most of the work. Include your registration status, and keep contact details visible. Online directories and provider listings exist, but several are run by private companies rather than the NDIA or the NDIS Commission, so check what a listing costs and who operates it before relying on it. You can confirm whether a provider is registered on the NDIS Commission's provider register.
4. Word of mouth and local networks
Disability communities are close-knit. Family and carer groups, local Facebook and community groups, disability expos and peer networks all influence who people try. The best marketing is consistent, respectful support that families talk about. Ask for feedback, and respond to it.
5. Partnerships and subcontracting
Some smaller providers pick up work by partnering with larger organisations or other providers who have more demand than capacity. Be clear in writing about who is responsible for what, including supervision, insurance, incident reporting and invoicing.
What to have ready before the first enquiry
Referrals are often lost in the first few days. Before you promote your service, sort out:
- A clear description of services and areas covered, so the right people get in touch.
- A fast reply process. Someone should answer enquiries within a business day or so, even if the answer is "we will confirm availability soon".
- A service agreement that explains supports, prices, cancellations and how to give feedback.
- Referral and intake forms so you collect what you need once. See our NDIS referral forms.
- Capacity to deliver. Know which shifts you can cover, with workers who have the right screening and training, before you say yes.
Marketing rules and good practice
- Be accurate. Do not claim to be registered if you are not, and do not overstate qualifications or outcomes.
- Respect choice and control. Do not pressure participants, and do not offer gifts or inducements to switch providers.
- Protect privacy. Never share a participant's details or story without their informed consent.
- Read the NDIS Code of Conduct and the NDIS Commission's guidance. They apply to registered and unregistered providers alike.
Mistakes that cost providers clients
- Taking on more participants than your roster can safely cover.
- Slow replies to referrals and enquiries.
- Last-minute cancellations because shifts were not planned.
- Unclear invoices that make plan managers chase you.
- Relying on a single referral source.
Winning clients is only half the job: can you roster them profitably?
New participants mean new shifts, and each shift carries award costs such as weekend penalties, sleepovers, broken shifts and overtime. Before you commit, work out what a typical shift costs and compare it with what you can invoice. Where margins are thin, an unprofitable shift is easy to miss until after the pay run.
How RaddeCare+ fits in
RaddeCare+ does not find clients for you. It helps once you have them. It covers rostering, the SCHADS (MA000100), Aged Care (MA000018) and Nurses (MA000034) award engines for sleepovers, broken shifts, public holidays and overtime, and NDIS and general invoicing with Xero and MYOB. Once a shift is on the roster, you can see its margin. Support workers use the mobile app to sign in and out with geolocation, complete timesheets, manage leave and work offline, and you can build compliance documents such as intake forms with the form builder (not available as dynamic forms inside the mobile app).
Frequently asked questions
How do new NDIS providers get their first clients?
Most start with relationships: introducing the service to local support coordinators, plan managers, allied health professionals and community groups, and asking for referrals. A clear website and a simple way to enquire help people who hear about you to follow up. Start small and do a few things well rather than trying every channel.
Do I need to be NDIS registered to get clients?
Not necessarily. Participants who self-manage or use a plan manager can choose registered or unregistered providers, but participants whose plans are agency-managed can only use registered providers, and some supports require registration. Check the NDIS Commission's registration pages to see which applies to the supports you want to deliver.
Can I advertise my NDIS services?
Yes, providers can promote their services, but what you say must be accurate and must not mislead people. Do not promise outcomes you cannot guarantee, and do not pressure participants or offer inducements to switch. Your obligations under the NDIS Code of Conduct apply to how you market as well as how you deliver support, so check it on the NDIS Commission website.
Do support coordinators refer participants to providers?
Support coordinators help participants understand their plan and choose providers, so many providers build working relationships with them. Participants stay in control of who they choose, and coordinators are expected to put participant choice first, so a good reputation and a clear, honest description of what you offer matter more than any one introduction.