Quality supports program

The Quality supports program is part of the NDIA’s plans to ensure every NDIS participant can access quality and value for money services.

The program will establish several pilots, each dedicated to the delivery of a NDIS support. Selected NDIS providers of therapy supports, supported independent living, and support coordination will share in more than $45 million in grant funding to participant in three pilots which commenced in 2025.

As part of the program, the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) will work closely with selected providers who met the eligibility requirements to evaluate the characteristics of quality service provision, including the costs and outcomes that come from providing quality services.

Supported Independent Living (SIL) pilot

Forty-four registered providers from across Australia are participating in the Supported Independent Living (SIL) pilot (Table One). The pilot will operate for 12 months, with the first quarter finalised in October 2025.

During the first three months, SIL pilot providers shared detailed financial and operational information with the NDIA and joined a series of Community of Practice workshops.

The workshops focused on building a shared understanding about how SIL supports are delivered in today’s market, common challenges faced by providers in delivering quality supports and new ways of working to tackle these challenges.

Lived experience is also informing pilot findings. The pilot has heard from about 50 participants, guardians, parents and carers so far. We have heard about how providers are supporting positive experiences for participants, as well as how participants and providers work together when things go wrong.

Quarter 2 of the SIL pilot is underway. This quarter will continue to deepen the Agency’s understanding of service delivery costs and the experience of SIL pilot providers in the current environment.

Learnings from the pilot will contribute to the Agency’s review of current NDIS pricing models as part of its commitment to revised pricing approaches that ensure every NDIS participant can access quality and value for money services.

A second SIL pilot originally anticipated for release in 2025 will now commence after the first SIL pilot is completed. Timing the delivery in this way will ensure the findings from the first SIL pilot are understood and inform the design and implementation of the second SIL pilot.

Table 1: SIL pilot providers

*Grantee delivery state information is provided in accordance with grantee SIL Pilot Grant Opportunity information as at March 2025

More information about the providers participating in the SIL pilot can be found by searching their GA number on GrantConnect .

For further information about the SIL pilot email [email protected].

Support coordination (SC) pilot

The NDIA invited eligible providers of Support coordination (SC) to apply for a closed, non-competitive SC pilot grant. 

Only providers who met the criteria set out in the Quality Supports SC Pilot Grant Opportunity Guidelines and NDIA due diligence review, were eligible to be invited to apply for the grant. 

SC providers were required to meet the Agency’s compliance thresholds to be awarded funding under the grant program.

The SC pilot has commenced and will run for 12 months with the Agency working with selected providers to identify features of quality service provision and cost models associated with providing quality support coordination services.

Up to $2 million in grant funding was available with individual funding amounts based on a proportion of the grantee’s Level 2 SC claims acquitted for the financial year 2023-2024.

Three registered SC providers were eligible for the initial grant opportunity and are currently participating in the SC pilot.

The Agency is anticipating more support coordinators will be awarded grants in the coming months. 

For further information email [email protected]

Therapy pilot

The Therapy pilot has now commenced with 27 registered providers across Australia selected to share up to $20 million in grant funding to work with the NDIA over the next 12-months to identify features of quality service provision and the costs associated with delivery of these services (see Table One).

The Therapy pilot will contribute to the NDIA’s future pricing reform, ensuring price settings reflect the service delivery, workforce mix, and participant outcomes associated with delivering high quality therapy supports.

The pilot findings will be considered alongside broader evidence, including the 2025-26 Annual Price Review submissions, administrative and utilisation data, external benchmarks, and targeted engagement to inform future pricing reviews as part of the NDIA’s Three-Year Pricing Workplan (2025–28).

The Three-Year Pricing Workplan outlines the NDIA’s commitment to transparent, staged pricing improvements that respond to emerging market pressures while maintaining participant choice and provider sustainability, visit the Pricing Workplan page to learn more.

We are running a participant survey as part of the Quality Supports Therapy pilot. The survey is being distributed to participants who have been supported over the last 6 months by one or more of the providers participating in the pilot.  

We will publish a summary of the survey on NDIS Engage to share the main themes and insights.

For further information about the Quality Supports Therapy pilot email [email protected].