National Disability Insurance Scheme providers of therapy supports, supported independent living, and support coordination will share in more than $45 million in funding as part of a program designed to support quality providers of disability services.
This will also help the NDIA to identify the most appropriate price settings to support the delivery of quality disability support services and the long term viability of quality providers.
A new pilot will launch later this year with $20 million for NDIS therapy providers as part of the Quality Supports Program.
As part of the therapy pilot, the National Disability Insurance Agency will work closely with selected providers to evaluate the characteristics of quality service provision, including the costs and outcomes that come from providing quality services.
Data from the pilot will inform future approaches to NDIS therapy pricing.
The new pilot for therapy providers will sit alongside two pilots – for Supported Independent Living and Support Coordination providers – that start this month with more than $25 million to be shared among participating providers in every state and territory.
SIL and Support Coordination providers participating in the pilot were selected based on assessment criteria in a restricted grant process. SIL providers include:
- Aruma, which supports 1,250 NDIS participants in SIL across Queensland, NSW, Victoria and the ACT. Aruma was created in 2019 by the merger of pioneering disability organisations the House With No Steps and the Tipping Foundation and has 4,500 employees.
- Northcott, established in 1929 by the Rotary Club of Sydney and one of Australia’s largest not-for-profit disability service organisations. Northcott provides SIL for 470 NDIS participants in NSW and Victoria and employs 1,900 staff.
- Yooralla, well known in Victoria for its 100-plus years of work in the community and a provider of SIL services to 330 NDIS participants in that state. Yooralla employs more than 1,900 staff.
- Multicap, which provides SIL services to 250 NDIS participants in NSW and Queensland and employs more than 2,200 staff. Multicap has grown from its creation 60 years by five families that needed support for their children.
Participants in the new therapy pilot will also be selected through a restricted grant process.
The providers will receive grant funding to offset the costs of working with the NDIA in collecting data on how they operate and support NDIS participants.
This data will provide the NDIA with greater insight into how participant outcomes are achieved and the costs associated with achieving those outcomes.
The Quality Supports Program is one part of the NDIA’s work to reform pricing for NDIS supports and support quality providers that deliver high quality services to NDIS participants.
As part of that work, the NDIA appointed an Independent Pricing Committee (IPC) to review NDIS pricing in 2024.
Following the release of the IPC’s final report in June, the NDIA has committed to releasing a three-year plan that will guide NDIS pricing reform.
More information about the Quality Supports Program is available on the Quality supports program page.
Senator Jenny McAllister, Minister for the NDIS, said “The right support makes a real and lasting difference to the lives of NDIS participants and their families. That’s why it’s so important to make sure the NDIS goes out of its way to understand the providers that deliver quality services across the scheme.”
“The pilots are designed to support the market to deliver quality services that are appropriately priced and support the diverse needs of people with a disability, including those with complex support needs. We want to make sure that our quality providers in the scheme are viable for the long term.”