The way you onboard a new NDIS participant shapes your entire relationship with them. A well-managed onboarding process builds trust, ensures you understand their goals and preferences, and gets the administrative foundation right from day one. Here’s how to do it well.
Stage 1: Initial Enquiry and Eligibility Check
When a new participant or family member contacts your organisation, your first task is to understand what they need and confirm you can provide it:
- What support categories does the participant have funding for in their current plan?
- Do you hold the registration groups required to deliver those supports?
- Do you have capacity (workers, time, location) to take them on?
- What are the participant’s primary goals and support needs?
Ask for a copy of their NDIS plan or, at minimum, their plan summary. This tells you their funded categories, the amount available in each category, and any specific conditions on how funding can be used.
Stage 2: The Intake Meeting
Before any support is delivered, meet with the participant — and their family or nominee if relevant — to understand their needs in detail. This meeting should cover:
- Their goals and what they want to achieve through the supports
- Their daily routine and when support is needed
- Any health conditions, medications, or behavioural considerations workers need to know about
- Communication style and preferences
- Worker preferences — gender, language, experience
- Emergency contacts and what to do in a crisis
- Consent to collect and store their personal information
Stage 3: Developing the Support Plan / Care Plan
Based on the intake meeting, develop an individualised support plan (also called a care plan) that documents:
- Participant’s goals (both short-term and long-term)
- What supports will be delivered, by whom, and how often
- Any specific approaches or techniques to be used in delivering supports
- Health and safety information relevant to support delivery
- Risk assessment and any risk mitigation strategies
- Emergency contacts and emergency protocols
The support plan should be written in plain language that the participant can understand and should be signed by both the participant and the provider.
Stage 4: Service Agreement
A service agreement is a legal document between you and the participant that sets out the terms of your support relationship. Under NDIS rules, you need a signed service agreement before delivering any funded supports. Your service agreement must include:
- The supports to be delivered (referencing specific NDIS support items)
- The agreed price for each support (must not exceed NDIS price limits)
- The frequency and duration of supports
- Each party’s responsibilities
- Your cancellation policy
- How disputes will be handled
- Consent to claim from the participant’s NDIS plan
Stage 5: Worker Matching and Briefing
Once the service agreement is signed, select appropriate workers based on the participant’s needs and preferences. Before their first shift:
- Ensure the worker has read the participant’s support plan
- Provide any relevant health and safety information
- Confirm the worker has the qualifications required for the specific supports
- Arrange a supported handover or introductory meeting with the participant if possible
Stage 6: First Shift and Review
The first shift is critical. Conduct a check-in with the participant shortly after to confirm everything went as expected. Any concerns raised at this stage are much easier to address early than after patterns are established. Set a formal review meeting for 4–6 weeks after commencement to review the support plan and service agreement.
Key Takeaways
- Verify plan funding before committing to supports.
- Run a thorough intake meeting — it saves problems later.
- Always have a signed service agreement before the first shift.
- Match workers thoughtfully — consistency matters to participants.
- Check in early and set a formal review in the first month.