Knowledge Hub
Utilising your IT systems wisely
Your IT system is not broken, you are just not using it for what it is built for
Articles
Practical writing on capability, independence and everyday support.
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The real cost of high turnover in NDIS Services
Why it is draining your budget and what you can do about it. Did you know it can cost up to 20% of a staff member's annual salary to replace them? That 20% is not factored into the NDIS Reasonable Cost Model.
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The Pitfalls of Restrictive Practices
In the past year, over 1.7 million restrictive practices were reported to the NDIS Commission. That number is not just a statistic; it is a signal. It is a signal that many providers are:
Knowledge Hub
The 5 NDIS Problems we can fix
Over the last decade, the Australian Government commissioned review after review to interrogate the NDIS and make it fit for purpose. A Royal Commission. An independent review of the scheme. Parliamentary inquiries. Performance audits. More than $680 million o…
Knowledge Hub
Investigations
Doing it right (the first time) — how to conduct an investigation that actually solves the problem.
Knowledge Hub
Compliance is the bare minimum
NDIS providers spend too much time preparing for audits, instead of preparing to deliver better services.
NDIS
Who is regulating the NDIS commission?
Today’s insight from the realm of the NDIS comes from a support provider for individuals with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities. This provider is noted for their diligent reporting of incidents, but they’ve been encountering issues with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission’s delayed responses, sometimes taking years to close submissions (5 years is the longest I’ve seen).
NDIS
The NDIS Price Guide 2024 / 25: Pushing more providers to bankruptcy?
So, it is the last working day of the financial year. Why would you expect more than 6 working hours of notice on what you can charge for your services in the new FY? The headlines from the new NDIS price guide
NDIS
Supported Independant Living (SIL) Best Practice
It’s the calm before the storm, but it’s looking like so many service providers are currently paralysed. Regardless of the likely increased oversight, we are still seeing repeated news stories and NDIS civil proceedings showing very clearly that SIL best practice is not currently occurring.
Workforce
Service providers stories from the front line
Unfunded Supports I have had the opportunity recently to hear from both providers and participants about their experiences within the NDIS. The provider bashing of late, framed by Minister Shorten’s letter to NDIS Participants, is fueling an adversarial context.
Workforce
Emerging Leaders Training
Emerging leader training is the best way to navigate the upcoming NDIS changes The Australian Government was expected to announce their response to the Disability Royal Commission at the end of this month. They have however delayed this until mid 2024, stating the need to “continue consultation that will drive meaningful and lasting change”.
Inclusion
Disability pride month is coming. How would you rate your organisation for disability inclusion?
In today’s volatile business climate, diversity and inclusion have become cornerstones of corporate responsibility and competitive advantage. Yet, when we have reviewed diversity equity and inclusion plans and policies, we often find that disability inclusion is often overlooked, or it is a footnote in the plan without any funding identified.
Strategy
Survive & Thrive Series Part 6 – Money Matters
Welcome to Part 6 of our Survive & Thrive strategic leadership series for NDIS leaders who want to move beyond surface-level compliance and into transformational leadership. Money Matters: Why Some Providers Are Thriving While Others Are Barely Surviving
Strategy
Survive & Thrive Series Part 5 – The Microscope not the Mantra
Welcome to Part 5 of our Survive & Thrive strategic leadership series for NDIS leaders who want to move beyond surface-level compliance and into transformational leadership. From Reflection to Measurement – Why NDIS leaders need “The Microscope not the Mantra”
Strategy
Survive & Thrive Series Part 4 – The Mirror not the Microscope
Welcome to Part 4 of our Survive & Thrive strategic leadership series for NDIS providers We invite you to find a quiet space, have a quick mental reset and settle in for 8 minutes reading time to discover: Why NDIS Leaders need “The Mirror, Not the Microscope” – Defining and Embracing Organisational Purpose.
Strategy
Survive & Thrive Series Part 3 – Who Has a Seat at Your NDIS Strategic Table?
Grab a coffee and set aside 9 minutes reading time to ask yourself honestly: “Does my organisation have the right expertise and experience to revitalise over the next 12 months, whilst we continue to respond to what is needed right now?”
Strategy
Survive & Thrive Series Part 2 – Planning for NDIS 2.0 success will be dependent on your approach to change
29 April 2025 Leaders don’t always have time but 9 minutes here could shape the way you lead through change. The second half of 2025 will see a possible change in government, a long-awaited response to the NDIS Review and the publication of several Australian National Audit Office audits.
Strategy
Survive & Thrive Series Part 1 – Your NDIS Growth & Sustainability Guide
Planning for NDIS 2.0 – Stop needing to prioritise the bushfires, use the upcoming caretaker period to proactively backburn. “Failing to plan, is planning to fail”. If you thought NDIS 2024 was a wild ride, strap yourself in for NDIS 2025. With a caretaker period looming: NOW is the calm before the storm.
NDIS
NDIS service providers facing court
The NDIS continues to be uncertain and turbulent. NDIS Providers are rallying for an increase to the price guide and the reintroduction of complex payments. But in my view, this isn’t the biggest crocodile in the water. It’s quite possibly the baby with the mumma lurking behind.
NDIS
NDIS service providers facing court – Part 2
In the light of the recent price guide and the rhetoric that quality will suffer, we are going to continue our analysis of the current litigation against NDIS Service Providers (part 1 available here) We have to remain vigilant on the quality and safeguarding mechanisms we are implementing.
NDIS
NDIS changes, using change management techniques gives confidence
I have been a little quiet on the blog front lately. This wasn’t a deliberate decision, but now looking back, I think I needed time to reflect on all the noise to be able to really consider the changes. I think it’s where I got a bit lost and frankly overwhelmed.
NDIS
NDIS analysis paralysis
This fortnight in the realm of NDIS we are not going to look at a single provider, but at the complex web of reviews, analysis and maintaining the status quo. We have been assured time and time again that “The Government is dedicated to creating a safe and inclusive Australia, where all people with disability are supported to thrive”
Inclusion
Making a start in disability inclusion – workplace adjustments
In today’s fast paced, high tech and rapidly changing world, our brains have to rely on a whole bunch of shortcuts so that we can make decisions (like should I get out of bed). Our brains truly are amazing. It can form associations between different concepts based on past experiences without us even realising that’s what we have done.
Inclusion
How international day of people with disability can launch a lasting inclusion movement
Tuesday 3 December 2024 is International Day of People with Disability. Many orgs will likely put a social media post up or maybe share some cupcakes. But what does it really mean and why is now the time to build your movement? This may be controversial, but I feel it needs to be said.
Inclusion
Formalising your disability inclusion journey
Did you know: This is the current disability Pride flag The disability pride flag was originally released in 2019. But… by 2021 it had to undergo an accessibility redesign. It was found the original design brought on symptoms such as seizures and migraines for individuals with visually triggered disabilities.
Inclusion
Disability rights: The Aus government missing in action.
The Australian Government has released their formal response to the Royal Commission into violence, abuse neglect, exploitation and discrimination against people with disability. And LinkedIn has been ablaze. Words like: Gutless Lacklustre Disappointing Underwhelming The cynic in me views the 306-page response as a wonderful piece of advertising material for the Labour Government.
NDIS
Brave Leadership - Knowing when it's time to build
Faced with a financial crisis that could have crippled her organisation, one CEO chose trust, values and courage over the safe option. It’s a reminder that the most powerful leadership decisions are rarely made with perfect information, but with clarity about what matters and the confidence to build something better.
NDIS
The NDIS Just Changed What Non-Compliance Costs You. Personally.
The NDIS Amendment (Integrity and Safeguarding) Act 2025 has passed the Senate. This is not another incremental reform update. This legislation fundamentally changes the consequence framework for providers and, for the first time, explicitly names individual leaders as personally accountable for serious non-compliance.
NDIS
Butler's reform isn't the concern.
Minister Butler announced 12 NDIS reform propositions on 22 April. Yet after a decade of reforms and reviews, we have implemented less than 2.5% of identified changes Lets start to learn what history is trying to teach us.
NDIS
Modelling Minister Butler's reforms
Butler's 22 April announcement quietly transferred one question to every NDIS provider. Can you prove the support is necessary, proportionate, delivered, documented, and producing enough value to justify the cost?
NDIS
History Repeating? What providers need to understand about Functional Capacity Assessments
If you fought independent assessments in 2021, the 2026 announcement may feel like the same proposition. The architecture appears to be identical, but what has changed is the operating environment around it.
NDIS
Part 4: linking fraud and reform.
Because integrity is not simply about preventing theft. Integrity is about aligning words with actions. It is about ensuring that the evidence used to justify reform genuinely supports the conclusions being drawn. It is about being honest with the public about what is known, what is assumed and what trade-offs are being made. And it is about directing scarce public resources toward interventions that make a meaningful difference, rather than those that are politically useful.
NDIS
The new SIL standards have two kinds of obligation. Most providers are only preparing for one.
Before you update your SIL policies, you need to audit the people already in your care.