NDIS Providers: Respecting Participant Communication Preferences Is Not Optional

NDIS Requirements 

These requirements apply to BOTH Registered and Unregistered NDIS Providers.

1. NDIS Code of Conduct

NDIS Providers must:

• act with respect for individual rights,
• provide supports in a safe and competent manner, and
• take reasonable steps to prevent harm.

Ignoring a clearly stated communication preference — particularly where it is disability-related — can be interpreted as a failure to provide supports safely and respectfully.

2. NDIS Practice Standards (Updated 2025)

Under the strengthened NDIS Participant rights and quality safeguards provisions, NDIS providers must:

• tailor communication methods to the participant’s needs,
• demonstrate accessible engagement practices, and
• document participant preferences and follow them.

3. Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA),

Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA), an NDIS provider has a legal obligation to make reasonable adjustments when communicating with a person with disability.

This obligation applies whether the provider is:

• Registered or unregistered
• Contacting an existing participant
• Responding to an enquiry
• Marketing services
• Delivering supports

If the communication preferences are disability related adjustments, ignoring these preferences can breach both the NDIS Practice Standards and the Disability Discrimination Act’s requirement to make reasonable adjustments in how services and information are provided. 

The law applies to all service providers in Australia, including NDIS providers.

Communication is recognised as an access requirement — not a courtesy.

How will this affect your NDIS business?

Beyond compliance, there is a another very important reason providers need to follow Participant communication preferences.

If you ignore written-only contact instructions

You communicate:

“We don’t read referrals properly."

"We don’t follow instructions."

"We will override your needs."

"We are administratively disorganised.”

This damageds trust before services even begin.

If you follow written-only instructions

You communicate:

• professionalism,
• reliability,
• emotional safety, and
• competence.

Trust begins at first contact.

NDIS Providers who demonstrate this are far more likely to:

• secure long-term service agreements,
• receive positive word-of-mouth,
• maintain strong relationships with Support Coordinators and referral partners, and
• avoid complaints and negative reviews.

What must I do if a referral says “Written Contact Only”

Providers must implement a structured communication protocol.

The steps below set the minimum standard expected when you receive a referral with a written-only contact requirement.

Step 1: Record the Communication Preference Immediately

When receiving a referral, enter the participant’s communication preference into your CRM/client system, flag the file as “WRITTEN CONTACT ONLY,” and ensure all administrative and intake staff can see this instruction. This is a risk-management step.

Step 2: Make First Contact in Writing

Use email or SMS as specified in the referral.

Your first message should:

1. introduce your organisation,
2. confirm receipt of the referral,
3. acknowledge the written-only instruction, and
4. invite the participant to choose next steps.

Example message:

Hi [Name],

We’ve received your referral and understand you prefer to be contacted in writing.

We are happy to continue communicating this way.

If at any stage you would like a phone call, please let us know and we will arrange it at a time that suits you.

Otherwise, we can provide all information via email or text.

Kind regards,
[Provider Name]

Step 3: Ask Permission Before Changing Communication Mode

If written communication becomes inefficient (for example, complex service agreements), explain why a call may assist, ask permission, and offer alternatives.

DO NOT CALL to “just to speed things up,” DO NOT assume they “won’t mind,” and DO NOT leave voicemail messages.

Unrequested phone contact breaches the participant’s stated boundary.

Example permission request:

"To explain funding breakdowns more clearly, a short call may help.

Would you like to schedule a call, or would you prefer a written explanation?"

Step 4: Document Consent

If the participant agrees to a call, confirm in writing the date, time, and purpose of the call, and record that consent was given. Call only at the agreed time.

Step 5: Train All Staff

Every intake, admin and frontline worker must understand that communication preferences are access requirements, ignoring them creates compliance risk and commercial risk, and ignoring them damages trust.

This must be part of induction and ongoing training.

What happens when NDIS Providers ignore this?

Consequences can include:

• complaints to the NDIS Commission,
• requests for explanation under the Practice Standards,
• escalation through referral networks,
• loss of service agreements,
• negative online reviews,
• civil claims under discrimination law, and
• immediate withdrawal by the participant.

In many cases, NDIS participants who experience this disengage permanently.

Trauma-Informed Context

Many NDIS participants request written-only contact because of PTSD, anxiety disorders, communication processing differences, hearing impairment, previous service-related trauma, or neurodivergence.

A sudden phone call can trigger panic, create cognitive overload, reinforce feelings of being unheard, and confirm fear that providers override boundaries. First contact sets the psychological tone for the entire service relationship.

What does MyCareSpace think?

MyCareSpace supports both NDIS participants and NDIS providers:

• we help NDIS participants connect and engage in the way they need to be supported, and
• we help providers succeed by referring clients and setting clear engagement requirements that reduce risk and improve onboarding.

All Providers listed on the MyCareSpace website need to follow the MyCareSpace Provider Code of Conduct.

This means that when MyCareSpace passes on an NDIS participant’s communication preference (for example, “email or sms”), it is a deliberate access requirement and part of safe engagement — not a casual note — and NDIS Providers who follow it build trust quickly and convert referrals into long-term service relationships.

While NDIS providers who ignore it signal they cannot be trusted, increase complaint risk, and may lose both the NDIS participant and future referrals.

Minimum Standard for Ethical NDIS Providers (2026)

• Treat communication preferences as binding
• Record them in internal systems
• Use written communication as default when requested
• Seek explicit consent before calling
• Train staff in accessible engagement
• View compliance as commercially strategic

Respecting communication preferences is not about being polite

If you cannot follow a participant’s clearly stated communication preference at intake stage, you are signalling that:

1. you are not operationally ready,
2. you lack trauma-informed practice, and 
3. you may not be suitable to support that participant.

Communication preferences are about legal compliance, risk management, trust-building, commercial sustainability, and professional credibility.

Trust is built in the first contact — and it can be destroyed in one phone call.