Service Agreements are there to Protect You
Your NDIS service agreement is the most important document you have. It represents the agreement you have with a provider.
It contains what they promise to deliver to you and anything you need to do in return.
It includes important information about the cancellation terms and things like travel charges.
Before you sign a service agreement, here are 10 things you need to check you understand before signing it:
1. A ‘schedule of supports’
The schedule of supports should detail:
- what services and supports your ndis provider will provide,
- their fees for the services they will provide (this would include the rate per hour and the total fee)
It is important to know how many hours your provider thinks they will use and how much it will cost from your NDIS plan.
2. The amount of money a provider will expect to charge you
Information about how they will let you know what work they have done for you. How often will they send you an invoice or ‘statement of service’.
3. What they will charge you for phone calls, email, research
These are non 'face-to-face' items that are still billed at the same rate of service. These may be charged in increments (5min, 15min or 30min) so be sure to ask about that.
4. What the travel costs will be if they visit you at home or in the community
Any other costs or fees you need to know about the travel component of their fees. This could be travel time AND travel changes per km travelled.
5. How your provider will be paid
This will depend on whether your NDIS plan is self-managed, plan managed or agency managed.
6. Your responsibilities and your provider’s responsibilities
Information about what happens if you (or your support coordinator if you have one) don’t meet the agreed responsibilities.
7. Cancellation policy and cancellation fees
Make sure you know how long in advance you have to cancel so that you are not incorrectly charged for amounts not due. Also, make sure you know how much you will be charged if you don't cancel within the required period.
Currently, Therapy Providers require a 2 day cancellation period - if you cancel closer to your appointment, you will be charged! Support workers can claim a 7 day cancellation period!
8. Information about how long the agreement goes for and how it can be changed or ended
This is very important to make sure you have the flexibility to change providers with an acceptable or no notice period.
9. Feedback and complaints process
How can you make a complaint if you are not happy?
10. Whether you will need to pay Goods and Services Tax (GST) or if the service is GST-free
In almost all cases, GST is NOT payable on disability services. Providers may not be sure about this so be sure to check! You can find out more in our resource about whether a provider should be charging GST NDIS Services and GST
NOTE: The Australian Tax Office says that if Disability Providers are not charging a Participant GST, they MUST have a service agreement in place. Many providers are unaware of this.
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