Your Rights in Action: What to Do When NDIS Providers Don’t Meet Their Obligations

Your NDIS plan is built around your goals, and providers have a responsibility to deliver supports that help you achieve them. When things go off track, it's important to recognise your rights. The NDIS Code of Conduct requires providers to deliver supports safely, competently, and respectfully.

Here are some real-world situations where a provider may not be meeting their obligations:

• The Late or No-Show Support Worker: They arrive consistently late, or don't show up at all without proper notice.
• Last-Minute Cancellations: Your support is cancelled with very little warning, leaving you stranded.
• Ignoring Your Communication Needs: A provider doesn't use your preferred communication method (e.g., not using clear language if you have a cognitive disability).
• Not Following Your Care Plan: A support worker refuses to do tasks outlined in your plan, or does them in a way that makes you uncomfortable.
• Withholding Information: A provider isn't transparent about costs, changes to staff, or how they use your funding.

In all these cases, you have the right to safe and quality supports. The first step is to calmly document what happened.