How to Choose an NDIS Support Worker

Start with what actually matters

Choosing a support worker is one of the more personal decisions in your NDIS plan — this is someone who'll be in your home and your week. The good news is that the things worth checking are concrete, and any provider worth choosing will answer them without fuss. Here's the checklist we'd use ourselves.

The checklist

• NDIS Worker Screening clearance — every worker should hold a current one. This is the national background check for disability work. Ask; don't assume.
• First Aid & CPR — current certificates. And a Working with Children Check (Blue Card in Queensland) for anyone supporting under-18s.
• Insurance — the provider should carry public liability and professional indemnity insurance, and be able to show a certificate of currency.
• Consistency — will it be the same worker each time, or whoever's rostered? For most people, the same familiar person matters more than anything else.
• Meet before you commit — a good provider will set up a free meet-and-greet so you can see if the fit is right, with no obligation.
• A plain-English service agreement — one document that says what they'll do, when, how much, and how to change or stop. No jargon, no lock-in.
• Clear pricing — rates at or below the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits, given to you in writing before the first shift, with the cancellation policy spelled out.
• A real way to raise a problem — you should know exactly who to call, and be free to change workers or leave at any time.

Registered vs not-yet-registered — what it means for you

You'll see providers described as "NDIS-registered" or not. Registration is an audit-and-paperwork process with the NDIS Commission — it's not a measure of whether the workers are screened, trained or good at their job. Self-managed and plan-managed participants can use either. If you're NDIA-managed, you'll need a registered provider.

Plenty of excellent small, local providers are not registered, and honest ones will tell you so up front and explain why it doesn't change your protections — you still get worker screening, insurance and a service agreement. What matters is that they're transparent about it. (Keystone is an unregistered provider, and that's exactly why we work with self- and plan-managed plans.)

The questions to ask

Copy these into your next call with a provider:

• Can I meet the worker before I decide?
• Will it be the same person each time?
• What screening, first aid and insurance do you hold — can I see it?
• What are your rates, and will they be in writing before we start?
• Is there a lock-in, minimum term, or sign-up fee?
• What's your cancellation policy?
• If something's not working, how do I raise it — and how do I change worker or leave?

Red flags

• Pressure to sign quickly.
• Vague, shifting, or "we'll sort the price later" answers on cost.
• No written service agreement, or a lock-in contract.
• Reluctance to show screening or insurance.
• A different worker every visit.
• No clear complaints path.

How Keystone measures up

We built Keystone around this exact checklist. You meet your worker before anything starts and keep that person. Every worker holds a current NDIS Worker Screening clearance, First Aid and CPR, and a Blue Card where they work with children. We're insured, we charge at or below the price limits with the rates in writing first, and there's no sign-up fee, no minimum term and no lock-in. If a fit isn't right, we change it — and if we're not the right provider for you, we'll say so and point you somewhere better. When you ring, you get Heidi.

If that's the kind of support you're after in central Brisbane or on the central Gold Coast, do the one-minute check or call 0403 886 293.

Common questions