Survive & Thrive: Your NDIS Growth & Sustainability Guide – Week 1
Planning for NDIS 2.0 – A fortnightly journey for providers to drive the future of the NDIS.
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:
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NOW is the calm before the storm.
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NOW is your opportunity to plan how you will survive the NDIS death by 1000 cuts.
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NOW is your chance to secure your own future and ensure the people you support have every possible opportunity to thrive.
We already know the following landscape looks like:
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The Fraud Fusion Taskforce will continue to chase $1.3 billion in alleged outstanding NDIS fraudulent claims.
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There will be continued crack downs designed to limit the cross over of services within the different government departments. So, whilst people with disability are meant to be in the centre of everything we do, they will just be placed in different environments and expected to adapt.
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By April, we will likely have greater clarity on the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commissions’ new powers to increase financial penalties as well as the ability to initiate criminal charges against NDIS key personnel for breaches of the NDIS Act 2013.
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By May, the Independent Hospital and Aged Care Pricing Authority (IHACPA) will be submitting their proposal to the Australian Government about the current approach to pricing and future reforms.
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What we know so far is:
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They are looking to have different prices but align the pricing methodologies to Aged Care.
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If IHACPA take over, providers will have to make significant effort to break down and understand what their costs are. By this I don’t just mean budget but how does each position in the organisation generate of protect the value offered to the NDIS participant.
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By June, there could be a new definition of what a provider is.
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By July, we will likely receive guidance on when and how will Supported Independent Living (SIL) Support Coordinators and Platform providers will need to be registered.
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By October, we will likely have new Practice Standards.
That’s a lot to take in!
So how did we get here and where do we go from here?
My personal view is that we have been in a significant state of flux for at least the last 3 years (or maybe 13 years). The honeymoon period wore off and we kept waiting for a stable operating environment, but the ground hasn’t stop shifting and an acceptable “new normal” hasn’t emerged.
It is human nature that people tend to adapt by withdrawing into helplessness or lapsing into cynicism (is this resonating?) but the tendency to withdraw is something we leaders need to fight against. Being “stuck” serves nobody well.
“If you continue to prioritise the bushfires, without proactive backburning, you will eventually be in the middle of a catastrophe”.
I know you’re busy, but taking time to plan strategically will give you and the organisation a stronger edge for success as providers.
Risk, liability and adaptability
As capable service providers, you are carrying the financial burden to try to prevent things from going wrong, but you will still be the one getting the fingers pointed at when they do but, in this environment, you have more agency than you realise.
Think back to February 2020. It was inconceivable that we would have locked down homes, implemented mandatory staff vaccination policies and developed crisis protocols because of a virus. Disability as a portfolio was often overlooked in government decisions and we were forced to use our collective intelligence to attack what was a catastrophic problem.
The road ahead…
Knowing that we survived the collective challenge of the pandemic, we can, and should, feel confident that we will make it through the new challenges that we’re facing now.
So now Supporting Potential is issuing a challenge to the NDIS Service Provider Leaders….
“Focus on the impact you can create, not the chaos you can’t control.”
Again, the government will not save you. You need to save yourselves and your organisations by viewing the next an opportunity to experiment and challenge assumptions that no longer serve you well.
We are going to go on this journey with you every step of the way. We will be issuing a series of fortnightly blogs and webinars addressing common pain points in the current environment and providing suggestions on how you can successfully navigate future complexities without losing momentum.
Our simple approach will give you take away tools to be able to review and revise your strategy for the next 12 months.
The Survive & Thrive: Your NDIS Growth & Sustainability Guide topics we will be covering are:
1. Planning for NDIS success will be dependent on your approach to change
2025 will be pivotal for providers with:
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shifting participant needs
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regulatory changes
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the expansion of liability, criminal charges and civil penalties for individuals and
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the increasing demand for personalised, high-quality supports
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The traditional “set-and-forget” planning models that highlight ‘quality’ service and growth, will no longer suffice.
Outcome – understanding your natural tendency to change will directly affect how your organisation needs to approach 2025
2. Who has a seat at your NDIS Strategic table?
Does your organisation have the right expertise and experience to map the next 12 months as well as responding to what is needed right now? Remembering if you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always gotten.
Outcome – identifying and mobilising your core contributors for future transformation and how to best structure your change management approach.
3. The mirror not the microscope
Revisiting what you as the leader and the broader organisation stand for. Is it intrinsically understood and evidenced? Simply put are you walking your talk?
Outcome – to build or reaffirm confidence, clarity and consistency about your purpose to help the organisation and its stakeholders to identify common ground and negotiate the continued chaos.
4. The microscope not mantra
All service providers essentially want to deliver a service that is valued by the NDIS participants and to provide an environment where people want to belong. But how is this translating to your daily service delivery?
Outcome – a gap analysis of what you do well, what you need to improve on and what is not worth your time or energy.
5. Money matters
In human services, cost is mostly driven by our people. We will seek to understand the linkages between cost, value and price and how this should impact your budgeting approach, ensuring you maintain financial sustainability while delivering quality services. We will also dive into the likely impacts if IHACPA take over pricing to support you to mobilise quickly to the likely changes.
Outcome – the development of organisational strategies to optimise financial results in a price restricted environment.
6. Structuring your approach to risk
This could be your new competitive advantage as well as your best approach to staying out of court, and out of the public eye for the wrong reasons. We review the different requirements of risk management from the Federal Court outcomes of Commissioner of the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission v Valmar Support Services Ltd [2025] FCA 11 and Commissioner v LiveBetter Services Ltd [2024] FCA 374 (LiveBetter)
Outcome – a clearer picture of where your key risks likely lie and the development of core mitigation strategies.
7. Reframing compliance to be your competitive advantage
Mandatory registration will mean being registered is no longer a quality indicator. How are you going to adapt to new Practice Standards quicky whilst developing data that proves the quality is being delivered?
Outcome – the development of a mobilisation plan which identifies how changes to the Practice Standards might impact your operations, and how you will shift your approach to support efficient and effective quality.
8. Communication is King
How will you communicate with your broader team? All storms eventually pass, you need to understand how you will build resilience within yourself, your team and the organisation.
Outcome – a documented communications and outcome plan designed to provide clarity amidst chaos, build and strengthen resilience, and reduce resistance to change management.
9. Identify, plan, monitor, pivot and know where it is safe to fail
For all the great ideas out there, you are only as good as your implementation.
Great ideas are only as powerful as their execution. Remember— what you can measure, you can improve.
Outcome – strategic implementation plans and key indicators of success.
And finally….
Take some time to have a look at our recent webinar “From the Courtroom to the Boardroom – What you need to learn from NDIS case law to manage your risk “ You won’t want to miss this!
NDIS Growth and Sustainability is achievable!!
This essential survival guide blog series offers actionable guidance so that you can implement a structured approach within your own organisation in small and manageable parts. But sometimes, this can be difficult to achieve in practice and you need to have external support as well as internal.
We can provide facilitated, short and routine sessions to support you not just navigate the ongoing NDIS changes, but to create a competitive advantage that will serve you long into the future. You can also engage our executive support for the next 12 months, with packages to suit every stage or organisational aspiration.
If either of these options are of interest to you, we’d love to hear from you. You can contact us via email angela@supportingpotential.com.au or schedule a time to have a chat via my bookings calendar.
Get involved…
We’ll be sharing practical tips, real life examples, and expert insights every week.
Follow along, join the conversation, and share these posts with your network. Let’s build a stronger, more adaptable NDIS community together.
I look forward to ‘seeing you’ again next week!
