There is a well known expression;
‘Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.’
This expression warns people against the dangers of putting all of your resources into one place at the risk of losing everything if something goes wrong.
Here at P2P we believe that this saying is a valuable piece of advice for all NDIS participants and their families.
Let’s Have a look at an example!
John Smith is an NDIS Participant who receives Plan Management, Support Coordination and Social and Community participation support.
John uses three different companies for these supports.
- Jane’s Plan Management
- Jimmy’s Support Coordination
- Jessica’s Social and Community Participation
One day, Jessica’s Social Community and Participation company suggests to John that he should change his Support Coordination to her company as well.
John agrees and decides to leave Jimmy’s Support Coordination and change to Jessica’s Support Coordination.
Now John has only two different provider’s instead of three providers.
- Jane’s Plan Management
- Jessica’s Support Coordination
- Jessica’s Social and Community Participation
He has the same company for support coordination and for social and community participation.
This means that because Jessica is John’s Support Worker and Support Coordinator, she is now able to see more information about John’s plan.
This might sound like a good idea, but it may have some risks for the participant.
- What if Jessica’s Support Coordination and Social & Community Participation go out of business?
- If John is not happy with Jessica’s community support services it may mean he does not feel comfortable discussing these problems with his support coordinator.
- What if John wishes to find different community access services but Jessica’s support coordination doesn’t help him look for other supports outside of Jessica’s company?
- What if Jessica’s support coordination tells John to use more support from Jessica’s Social & Community Participation but he doesn’t want to?
Can there be conflict of interest with support providers?
All NDIS support providers are required to prevent conflict of interest. This includes plan managers, support coordinators, support workers and therapists. Conflict of interest is when a person or organisation takes advantage of their position for personal or professional benefits.
Sometimes providers may try to convince you to change support when it may not be a good choice for you. NDIS Providers should not pressure, push or bully a participant into changing support providers so that all support is in one place.
However, it is not always the case, sometimes it could be a good decision. NDIS Participants have choice and control over which providers they use and how they use their support.
What should you do if you are in a similar situation to John?
The choice is up to you, if you trust your provider and are comfortable having them provide more than one type of support, this may be suitable for you. Some types of supports go well together and it does make sense to keep it within the same organisation.
For some participants it may be a better choice to choose a selection of different providers to make sure that one organisation doesn’t hold too much influence over their NDIS funding.
You can always ask people around you for help or support if you are unsure if the decision is right for you.
What does P2P Plan Management do to help?
-
- P2P works for you only, not any of your providers.
-
- P2P is always on the lookout for fraudulent or inappropriate claims.
-
- We contact participants if we see something that looks incorrect.
-
- We try wherever possible to ensure that different supports provided at the same time are investigated or monitored.
-
- We will work with you to ensure that invoices are approved wherever requested.
Who else can you go to for help?
Your planner, LAC or Support Coordinator can help you to choose providers carefully or give you advice when something may be wrong. You can also use the links below:
Reporting a Provider for fraudulent or non compliant behaviour:
https://www.ndiscommission.gov.au/participants
Code of Conduct (Rules providers need to follow to do the right thing)
https://www.ndiscommission.gov.au/about/ndis-code-conduct
NDIS Provider Finder:
https://www.ndis.gov.au/participants/working-providers/find-registered-provider/provider-finder