Firstly, what is the NDIS?
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) assists people with disability by making sure they get the right supports and services.
If you don’t know a lot about the NDIS check out our blog post about joining the scheme as a young person or watch our video below. It shows young people with disability talking about the NDIS.
There are some different ways to set up (manage) your NDIS plan. Once your plan is set up, you can choose who supports you.
What is a support worker? What is a disability service provider?
A support worker is someone who can help you with the things you need because of your disability. For example, they might help you learn to do something new, get ready in the morning or go to an event.
Some support workers work on their own and some work for a company. Companies that offer disability supports (like support workers) are called disability service providers.
Finding the right disability supports
The NDIS gives you more choice over your disability supports. You can choose how you get support and who supports you.
Think about the supports in your plan and research who can offer these. It’s a good idea to brainstorm what you want from a disability service provider. Everyone expects different things from disability service providers and support workers. This can be because of:
• what supports you need
• what supports you want
• what supports are included in your NDIS plan
• how your NDIS plan is managed
You may want to talk to someone you trust about the things you want from disability service providers and support workers.
To get some ideas about what other young people want from a disability service provider, check out our video below.
Downloadable resources
We’ve created a set of work sheets to help you find the right disability supports. Download our resources below.
Choosing a disability service provider
Choosing a support worker
What do you want from a support worker?
Next steps
When you are ready, you can use the above information to help you decide which disability service providers and support workers you want to choose.
You may want to have someone you trust with you when you meet with potential services providers and support workers.