National Disability Insurance Scheme

What we do:

• We can look into complaints about the NDIA, including NDIS Partners in Community.
• We consider all complaints but not all complaints are investigated.
• We will always contact you in response to your complaint and give you reasons for our decisions.
• We may suggest other options available to you.
• We can make suggestions and recommendations to the NDIA about a better way of doing things.

What we cannot do:

• We cannot advocate for you or give you legal or similar advice. Please see the Department of Social Services website for assistance in finding an advocate.
• We cannot direct the NDIA to take action or change a decision.

If you want the NDIA to change a decision, you can ask it for a review. Many decisions made by the NDIA can be reviewed, including:

• being accepted as an NDIS participant
• decisions about reasonable and necessary supports, and
• who is appointed as a plan nominee
•  

If you disagree with a review decision by the NDIA, you may be able to ask the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to review the decision.

The Participant Service Guarantee (PSG) includes timeframes for the NDIA’s decisions about access, plan approvals, plan reviews and nominee changes. The PSG also includes engagement principles to help participants know what they can expect from the NDIA. The PSG timeframes and engagement principles are set out in the NDIA’s Service Charter.

The NDIA reports on its performance against the PSG in its quarterly reports. These can be found on the NDIA’s website.

The Commonwealth Ombudsman must prepare a report for the Minister for the NDIS each year about the NDIA and the PSG. Our first report can be found on our website.

In addition to producing our yearly report, we can also investigate individual complaints about the NDIA and the PSG. You can contact us if you have either not received a decision within the PSG timeframes or where the service you have received from the NDIA does not meet the PSG engagement principles. In most cases, you should try to resolve your complaint with the NDIA first. This is usually the quickest way to resolve a complaint.

What we do:

• We can investigate complaints about the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. This includes complaints about the provider registration process and the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission’s handling of a complaint.
• We consider all complaints but not all complaints are investigated.
• We will always contact you in response to your complaint and give you reasons for our decisions.
• We may suggest other options available to you.
• We can make suggestions and recommendations to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission about a better way of doing things.

What we cannot do:

• We cannot help with complaints about an NDIS service or support. We encourage you to raise your concern or complaint with your provider first. This is generally the best way to have your issue resolved quickly. All registered NDIS providers must have a complaints management and resolution system in place.
• If you have a complaint about a support or service you have received under the NDIS, you can contact the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.
• We cannot direct the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission to take action or change a decision.

If you want the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission to change a decision, you may be able to ask it for a review. Many decisions made by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission can be reviewed, including:

• A decision to refuse to register a person as a registered NDIS provider
• A decision to give a compliance notice to an NDIS provider
• A decision to make a banning order.

Information on the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission’s compliance and monitoring role, and the review process can be found here.

If you disagree with a review decision made by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, you may be able to ask the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to review the decision.

You should try to resolve your complaint with the NDIA or the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission first. This is usually the quickest way to resolve a complaint.

Read about the NDIA’s complaint handling process and about the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission’s complaint handling process.

You can provide the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission feedback about how it has handled your complaint about an NDIS service provider at any time. If you disagree with the outcome of your complaint, you can ask the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission for a reconsideration.

Allow the NDIA or the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission 21 working days to respond to your complaint. If you are not satisfied with the response, you can contact us.

Always ask the NDIA or the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission for a ‘complaint reference number’. We will ask you for this if you contact us about your complaint.

Contact us if you are not satisfied with the NDIA’s or the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission’s response to your complaint.

To contact us:

• Submit our online complaint form (preferred).
• Call us on 1300 362 072.
• Contact us through the National Relay Service.
• If you do not speak English, we can help through the Translating and Interpreter Service (TIS) on 131 450.

See our Contact Us page for other ways to make a complaint to us. Our FAQs explain what happens when you complain to us.