How service agreements can protect you
Do you regularly provide services to NDIS participants? Then it’s a very good idea to set up service agreements with each of these customers.
Service agreements can make life easier for both you and your customers. One of the biggest ways they do this is by providing peace of mind that they’ll be enough funding set aside to cover your services - something we call 'trusted payments'.
They might sound complicated, but service agreements are simply a written confirmation of what you will provide to the customer, and what you expect from them in return.
In this article, we look at why service providers should set up service agreements with their customers and what to include when creating a service agreement.
What is a service agreement?
A service agreement is basically a contract between you and a customer with an NDIS plan. It states what services you’ll provide, how much you’ll charge for them, when they’ll be delivered, how cancellations or rescheduling of services are organised and any other important information about the support you're delivering. A service agreement makes sure that everyone is on the same page before you start providing services.
Do I have to set up a service agreement?
Service agreements are not currently mandatory, but they are certainly encouraged by the NDIS. And while they’re not compulsory, there’s lots of benefits to setting them up.
Plan Partners' Trusted Payments
If Plan Partners is your customer’s plan manager, we can reserve funding in our system for the amount specified within your service agreement, this prevents any funding issues along the way.
To have your payment amounts reserved, simply send your service agreement, signed by both you and your customer, to us at admin@planpartners.com.au and our team will handle the rest.
Important: All payments are subject to funding availability and the above process does not guarantee payment. As always, the participant has complete choice and control over fund allocation and this may sometimes affect our ability to make payment.
What to include on your service agreement
To give your service agreement the best chance of being processed the first time please make sure it includes the following information:
- Your ABN.
- Participant name.
- Participant NDIS number.
- The agreement start & end dates.
- The relevant category budget, e.g. Core Daily Activities or Improved Daily Living.
- The total amount per category.
- Signature of the participant, their plan nominee, child representative or guardian.
What are the benefits of a service agreement?
There are two main reasons why it’s a good idea to set up service agreements with your NDIS customers:
- Harmony: By keeping a clear record of what’s been agreed to, service agreements confirm you’re both happy with the arrangement and help to avoid any potential misunderstandings between you and your customer down the track.
- Security: Because they include the cost of each service and how often you’ll be delivering it, service agreements make it easy to see if a customer has enough money in their NDIS plan to cover the full service. This helps your customer feel secure in knowing their services won’t be disrupted and you can relax knowing you have funding available for your services. It’s a real win-win.
Tips to remember
Here are some useful tips...
- Service agreements can make life easier for both you and your customers.
- A service agreement is a contract between you and a customer with an NDIS plan.
- They are not mandatory, but there are lots of benefits to setting them up.