Questions to Ask an NDIS Provider Before You Sign a Service Agreement

Why a service agreement matters before support starts

A service agreement sets out what a provider and participant have agreed, including price, how supports will be delivered, and what happens if something goes wrong. While not every support legally requires one, having a written agreement generally protects both sides from misunderstandings later.

Reading and asking questions about a service agreement before signing is far easier than trying to resolve a disagreement about what was originally promised once a support has already started.

Questions to ask about cost

• What is the exact hourly rate or price for each support being provided?
• Is travel time or travel cost charged separately, and if so, how is it calculated?
• How is non-face-to-face work, such as reports or phone calls, billed?
• How often will invoices be issued, and what information will they include?

Questions to ask about cancellations

• How much notice is required to cancel a scheduled support without a fee?
• What happens if the provider needs to cancel, rather than the participant?
• Are short-notice cancellation fees capped at a specific amount or percentage?

Questions to ask about communication

• How will the participant be kept informed about scheduling, changes and progress?
• Who is the main point of contact if a concern arises?
• How quickly can the participant expect a response to a message or call?

Questions to ask about fit and experience

• Does the provider have experience with situations similar to the participant’s own needs?
• How does the provider match workers or coordinators to a participant’s communication style and preferences?
• What happens if the initially assigned worker or coordinator is not a good fit?

How to review a service agreement before signing

1. Read the whole document, not just the price section, before agreeing to anything.
2. Ask about anything unclear rather than assuming it will work out later.
3. Check the notice period required to end the agreement if it is not working out.
4. Confirm the agreement matches what was actually discussed in conversation.
5. Keep a signed copy somewhere easy to find for future reference.

Common mistakes before signing

• Signing quickly without reading the full agreement, especially the cancellation and cost sections.
• Not asking about non-face-to-face charges until after the first confusing invoice arrives.
• Assuming a verbal conversation overrides what is actually written in the agreement.
• Not keeping a copy of the signed agreement for future reference.

Reading the parts of an agreement people often skip

Most participants read the price section closely but skim over clauses covering variations, dispute resolution, and what happens if either party wants to end the agreement early. These sections matter just as much, since they describe what happens when something does not go to plan.

Asking a provider to plainly explain any clause that is not immediately clear, rather than assuming it uses standard boilerplate language, helps avoid surprises later if a disagreement does arise.

Questions to ask about safeguards and worker screening

• Are support workers subject to relevant screening and background checks?
• How does the provider handle incidents or safety concerns during a shift?
• What training do workers receive relevant to the participant’s specific needs?

When a verbal promise does not match the written agreement

If something discussed in conversation does not appear in the written service agreement, it is worth raising this directly before signing, since the written document is generally what applies if a disagreement arises later.

A reasonable provider should be willing to amend the agreement to reflect what was actually agreed, rather than asking the participant to simply trust that the verbal understanding will be honoured informally.

Example scenario

Consider a participant comparing two providers for the same support. Before signing, they ask both providers the same set of questions about cost, cancellations and communication, writing down the answers so they can compare them side by side afterwards.

One provider answers clearly and specifically, while the other gives vague, general reassurance without concrete detail. This difference in itself becomes a useful factor in deciding which provider to choose.

This is a general illustration only. The right provider depends on the participant’s own needs, preferences and circumstances.

Comparing several providers fairly before deciding

When comparing more than one provider, it helps to ask exactly the same set of questions to each, in the same order, and write down the answers rather than relying on memory. This makes it much easier to spot genuine differences rather than being swayed by whichever conversation happened most recently.

It is also reasonable to ask each provider for a sample service agreement in advance, rather than waiting until a decision has effectively already been made verbally, so the actual written terms can be compared side by side.

Questions about changing supports after the agreement starts

• How does the provider handle a request to increase or decrease support hours?
• What is the process if the participant’s needs change significantly during the agreement?
• Can specific terms, such as notice periods, be renegotiated if circumstances change?

What to check about how disputes are handled

Even with a clear agreement in place, disagreements can still happen. Checking how a provider approaches disputes before they arise, rather than discovering the process during an actual conflict, gives a clearer sense of what to expect if something does go wrong.

A provider that describes a clear, fair internal process, alongside the participant’s right to raise concerns with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission if needed, is generally more reassuring than one that simply asserts problems rarely happen.

What if you feel pressured to sign quickly?

A reasonable provider will give a participant time to read a service agreement properly and ask questions before signing, rather than expecting an answer on the spot. Feeling rushed into signing, or being told a support will not start unless the agreement is signed immediately, is worth treating as a signal to slow down and, if needed, seek a second opinion from a family member, advocate or support coordinator before proceeding.

Important terms to understand

Extra questions if support is delivered remotely or online

Where a support, such as remote support coordination, is delivered by phone or video rather than in person, it is worth asking a few additional questions specific to that arrangement, since the usual in-person cues about fit and communication style do not apply in the same way.

• How will video or phone appointments be scheduled and confirmed?
• What backup plan exists if a technology issue disrupts a session?
• How does the provider build rapport and understanding without regular face-to-face contact?

Trusting your own impression alongside the answers given

Beyond the specific answers to these questions, it is worth paying attention to how a provider communicates during the conversation itself: whether they listen carefully, answer directly, and seem genuinely interested in the participant’s situation, rather than reciting a standard pitch.

This impression, combined with clear answers to the practical questions above, tends to be a more reliable guide to future fit than either factor considered alone.

Questions about how the provider communicates day to day

Ongoing communication often matters more to participant satisfaction than any single clause in a service agreement, so it is worth asking how routine contact will actually work before signing anything.

• Who is the main point of contact once supports begin, and how quickly do they usually respond to calls, texts or emails?
• Will the participant deal with the same person consistently, or a rotating team?
• How are appointment reminders and schedule changes communicated?
• Is there a preferred way to raise a small concern before it becomes a bigger issue?

A provider who answers these questions with specific, concrete detail rather than a vague reassurance is usually giving a more accurate picture of what day-to-day contact will actually feel like.

Questions about reporting and plan reviews

Support coordination and many other supports generate reports that feed into plan reviews and reassessment meetings, so it helps to understand how that reporting works before an agreement is signed.

• Will the participant receive copies of reports before they are sent to the NDIA or plan manager?
• How often are progress notes or summaries provided?
• Does the provider help prepare evidence for a plan reassessment meeting, or is that left entirely to the participant?
• How is progress towards NDIS goals tracked and communicated over the life of the plan?

Questions about the length and renewal of the agreement

Service agreements can run for a fixed period, align with the plan’s start and end dates, or renew automatically, and it is worth understanding which model applies before signing.

• Does the agreement end automatically when the current NDIS plan ends, or does it continue unless cancelled?
• Is there a process for renewing or updating the agreement when a new plan is approved?
• What happens to any unused funding or unscheduled sessions if the agreement ends partway through a plan?

Clear answers to these questions reduce the chance of confusion at the point where one NDIS plan ends and a new one begins, which is often when gaps in support are most likely to appear.

Bringing a support person to the meeting

Participants are always entitled to bring a family member, friend, advocate or nominee along to a meeting where a service agreement is being discussed, and a reasonable provider will welcome this rather than discourage it.

A second set of ears can help notice details that are easy to miss when hearing new information for the first time, and can also help the participant feel more comfortable asking follow-up questions about anything that seems unclear.

How this applies locally

Participants in Canberra and Queanbeyan comparing local providers can use the same set of questions across each option, making it easier to compare answers rather than relying on a general impression of each provider.

CCS provides clear, written service agreements and welcomes questions about cost, cancellations and communication before support begins.

Related CCS Guides and Services

• NDIS Service Agreements in 2026: What to Check Before You Sign
• Support Coordination vs Plan Management
• Signs It Might Be Time to Change Your NDIS Support Coordinator
• How to Choose an NDIS Support Coordinator in Canberra in 2026
• NDIS services in Canberra
• Contact CCS

Official NDIS References

• What is a service agreement
• How to find and choose a provider

Frequently Asked Questions