The NDIS cancellation policy makes it clear when a provider would be able to claim from a Participant’s budget in the case of a cancellation. Both providers and Participants have certain obligations to each other which must be considered before a cancellation fee is charged.

NDIS Cancellation Policy: Obligations for Participants

In order to avoid paying a cancellation fee, a Participants should do the following:

• Show up for the scheduled support at a reasonable time
• If the provider is travelling, the Participant should be at the agreed-upon destination within a reasonable time
• If a cancellation is required, the Participant should give the appropriate amount of notice outlined in the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits

If a Participant doesn’t meet the criteria above, the provider may claim for the cost of short notice cancellation. In these situations, a provider may claim 100% of the agreed-upon fee.

How much notice does a Participant have to provide for a cancellation?

The NDIS considers a cancellation “short notice” if the Participant cancels the service with less than 7 clear days’ notice before the support is due to take place. However, if the service agreement between a Participant and their provider specifies a shorter notice period, that will take precedence.

How do cancellations work for a program of support?

A program of support is an arrangement where a group-based supports provider enters into an agreement with a Participant for up to 12 weeks. During this arrangement, supports in the program can be claimed against the Participant’s plan regardless of whether or not they attended.

Services that are operating under a program of supports approach are not subject to short notice cancellation rules. To exit a program of support, no more than 2 weeks of notice is required. 100% of the scheduled fee can be charged for sessions taking place during the 2-week notice period. The cost of sessions due to take place after the notice period should not be charged.

NDIS Cancellation Policy: Obligations for Providers

Cancellations can only be claimed for supports where the following is true:

• The NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits indicates that cancellations can be claimed for the relevant support item
• The terms of cancellation were made clear through a service agreement between the provider and the Participant
• the provider is required to pay the worker for the time that would have been spent working for the Participant and alternative billable work wasn’t found.

How many times can a provider charge for short notice cancellations?

Providers have a duty of care to their Participants. Although there is no strict limit for how many short notice cancellations can be claimed from the Participant’s funding, providers have an obligation to protect their client’s welfare.

Providers should seek to know why cancellations are occurring, particularly in circumstances where cancellations are happening frequently.

Claims for cancellations are routinely monitored by the NDIA. Providers who have Participants with an unusually large number of cancellations may be contacted.

How does IDEAL help with cancellations?

We want to maximise our Participant’s choice and control. Before we process invoices, we provide up to 24 hours where Participants can investigate and cancel invoices.

Participants can also opt-in to receive email and/or SMS invoice notifications so they can be alerted whenever we receive a new invoice to be claimed from their NDIS funding. This can act as a useful reminder and gives them time to look into whether a cancellation is needed.

Want to know more?

If you want to find out more about the NDIS cancellation policy, or our plan management service, give us a call on 1300 800 110 or send an email to manager@idealplan.com.au