NDIS sole traders: Terri Grote’s marketplace experience

With the introduction of the NDIS, there has been a number of statistics given about the explosion of jobs in the disability field. At the NDIS conference last year, the concept of a disability marketplace was mentioned a number of times.  

One benefit of a NDIS marketplace will be the increase in the number of sole or very small providers. As sole traders, we can offer very unique or different opportunities or services. For Expressions Disability Support, my specialty is transition and support into further/higher education. It is my specialty because I have been a tertiary academic support worker for a number of years, have been a tertiary student, and teach at a community centre.

While the concept of an NDIS marketplace does produce possibilities for sole providers, it also provides its challenges. As someone in the Barwon site, I have found I have had to play catch up in my understanding of the NDIS, even at a basic level. As sole providers enter the marketplace they may have had little or no experience with the NDIS and there needs to be some ground covered in terms of understanding the scheme. Simply because the NDIS is rolled out at a particular time over a certain amount of time does not mean all providers will be up to date. And given sole traders are the workers at the coalface, the admin person, the media person and the business development person, something that is structured that provides information would prove invaluable, instead of that person trying to do the research themselves.

A further challenge I have discovered is the registration process. While I did go to a helpful NDIA workshop on how to register and another workshop at the NDS Victorian conference on how to become a provider, these are one-off activities. For someone like myself, who is coming into the provider space with experience in the disability field, but not in governance or rules and regulations, the dual responsibility we have of registering with DHHS in Victoria (Department of Health and Human Services) further complicates this.  

There is also a need for support/debrief/networking opportunities for sole traders. In certain professions, such groups flourish and produce much needed support. In large organisations, there would be opportunities for workers to speak with supervisors if any issue arises. However, there is significant scope for such groups to flourish and develop for sole traders. Possibly, the networking of small, medium and large disability support providers can create a dynamic and diverse marketplace that offers the choice and control that is so often mentioned. And which can begin to develop the solutions that sole providers may face.  

Terri Grote is an academic support worker at Deakin University with students who have disabilities, a proofreader and editor in her own business and a teacher at a local community centre. She has a particular interest in creating stepping stones for people to enter and succeed in tertiary education. Terri can be contacted at [email protected]