Market monitoring and intervention

NDIS roles and responsibilities 

The NDIS is Australia’s way of providing support to people with disability, their families and carers.

It allows eligible Australians with disability to choose providers from which to purchase the supports that enable them to pursue their goals.

The NDIA recognises the importance of a diverse, sustainable and well-developed NDIS market, which promotes innovation, quality, continuous improvement and best practice and effectiveness to enable people with disability to exercise their right to choice and control in obtaining disability supports. 

NDIS Market Roles and Responsibilities outlines the vision for Australians with disability to be able to access support from innovative providers and skilled workers.

This will support people with disability to pursue their goals around independence, community involvement, education, employment, and health and wellbeing.

For the NDIS market to be successful, disability reform ministers, Department of Social Services, the NDIA, the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, states and territories need to work together to deliver our shared vision.

Market approach

In December 2019, the Disability Reform Council, now the Disability Reform Ministers’ Meeting , agreed to use a more flexible approach to address NDIS market gaps.

The flexible approach recognises that a one-size-fits-all approach to delivering the NDIS is not suitable to address market gaps faced by certain geographic locations, particular cohorts or disability support types.

The NDIA Corporate Plan 2022-2026 reaffirmed the NDIA’s commitment to working with communities in remote and very remote areas, and other areas lacking services, to address market gaps.

The NDIA works with a variety of market stakeholders to ensure participants have access to quality supports regardless of where they live and what their needs are. 

To ensure participants can access the supports they need, the NDIA is trialling a range of approaches to address different market gaps across Australia.

The NDIA looks at ways to help participants get the services they need through: 

  • improving plan implementation
  • improving information signals
  • market facilitation
  • coordinated funding proposals
  • direct commissioning.

Market facilitation involves specific actions to improve connections between providers and participants, such as focused engagement and sharing targeted information with the market. 

A Coordinated Funding Proposal (CFP) is a process used to help a group of participants combine their funding to buy supports from NDIS providers. Some people like to call a Coordinated Funding Proposal a CFP. 
CFPs can help: 

  • NDIS participants to combine their funding to increase their buying power 
  • attract providers to communities where there are no available NDIS supports
  • support participants who have difficulty finding services
  • organise activities for a group of participants. 

Find out more about Coordinated Funding Proposals.

Direct commissioning is a way for the NDIA to arrange for services to be available for participants. 

  • It is used where other levers are not sufficient to achieve sustainable improvements in markets. 
  • Direct commissioning involves a formal contract between the NDIA and a provider or panel of providers, for longer term service delivery to a group of participants. 
  • This lever requires the NDIA to specify, procure and manage the service arrangements with providers over the life of the contract. 

Market monitoring

Market monitoring and reports compare a number of market indicators across geographical regions and participant characteristics. Reports are produced regularly to assist stakeholders to understand market trends.

Market indicators include:

  • plan utilisation
  • market concentration
  • participants per provider
  • provider growth and shrinkage.

The NDIS Market Report provides insight into potential hot spots where investment might be required to better support participants. This report also shows where the NDIA is intervening in market hot spots to support participants to receive services. 

Quarterly reports and dashboards

The quarterly reports and dashboards provide information and data about participants and the funding or provision of supports by the NDIA in each area.

Market intervention projects 

Providers wanting to provide supports to participants in current trial and market intervention areas can email [email protected] for further information on current and future market interventions.

This page current as of
26 July 2023