How to Switch NDIS Providers Without Losing Support

Can You Actually Change NDIS Providers?

Yes. Choice and control is one of the founding principles of the scheme, and that includes choosing who supports you. You do not need approval from the NDIA, you do not need to explain your reasons, and you are not locked in for the life of your plan.

The only thing that governs the change is your service agreement with the current provider, which sets out how much notice you need to give.

Some participants worry that switching will look bad or affect their next plan. It will not. The NDIA does not assess you on how many providers you have used.

Common Reasons People Switch

• Support workers changing constantly, so nobody knows the participant
• Shifts cancelled at short notice or workers arriving late
• Invoices that do not match the supports actually delivered
• Poor communication, calls and emails not returned
• The provider cannot deliver the hours or times you need
• You have moved suburb and they do not service the area
• Your needs have changed and they do not offer the right supports
• The relationship simply is not working

You do not need a serious complaint to justify moving. Wanting a better fit is reason enough.

The Five Steps the NDIA Sets Out

The agency publishes its own sequence for this, and it is worth following because step five is the one that causes payment problems weeks later.

1. Talk to your current provider. If the issue is fixable, say so first. You can ask your my NDIS contact, your support coordinator or someone you trust to be in that conversation with you. If you are not comfortable talking to them at all, you can go straight to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.
2. Check your service agreement. It tells you how many days notice you owe, and whether a fee applies if you give less. Cancellation fees can only be claimed within the conditions set by the NDIS pricing schedule, so an agreement cannot invent its own penalty.
3. Find the new provider first. Meet them before you commit. Sign a new service agreement that names the rate, the hours and how changes get made.
4. Tell the current provider you are leaving. Ask whether they have a form or a process. Clear any outstanding payments. Tell your plan manager or support coordinator at the same time.
5. Update the portal. Covered below, and the step most often missed.

The full agency version is on the NDIA page for how to change providers.

The Order That Avoids a Gap in Support

This is the part people get wrong. They resign from the current provider first, then start looking, and end up with weeks of no support.

Do it in this order.

1. Find and meet the new provider. Check they have capacity for your days and times before anything else.
2. Confirm a start date in writing. Not a maybe, an actual date.
3. Sign the new service agreement.
4. Check your notice period in the old agreement and count backwards from the new start date.
5. Give notice to the old provider in writing.
6. Request your records before the relationship ends.
7. Update your plan manager or support coordinator so invoices are expected from the new provider.
8. Overlap by a week if you can. It smooths the handover.

Working Out Your Notice Period

Your service agreement states it. Two to four weeks is common. If you cannot find your copy, ask the provider for one. They should give it to you.

If there is no written agreement at all, there is no agreed notice period, though giving reasonable notice in writing is still the sensible approach.

Where the notice period is unusually long, for example eight weeks or more, you can ask to be released earlier. Many providers will agree, particularly if the reason for leaving is something they know they got wrong.

How to Give Notice

Put it in writing, keep it short, and keep a copy. Email is fine and gives you a date stamp.

You do not need to explain your reasons in detail. Something like: I am writing to give notice to end our service agreement, effective on the date shown, in line with the notice period in our agreement. Please confirm receipt and let me know the process for final invoicing and for providing copies of my records.

That is enough. If you want to give feedback, do it separately, and only if you want to.

A Worked Example: Fourteen Days Notice, Day by Day

Say your agreement requires fourteen days written notice and you decide on a Monday that you are moving on. Here is the version that leaves no gap and no fee.

The mistake that costs money is sending notice on day one and then looking for a provider. Notice starts a clock you cannot pause, and a two week gap in personal care is not something most households can absorb.

The mistake that costs supports is the opposite: lining up a new provider and never sending written notice, on the assumption that simply stopping is enough. It is not. Without notice, the old agreement is still live and a cancellation claim against your plan is defensible.

Records to Ask For Before You Go

• Progress or shift notes
• Any assessments or reports the provider prepared
• Behaviour support plans, where relevant
• A summary of supports delivered and hours claimed
• Copies of invoices for the current plan period
• Any equipment or plans held on your behalf

Ask for these before the last day. Getting hold of records after you have left is harder than it should be.

Updating the Portal, the Step People Forget

Changing providers is not finished when the last shift ends. There is a record in the NDIA system saying that provider works with you, and until it is updated it can block the new provider from claiming.

Which portal you use depends on which one you have been moved onto.

If you use the myplace participant portal

The old arrangement is held as a service booking. Ask your outgoing provider whether they will end the service booking from their side in the provider portal, or whether you need to end it in myplace. Either is fine. What is not fine is both of you assuming the other did it.

If you use the my NDIS participant portal

The old arrangement is held as a provider relationship rather than a booking. Same question to the outgoing provider: are they ending the my provider relationship, or are you? When a new provider asks to work with you, a request appears for you to accept or decline, and you choose what information to share with them.

If a provider asks to end a relationship from their side, the agency will contact you to check who your new provider is before it closes off.

If you are stuck

You can add, change or remove providers at any time by talking to your my NDIS contact, or by calling the NDIA on 1800 800 110. If you are plan managed, your plan manager will usually sort the claiming side out, but the relationship record is still yours.

A simple check two weeks after the switch: ask the new provider whether their claims are going through cleanly. If they are, the record updated. If they are bouncing, it did not.

What Changes by Plan Management Type

Agency managed participants must use registered providers. Plan managed and self managed participants have more options, though registration is still a useful signal of oversight.

The Records Worth Asking For Before You Go

A provider holds more about you than most people realise, and it is far easier to get it while you are still a customer than a fortnight after you have left.

• Progress or shift notes. The running record of what support was delivered and how you went. This is the single most useful document for a new provider and for your next plan review.
• Any report written for the NDIA. Provider reports often get quoted in plan decisions. You are entitled to a copy.
• Your support or care plan. The document that tells a new worker how you like things done, which medications are involved, what your routine is.
• Risk assessments and any incident records. Awkward to ask for and worth having.
• A statement of what has been claimed against your plan. So you know exactly what budget you are carrying into the new arrangement.
• Behaviour support plans, where one exists. A new provider cannot lawfully use a restrictive practice without the current plan.

Ask in writing, and ask before you send your notice if you can. A single email listing all six is enough. If a provider refuses or stalls, that is a matter you can raise with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.

Handing a new provider a complete file on day one is the difference between them knowing you in a week and knowing you in three months.

Can You Keep the Same Support Worker?

Sometimes. If you have a good relationship with a particular worker, it is worth asking whether they also work for the new provider, or whether they would consider it.

Be aware that some agreements include restraint of trade clauses aimed at stopping workers moving with clients. These are common, and how enforceable they are varies. Raise it openly with the new provider rather than arranging something privately.

If the Provider Makes It Difficult

Most transitions are straightforward. Occasionally a provider delays, withholds records, keeps invoicing after the end date, or applies pressure to stay.

Put every request in writing so there is a record. Escalate to a manager rather than staying with your usual contact. If it is still not resolved, contact the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, which handles complaints about registered providers and can be reached on 1800 035 544.

You do not have to keep receiving supports from a provider while a complaint is being resolved.

Switching Providers Checklist

• New provider found and start date confirmed in writing
• New service agreement signed
• Notice period checked in the old agreement
• Written notice sent and receipt confirmed
• Records and reports requested
• Plan manager or support coordinator informed
• Final invoice checked against supports actually delivered
• A week of overlap arranged where possible

How SADC Can Help

SADC Disability Services regularly takes on participants moving from another provider, and we know the handover matters more than the paperwork. We will confirm capacity for your days and times before you give notice to anyone, so you are never left without support while the change goes through.

We support participants across Sydney with daily living supports, community participation, support coordination and respite. If you want to talk it through before deciding anything, that is fine too.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can I change NDIS providers at any time?

Yes. You do not need NDIA approval and you do not need to justify the decision. The only requirement is the notice period in your service agreement.

2. Will I lose my funding if I switch providers?

No. Funding belongs to your NDIS plan, not to the provider. It moves with you.

3. How much notice do I have to give?

Whatever your service agreement states, commonly two to four weeks. If you have no written agreement, there is no set period, though written notice is still sensible.

4. What if I need support during the changeover?

Line up the new provider and confirm a start date before giving notice. Where possible arrange a week of overlap so there is no gap.

5. Can I take my support worker with me?

Sometimes, but some agreements restrict it. Raise it openly with the new provider rather than arranging it privately.

6. What if my provider will not let me leave?

They cannot stop you. Put your notice in writing, escalate to a manager if needed, and contact the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission on 1800 035 544 if the issue is not resolved.

Official sources

• NDIA, How to change providers
• NDIS Commission, Practice Standards: Rights and responsibilities
• NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, Participant Pack

Related guides

• NDIS Service Agreements: What to Check Before You Sign
• NDIS Price Guide 2026: What Providers Can Actually Charge
• How to Choose the Right NDIS Support Coordinator
• Plan Manager vs Support Coordinator: What’s the Difference?
• NDIS Worker Screening Check: What Families Need to Know
• NDIS Plan Management vs Self-Management

Contact Us

If you are thinking about changing providers and want to understand the steps before committing to anything, contact SADC Disability Services. We support participants across Sydney and we are happy to answer questions with no obligation.