NDIS Business Plans: 8 Tips for NDIS Providers

Do you need to prepare an NDIS business plan?

Whether you’re setting up a new NDIS provider, preparing for registration, for an audit, or already operating, it’s important to get it right. A business plan needs to do more than just describe what you intend to do, it needs to demonstrate that the business is well run, has capability, is looking to the future and has the people, systems, resources and financial capacity to operate successfully.

Business plans present many opportunities to get it wrong. Unrealistic financial forecasts, gaps in governance, insufficient market research, unclear responsibilities, inconsistencies between different sections of the plan and inadequate consideration of business risks can all weaken your business plan. Small details matter, particularly when the plan is being prepared as part of the registration and audit process.

At The Business Plan Company, we have prepared hundreds of business plans for NDIS providers across Australia, from new providers preparing for registration and audit through to established businesses planning their next stage of growth. This experience has given us a deep understanding of the issues that commonly arise and the areas that require particular attention.

Based on our extensive experience, if you’re preparing your own NDIS business plan, here are eight practical tips to help you develop a plan that is detailed, realistic, consistent and properly addresses the risks involved in establishing and operating an NDIS business.

1. Demonstrate Strong Governance

Governance is an important consideration for any NDIS provider.

Your business plan should demonstrate that your business has access to the skills and experience required to manage areas such as:

• Financial management.
• Compliance and regulation.
• Risk management.
• Work health and safety.
• Human resources.
• Service quality.
• Clinical governance, where applicable.

This can be challenging for a small or newly established NDIS provider that doesn’t yet have the capacity to employ specialists across all these areas. Where appropriate, the business plan can identify the external accountants, consultants, clinical advisers, mentors and other professionals available to support the management team. The objective is to demonstrate that the business has thought seriously about how it will be governed and managed as it grows.

2. Explain the Experience of Key Personnel

Don’t underestimate the importance of the experience you already have. Many new NDIS business owners have extensive backgrounds in disability support, healthcare, social work, nursing, community services, management or other relevant fields, but don’t always communicate the full extent of this experience in their business plan.

The section covering owners, directors and key personnel should clearly explain relevant:

• Qualifications.
• Industry experience.
• Management experience.
• Leadership responsibilities.
• Disability-sector experience.
• Compliance responsibilities.
• Financial and administrative experience.
• Staff supervision and development.
• Risk and incident management experience.

You may have skills that seem routine to you because you’ve used them for years. To somebody assessing your business, however, they can provide important evidence of your capability.

3. Don’t Avoid the Detail

An NDIS provider business plan needs to go beyond a broad description of your business. Be specific about how the organisation will operate, including its proposed services, target participants, staffing structure, management responsibilities, systems, marketing, financial projections and growth strategy.

Avoid making statements such as “we will employ experienced staff” without explaining what roles will be required, when they will be recruited and how they fit within the organisational structure. The more detailed the operational model, the easier it is for someone outside the business to understand how it will actually work.

4. Keep Your Growth Plans Realistic

It’s good to be ambitious, but your NDIS business plan and financial forecasts also need to be credible.

A new provider might ultimately want to support hundreds of participants, employ a large workforce and expand across multiple locations. That doesn’t necessarily mean those assumptions should appear in the first few years of the financial projections.

Consider what can realistically be achieved based on:

• Available funding and working capital.
• Participant acquisition.
• Recruitment capacity.
• Management resources.
• Registration status and scope.
• Local demand.
• Competition.
• Sustainable growth.

A smaller but well-supported forecast will generally tell a more convincing business story than an aggressive forecast that is difficult to justify.

5. Make Sure Everything Is Consistent

This sounds simple, but it is one of the most common problems we see in business plans.

Every part of the plan should tell the same story.

For example, if your organisational chart shows five employees in Year 1, your financial projections should account for those positions.

If your marketing plan says the business will expand into a new region, the forecasts should reflect the costs and expected revenue associated with that expansion.

Check the consistency between:

• Staffing plans and wages.
• Participant numbers and revenue.
• Services and registration groups.
• Marketing activities and budgets.
• Equipment requirements and capital expenditure.
• Growth plans and financial forecasts.

Small inconsistencies can undermine confidence in an otherwise strong plan.

6. Research the NDIS Market

There is a considerable amount of publicly available information about the NDIS, including participant numbers, expenditure, support categories and geographic distribution. Use relevant information to understand the NDIS market in the areas where you intend to operate.

Your market analysis should consider:

• Number of NDIS participants.
• Participant demographics.
• Types of supports required.
• Geographic areas being serviced.
• Existing NDIS providers and competitors.
• Referral networks.
• Potential gaps in service availability.

Market research is particularly valuable when it connects national or state-level NDIS data with the actual market the business intends to serve.

7. Address NDIS Compliance

Compliance shouldn’t be treated as an afterthought.

Your business plan should identify the regulatory and operational requirements relevant to the services you intend to provide and demonstrate that these have been incorporated into the business model.

This may include references to relevant:

• NDIS Practice Standards.
• NDIS Code of Conduct.
• Worker screening requirements.
• Incident management.
• Complaints management.
• Risk management.
• Participant rights.
• Privacy and record keeping.
• Human resource policies.
• Work health and safety.
• Clinical governance, where applicable.

You don’t necessarily need to reproduce entire policies and procedures within the business plan. Instead, explain how the appropriate systems, policies and procedures support the operation of the business.

8. Get Help Where You Need It

Starting an NDIS business can involve a lot at once.

You’re potentially dealing with business registration, NDIS provider registration, audit preparation, policies and procedures, insurance, recruitment, financial forecasts, marketing and participant acquisition, often while continuing to work elsewhere.

You don’t need to be an expert in every one of these areas.

Recognise where you have strong capabilities and where professional assistance may be worthwhile. That could include an accountant, NDIS registration consultant, lawyer, HR adviser or experienced business planning professional.

Getting the right advice early can save considerable time and help avoid mistakes that become more expensive to correct later.

Preparing an NDIS Business Plan

A good NDIS business plan shouldn’t simply be a document prepared to satisfy a requirement. It should provide a practical roadmap for how the business will establish itself, attract participants, recruit staff, manage compliance and become financially sustainable.

For new NDIS providers in particular, the planning process can also expose issues that haven’t yet been considered, from working capital and staffing requirements to governance, pricing and participant acquisition.

At The Business Plan Company, we have prepared hundreds of business plans for NDIS providers across Australia, including new providers preparing for registration and established providers planning their next stage of growth.

If you’re starting or expanding an NDIS business and need assistance preparing your business plan and financial forecasts, contact us for an initial discussion.