Three common ways to choose your support workers
None of these is the right answer for everyone. They trade off control over the details against how much you have to run yourself.
- Through a provider. The provider finds, trains and rosters the workers, and arranges cover when someone is sick. How much say you get varies a lot from one provider to the next, so it is worth asking directly.
- Through an online platform. You look through worker profiles and arrange support through a website or app. You usually do more of the choosing and organising yourself, including working out what happens when a worker is unavailable.
- By engaging workers directly. Self-managed participants can engage their own workers. This gives you the most control, and it also leaves you with the rostering, the records and the responsibilities that come with it.
How your plan management affects your options
How your plan is managed decides which of those routes are open to you:
- Agency-managed (NDIA-managed): you can only use NDIS-registered providers.
- Plan-managed: you can use registered or unregistered providers, and your plan manager pays the invoices.
- Self-managed: you can use registered or unregistered providers, and you handle the payments and records yourself.
Some supports need a registered provider however your plan is managed, including specialist behaviour support. The rules are also changing. Mandatory registration for Supported Independent Living and for NDIS digital platforms began from 1 July 2026, with transition arrangements, and the Government has flagged more higher-risk supports from July 2027. Because this is moving, check the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission's current guidance and ask any provider or platform about its registration. You can check a provider on the Commission's public register.
What to ask, whichever route you choose
The same questions work for a provider, a platform or a worker you are thinking of engaging yourself. Our guide to choosing an NDIS provider has a longer list.
- Can I try a worker before they join my team, and who pays for that time?
- Can I say no, and what happens next if I do?
- Will I ever be sent someone I have not approved, including when a regular worker is sick?
- Who trains workers in my particular needs, and who checks how that is going?
- Who sorts out cover when a worker is unavailable, and who do I call after hours?
- If my health needs are complex, is there a nurse or other clinician behind the worker?
How it works at Care Alliance: your approved team
Care Alliance is a registered NDIS provider, so this route is open to you however your plan is managed. Every Care Alliance client has an approved team: the support workers you have said yes to. You are in control of who is on it, and we only ever roster from your approved team. That way you know the people who are turning up, and they are trained in how best to support you.
How a support worker joins your approved team:
- First, a call. Our Rosters & Teams department calls you, or your representative, to discuss potential new team members.
- If you approve, a shadow shift comes next. When we are building your team, every new support worker does a shadow shift, and we pay for it. It is at our expense.
- Then you decide. After the shadow shift, our Rosters & Teams department calls you, or your representative, and asks whether you want that worker on your team. The answer can be yes or no, or we can provide more training first. There is never any pressure to have anyone on your team who isn't the right fit for you.
- Only your approved team is rostered. From then on, our rostering team only rosters support workers from your approved team: the team you chose. You only ever have the team you have approved.
Your support team receives clinical guidance and training from both our registered nurses and our psychologists, so your physical and mental health benefit from great support that is backed by evidence.
We work across Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Cessnock, Port Stephens and the Central Coast, in in-home support, community access, high intensity support and Supported Independent Living. If you would rather run everything yourself, a platform or engaging workers directly may suit you better, and that is a perfectly good choice.
Common questions
Can I choose my own support workers with an agency-managed plan?
Yes, from NDIS-registered providers. If your plan is agency-managed you can only use registered providers, so ask each provider how much say you get in who supports you. At Care Alliance every client approves each support worker on their team.
Do I have to self-manage to choose my own support workers?
No. Self-management gives you the most options, but you can have a say in who supports you under any type of plan management. It depends on the provider you choose, so ask before you sign a service agreement.
Can I say no to a support worker?
Yes. These are people working with you, often in your home, and you are entitled to raise it if someone is not the right fit. At Care Alliance, the answer after a shadow shift can be yes or no, or we can provide more training first.
What is the difference between a provider and an online platform?
A provider usually employs or contracts the workers, and handles training, rostering and cover. A platform connects you with workers through a website or app, and you usually do more of the organising yourself. Registration rules for digital platforms are changing, so ask about registration and check the NDIS Commission's guidance.
Can a family member help me choose?
Yes, if that is what you want. At Care Alliance our Rosters & Teams department talks with you or your representative, both about potential new team members and about whether a worker should join your team after their shadow shift.
This guide is general information about the NDIS, not advice about your individual situation, and scheme rules change over time. For decisions about your plan, check the current guidance at ndis.gov.au or talk to your support coordinator, planner — or call us on 1300 206 309.
