Support coordinators make referrals to NDIS providers every week. The quality of those referrals — the information you pass on, the questions you ask, and the follow-up you do — directly affects whether the participant ends up with support that actually works.

This article is for working coordinators wanting to sharpen their referral practice. The basics are easy. The details are where good referrals get made.

What to consider before referring

Before you make a referral, work through some questions:

Have you confirmed the participant actually wants this provider? Coordinators sometimes refer to providers they prefer, when participants haven't been consulted on their preferences. The participant's choice is foundational — even if you have concerns about a particular provider, the choice is theirs.

Have you checked capacity? Some providers technically take new participants but in practice can't deliver for weeks or months. A referral that lands on a six-week waitlist is sometimes worse than no referral. Pick up the phone before sending the formal referral.

Have you matched skills to needs? Providers vary. A provider whose strength is community participation may not be the right fit for complex personal care. Ask yourself: what does this participant specifically need, and which providers actually do that well?

Have you considered locality? A provider based 40km away with no local workers will struggle to deliver consistent service. Locality matters more than people often acknowledge.

Have you thought about cultural fit? For First Nations participants, CALD participants, LGBTIQA+ participants, or participants with specific cultural needs, provider cultural responsiveness varies. Match deliberately.

Information to gather before referring

A referral package that includes:

Participant's NDIS plan summary — what's funded, how it's managed, plan dates.

Functional summary — what the participant can do independently, what they need help with, key risk areas.

Communication preferences — how the participant wants to be contacted, any communication needs (interpreter, AAC, etc.).

Cultural considerations — anything the worker should know.

Existing support team — who else is working with the participant, contact details for the GP, OT, psychiatrist, family contacts.

Goals — what the participant is working toward, what they want from the support.

Specific tasks — what you're asking the new provider to do.

Risk information — any safety considerations the provider needs to know about (e.g. behaviours of concern, medical conditions, environmental factors).

Don't share confidential information beyond what's relevant. Diagnostic detail isn't always needed for the worker on the ground; functional information often is. Use professional judgment.

What to tell the provider

When you contact a provider, be specific. Vague referrals get vague responses.

What you'll usually want to communicate:

The participant's name (with consent), age, and general situation.

The specific support being requested — number of hours, type of support, schedule.

When services need to start.

Any complications the provider should know about up front.

What success looks like — what's the goal of this support arrangement?

The role of other team members.

Your role and how you want to be involved going forward.

Be honest about complications. Providers who get warned about challenges in advance work better with them than providers who discover problems after they've signed up. If a participant has had complicated relationships with previous providers, share that.

How to evaluate if a provider is the right fit

After your initial conversation with a provider, evaluate:

Are they straight with you? Honest providers acknowledge what they can and can't do. Providers who claim to do everything are usually overstating their capacity.

Did they ask the right questions? Good providers ask about complications, risk, and team dynamics. Poor providers focus on operational logistics without engaging with clinical or relational complexity.

Do they have local capacity? Real workers in the suburb, not aspirational coverage from a head office.

What's their communication style going to be? Are they responsive? Do they call back when they say they will?

How do they handle worker matching? Do they have a thoughtful matching process or do they assign whoever's available?

What's their backup plan? When the regular worker is sick, what happens?

After services start, evaluate within the first 4-6 weeks. Are workers showing up? Is the participant happy? Are reports getting filed? If things aren't working, address it early — before the relationship becomes entrenched.

Red flags

Things that should make you reconsider a referral:

The provider can start "tomorrow" with no questions asked. Genuine providers do at least some intake work before starting.

Aggressive sales pressure on you or the participant.

Reluctance to share information about workers, supervision, or operations.

Promises of capacity that seem too convenient.

Vague answers about how complaints or incidents are handled.

History of issues with the Quality and Safeguards Commission.

Multiple participants in your network who've had bad experiences.

If you're getting a bad feeling, listen to it. Coordinators who have to clean up bad referrals later often regret pushing past their initial concerns.

Frequently asked questions

How many providers should I have a participant interview before they choose?

Two or three is reasonable. More can be overwhelming. The goal is genuine choice, not exhaustive shopping.

Should I have a preferred provider list?

Knowing the providers in your area is essential. Having an explicit "preferred list" you push everyone toward is problematic — both ethically (it constrains participant choice) and practically (it doesn't account for individual fit).

What if the participant wants to use a provider I have concerns about?

Voice your concerns. Then respect the choice. Document your advice. Coordinators don't override participant choice; we inform it.

How do I follow up after a referral?

A 2-3 week check-in with both the provider and participant is reasonable. Then ongoing involvement based on the coordination intensity in the plan.

If you're a support coordinator working with Seareal participants in Queensland and want to talk about referral practice or coordination work, contact us. We work alongside coordinators across the state.