The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has standard invoicing requirements – and specific advice for NDIS providers – that need to be followed.
To be compliant – and promptly processed – provider invoices should always include:
The NDIA will accept an Australian Taxation Office ‘Statement by a supplier’ form from an exempt provider if they don’t quote an ABN.
We’ve prepared an invoice template that providers can use to create compliant invoices. Access the invoice template here.
Providers are reliant on their clients being transparent about their funding to know if it’ll cover the supports or services they provide.
Before commencing supports, providers can speak with their client to understand if there’s funding available in their plan for the budgets and categories related to the services they’ve requested – and to make sure there’s adequate funding to cover fees.
Entering into a service agreement with a client – a formal contract detailing the type, quantity and cost of the services being delivered – and sharing it with their plan manager is one way to help make sure funding is available to pay for supports or services.
To mitigate fraud and non-compliant behaviour, the NDIA has confirmed that, while valid claims will be paid within two or three working days, some payments may take up to 10 working days to be processed, allowing time for the NDIA to undertake more rigorous investigation of claims.
Once a claim is paid by the NDIA, it typically takes one or two days for the funds to appear in a provider’s bank account.