Your rights as an NDIS participant
Your NDIS plan is not a favour from a provider. It is funding attached to your goals, your life and your rights. Providers may bring skills, workers and systems, but they do not take over your voice.
The NDIS Code of Conduct applies to all people and organisations delivering NDIS supports and services, whether they are registered or unregistered. It requires providers and workers to respect your rights, protect your privacy, deliver supports safely and competently, act honestly, respond to concerns, and take reasonable steps to prevent violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation.
This guide explains what those rights look like day to day with a provider. It is general information, not legal advice, but it can help you notice when support feels respectful and when something needs to be questioned.
You have the right to dignity and respect
Dignity is not just being spoken to politely. It means being treated as a whole person, not a diagnosis, a roster slot, a risk level or a set of support tasks.
In practice, a provider should learn how you prefer to be addressed, respect your home and belongings, protect your privacy during personal care, and speak with you rather than about you. Workers should not shame you for hard days, make jokes at your expense, talk down to you, or treat support as if they are doing you a personal favour.
Respect also means your culture, language, gender, sexuality, faith, family structure and lived experience are not treated as problems to manage. If something matters to your identity or safety, it belongs in the conversation about how support is delivered.
You have choice and control
Choice and control means you have a real say in who supports you, what support looks like, when it happens and whether the provider is still the right fit.
A good provider gives you clear information about options, costs, service agreements, cancellation rules and what the support can and cannot do. They should give you time to decide and let you ask questions before signing anything. If they offer more than one service, they should make it clear that you can choose other providers too.
Choice also shows up in ordinary moments. You may want to change the order of tasks during a support shift, try a different community activity, ask for a different worker, pause a goal, or decide that a plan from last month no longer fits. Providers cannot always do every requested thing, but they should explain any limit honestly and look for reasonable alternatives.
You have the right to privacy
Your information belongs to you. Providers need to keep records, but they should only collect information that is relevant to the support and handle it carefully.
Before speaking with another provider, family member, advocate, plan manager or support coordinator, a provider should usually ask for your consent. That consent should be specific enough to mean something: who can be contacted, what can be shared, why it is being shared and whether the permission is ongoing or only for one conversation.
There are limited situations where a provider may need to act without ordinary consent, such as an immediate safety concern or a legal reporting duty. Even then, they should share only what is necessary and explain what happened when it is safe and lawful to do so.
You have the right to be safe
You have the right to support that is free from violence, abuse, neglect, exploitation and discrimination. This includes physical, emotional, sexual, financial and psychological harm. It also includes being pressured, threatened, isolated, ignored or taken advantage of.
Good providers take safety seriously before something goes wrong. They screen and supervise workers, listen when you say something feels unsafe, respond to incidents, and make sure you know who to contact with concerns. If you report that a worker, provider, family member or anyone else has harmed you or may harm you, the response should be calm, respectful and protective.
Safety does not mean providers get to control your life. It means they take reasonable steps to prevent harm you have not chosen, while still respecting your right to make decisions about your own life.
You have the right to culturally safe support
Culturally safe support starts with listening. A provider should not assume what culture, community, language, family, gender, sexuality, faith or identity means to you. They should ask respectfully, record what you want known, and adapt support where possible.
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants, culturally safe support may include connection with community, Elders, family, Country, cultural events or Aboriginal-controlled services, if that is what you want. For participants from culturally and linguistically diverse communities, it may include translated information, interpreters, awareness of family roles, and respect for religious or cultural practices.
The key point is choice. Culture is not a checklist a provider performs. It is part of your life, and support should not make you leave it at the door.
You have the right to information you can understand
You should not need to decode jargon to make decisions about your own supports. Providers should explain important information in plain language and in a format that works for you.
That might mean written information, a verbal explanation, Easy Read, visual aids, extra time, short conversations instead of one long meeting, or support from someone you trust. If you need an interpreter, TIS National is available on 131 450 and is free for participants. If you prefer Easy Read information, you can ask for it.
Communication support is not a special favour. It is part of making choice and control real. You can also ask to receive information by phone, email, text, in person or through an advocate, depending on what the provider can safely and practically arrange.
You have the right to complain safely
You can make a complaint about a provider, worker, service agreement, invoice, communication problem, safety concern or anything else affecting your supports. You do not have to use perfect words. You do not have to prove the whole issue before you speak up.
Complaining should never affect your supports. A provider must not punish you, threaten you, reduce support, treat you differently or make you feel difficult because you raised a concern.
Ellira's complaints page explains our process. We acknowledge complaints within 3 business days and provide a written outcome within 20 business days. You can use an advocate or support person, ask for communication adjustments, complain anonymously, or go straight to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission on 1800 035 544 at any time. You do not have to complain to the provider first.
You have the right to an advocate
An advocate is someone in your corner. They can help you understand information, speak up in meetings, make a complaint, compare options or say what you want when it feels hard to say it alone.
Your advocate might be a friend, family member, carer, support person or independent professional advocate. The important part is that they are there for your voice, not to take over from you. Providers should welcome advocates and make it easy for you to authorise one.
At Ellira, advocacy is part of how we think about good support. Our advocacy page explains more about self-advocacy and independent advocacy support.
You have the right to say no and change your mind
You can say no to a support, a worker, a meeting, a referral, a goal, a provider or a suggestion. You can also say yes now and change your mind later.
There may be practical consequences to some choices. For example, cancelling a session late may affect funding, or ending a service agreement may require notice. A provider should explain those consequences clearly without using them to pressure you.
Changing your mind is part of being in control. Good support adapts as your needs, capacity, confidence and priorities change.
Common questions
Do these rights apply if my provider is unregistered?
Yes. The NDIS Code of Conduct applies to registered and unregistered NDIS providers and workers. Registration affects some funding and audit rules, but it does not remove your right to safe, respectful and ethical support.
Can I complain to the NDIS Commission without telling the provider first?
Yes. You can contact the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission at any time on 1800 035 544. You do not need the provider's permission, and you do not need to wait for the provider's process to finish.
Can a family member or advocate speak for me?
Yes, if that is what you want and you give consent. A provider should still involve you as much as possible and check that the person is representing your wishes, not replacing them.
What if I need information in another language or format?
Ask the provider for the format that works for you. Interpreters, Easy Read, visual information, extra time and support from someone you trust can all help make decisions clearer.
What if a provider says I am being difficult?
Asking questions, raising concerns, changing providers or using an advocate is not being difficult. It is exercising your rights. If you feel punished or pressured, consider getting advocacy support or making a complaint.
Where to from here
If you want support that respects your rights from the first conversation, you can send a referral or book a call. Bring any questions you want answered before you decide.
This article is general information, not medical or clinical advice. For support with your situation, talk to your GP, treating team, or call us on 1300 487 996. In an emergency call 000. For urgent mental-health support call Lifeline on 13 11 14.