This post has been a long time coming. I'll be honest, it's taken a while because there have been a lot of unknowns and frankly, not a lot of clear advice out there. The initial rollout of the NDIS Pace system has been trickier than I anticipated.

We all knew there would be bumps in the road, but I guess I naively hoped the pre-launch information sessions would fully prepare us. In hindsight, that only works if the information they provide actually applies to what happens in reality.

The reason for this post? My team and I were constantly encountering issues, and I couldn't find any resources about whether others were facing the same problems, or if there were even solutions. The NDIS has bigger things on its plate right now with the recent review, but for an admin like me trying to get our hardworking providers paid on time, this was a pressing issue.

I pride myself on finding solutions, so I didn't want this to be a rant with no answers. I attended the pre-rollout information sessions religiously, yet the problems we faced weren't mentioned. The good news is, it seems like many of these issues are finally being addressed. Watch the video or scroll down to read a quick rundown on the NDIS PACE Rollout, including challenges and solutions, from my perspective.

The NDIS Pace Rollout: Challenges and Solutions from an Admin's Perspective

We currently work with eleven NDIS providers, with six offering support coordination or behaviour support. The others focus on allied health or community participation and haven't faced significant issues so far.

For our support coordination and behaviour support providers, I'm thankful for the slow rollout, which has only impacted one or two participants per provider.

Here are the main challenges we've encountered:

• Slow uptake of terminology: NDIS staff on the phone often haven't been familiar with PACE terminology. There was even a case where someone asked what "PACE" meant!

• Surprise category endorsement requirement: The biggest hurdle has been the requirement for a category-level endorsement from participants to get paid for in-person services. Pre-Pace information sessions mentioned needing provider endorsement, but there was no mention of this additional step. Previously, provider endorsement might delay claim approval, but now claims are simply rejected without the category endorsement.

• Burdensome endorsement process: The participant or nominee, not the provider, has to request this endorsement. This has created a massive administrative burden for both providers trying to get it done and families already stretched thin. Imagine them calling the NDIS and waiting on hold, all while neither the family nor the NDIS staff fully understand what's needed. It's been frustrating for everyone.
  
  Honestly, the rationale behind this extra endorsement escapes me. We're already registered providers, so shouldn't that be enough?

Here's the good news - solutions:

• Retroactive endorsements and planning meetings: The NDIS is going through previous service bookings in PRODA for pre-paced plans, adding endorsements based on those bookings. They're also incorporating endorsement discussions into planning meetings.

• Providers can now initiate endorsement requests: Providers can now request endorsements (assuming participant approval is still required). This at least gets the ball rolling, with participants simply needing to confirm.

  EDIT 27/3/24: providers can only request extra category level, not initial myprovider endorsement. And only if there was a previous service booking in place. Best way is to email provider.support@ndis.gov.au as phone centre is still saying not at all.

• NDIS staff training: The NDIS is providing more training for call centre staff and those conducting planning meetings.

Here's what we can do on our end:

• Develop an endorsement template: Create a template to share with new participants during onboarding. This would include your provider registration number, ABN, trading name, and any other information they might need to request the category-level endorsement.

• Budget allocation discussions: In the past, plan documents would outline specific amounts within each category budget. Now, PACE plans only have a total dollar amount for the whole category. This can be confusing for tracking purposes. However, the NDIS seems to be moving towards giving participants more flexibility in how they use their funding. This makes sense, but it means a bit more legwork for us admins. We'll need to work with providers to establish processes for working with participants to allocate their service budgets.

NDIS Pace Rollout: Bumpy Start, Brighter Future

Overall, it's been a challenging few months navigating the unknown. However, the recent updates from the NDIS are encouraging. With some tweaks to our intake process, we should be back on track in no time.

Have you faced any PACE rollout challenges? Seen any helpful updates? Please share your experience in the comments below. The more information we share, the better equipped we'll all be!

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