NDIS provider websites participants can actually use

An NDIS provider website has a harder job than most business websites. It’s easy to write a site for a confident reader on a large screen, with a steady hand on a mouse and plenty of time. The people who rely on a disability services site often have none of those. And there are several of them, each looking for something different.

An NDIS website is used by participants with a wide range of disabilities. It’s used by family members and carers, by support coordinators comparing providers for someone else, and by plan managers checking details. The site needs to work for all of them, because that is the one thing it exists to do.

This guide sets out what that means in practice. It’s written for providers of every size, registered or not.

Who reads an NDIS provider website?

An NDIS provider website has 4 main groups of readers. Participants want to know what you do and how to start. Families and carers want to know who will be in the home and how you handle safety. Support coordinators want service areas, capacity and a fast referral. Plan managers want invoicing details, your ABN and registration status.

Before any design, list the people who visit and what each is trying to find out. For many providers the list looks something like this.

• Participants want to know what you do, whether it suits them, where you work, and how to get started. Some will read every word. Some will use a screen reader. Some will need information in Easy Read or another language.
• Families and carers often do the research on someone’s behalf. They want reassurance about who will be in the home, how you handle safety, and what happens if something goes wrong.
• Support coordinators compare several providers quickly. They want service areas, capacity, the supports you provide, and a fast way to make a referral.
• Plan managers and self-managers want invoicing details, your ABN, and whether you are registered.

Each group needs a clear path through the site. The homepage should let every one of them see, within seconds, where their path starts.

Why does accessibility come first for NDIS providers?

Accessibility comes first because many people using an NDIS provider website rely on assistive technology. Others need larger text, simpler layouts or other input devices. If they can’t use the site, the provider can’t reach them. The practical benchmark is WCAG 2.2 at level AA, tested by a person as well as a tool.

For a disability provider, accessibility is the minimum standard. For a provider website, WCAG 2.2 AA means:

• every page works with a keyboard alone, and you can always see where you are;
• text has strong contrast and can be enlarged without breaking the layout;
• images have meaningful text alternatives;
• headings form a clear outline, so screen reader users can jump between sections;
• forms have visible labels, clear instructions and helpful error messages;
• buttons and links are large enough to hit with limited dexterity;
• nothing important depends on colour, sound, timing or dragging.

We wrote a longer plain English guide to WCAG 2.2 AA. A WCAG accessibility audit is the reliable way to know where an existing site stands.

Write for understanding first

Plain language is an accessibility requirement in its own right. A support coordinator can decode jargon. Many participants and families shouldn’t have to.

Some habits that help:

• Use short sentences and common words. “We help you with daily tasks at home” works better than “we deliver capacity building and daily living supports in the home environment”.
• Explain NDIS terms the first time you use them. SIL, SDA, core supports and capacity building mean a lot to people inside the scheme. They mean very little to someone just starting.
• Put the most important thing first on every page and in every paragraph.
• Offer Easy Read versions of key information, such as how to get started and how to make a complaint. Easy Read pairs short sentences with supporting images. It’s designed for people with intellectual disability or low literacy.
• Consider languages and Auslan where your participants need them. Say clearly that interpreters are available if they are.

Good website copywriting for this sector aims to be understood first. Warmth follows from that.

What should an NDIS provider website say?

An NDIS provider website should say plainly which supports you provide, which areas you cover and whether you have capacity now. It should state your registration status and the plan types you accept. It should also explain how pricing works under the current NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits. Visitors shouldn’t have to search for any of it.

The most common gap on NDIS provider websites is basic information. A visitor should be able to find, without searching:

• the specific supports you provide, described in everyday words;
• the areas you cover, with suburbs or regions named;
• whether you currently have capacity for new participants;
• whether you are a registered provider, and for which registration groups if that is relevant;
• whether you can support participants who are NDIA managed, plan managed or self managed;
• how pricing works, in line with the current NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits.

Each major support type usually deserves its own page, written for the people who need it. A page for Supported Independent Living answers different questions from a page for therapy supports or community participation.

Be careful with claims and stories

It’s tempting to fill a disability services website with success stories and bold promises. Be careful. Participants’ stories involve personal and often sensitive information. Only share them with genuine, informed and freely given consent that the participant can withdraw.

Avoid promising outcomes. Every participant’s goals and circumstances are different, and results vary from person to person. Describe what you do, how you work with people, and how participants have choice and control. Leave out what they will achieve.

Your team might include registered health practitioners, such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists, psychologists or speech pathologists. If so, the advertising rules for regulated health services apply to how those services are described. Our guide to the AHPRA advertising guidelines explains what that means for testimonials and claims.

How should people contact an NDIS provider?

People should be able to contact an NDIS provider in more than one way. Show phone and email in the same place on every page. Offer a short, accessible enquiry form and a separate referral form for support coordinators. Add a call back option, and say what happens next and how long a reply usually takes.

People contact disability providers in different ways, and the website should support all of them.

• Phone and email shown clearly on every page, in the same place, rather than tucked into a footer.
• An enquiry or referral form that is short, accessible, and asks only for what you need at first contact. A support coordinator making a referral needs a different form from a participant making a first enquiry.
• An option to request a call back at a time that suits, for people who find phone calls at short notice difficult.
• Clear information about what happens next, including how long a response usually takes.

Forms deserve particular care. Every field needs a visible label, and errors need to be explained in words. Nothing should time out while someone is typing slowly. Nobody should have to enter the same information twice. Our enquiry forms and online booking and intake work is built around those rules.

Privacy and complaints

An NDIS enquiry often includes details about disability, health and personal circumstances. That is sensitive information under the Privacy Act. Say what you collect and why at the point you collect it. Link to a privacy policy written for your service. Never send form contents to advertising or analytics tools. Keep advertising pixels off these pages unless a visitor has given express opt-in for that pixel.

Make your complaints process easy to find, including how to contact the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. Participants and families look for it, and it should take one click to reach.

Test with participants and families

Automated tools catch some accessibility problems. They can’t tell you whether a participant with an intellectual disability understands your getting started page. They can’t tell you whether a screen reader user can complete your referral form.

Wherever you can, ask participants, families and coordinators to try the site and tell you where it fails them. Pay people for their time and expertise. A short session with 3 or 4 people usually reveals problems no audit checklist would.

A short checklist

• Every audience has a clear starting point from the homepage.
• The site meets WCAG 2.2 AA, checked by a person as well as a tool.
• Key information is in plain language, with Easy Read versions where needed.
• Supports, service areas, capacity and registration status are easy to find.
• No outcome promises, and stories are only shared with informed consent.
• Contact options are clear and consistent on every page.
• Forms are short, accessible and privacy-aware.
• The complaints process is easy to find.

Providers across NDIS and disability services and allied health share one goal for their websites. The site should work for the people who rely on it first.

Want an NDIS website your participants can use?

We design and build NDIS provider websites to WCAG 2.2 AA, with plain-language copy and referral forms that support coordinators can finish in minutes. Our copywriters write to the NDIS and privacy guidelines, and your organisation stays responsible for its own advertising. Written to the guidelines by our copywriting team. Not legal advice. See our NDIS and disability website design page. Book a free strategy call to talk it through.