What They Said

“The NDIA does not directly fund providers, but allocates funding to NDIS participants and business decisions, including whether to continue offering services through the NDIS, are a matter for individual organisations.”

(NDIA spokesperson, quoted in “NDIS providers evacuate market after pricing review,” by Sarah Ison, The Australian, 10 August 2025)

In plain English: The NDIS pricing decision was not an accident. It was designed to restructure the market. No one is coming to save providers who won’t or can’t adapt.    

So, we have a choice.

Low Agency Responses

• Complain
• Wait for better conditions (they’re not coming)
• Accept razor-thin margins or losses
• Blame the NDIA when things get worse

High Agency Responses

Ask different questions:

• How do we build a business that thrives regardless of – or despite – the NDIA?
• How can we turn constraints and gaps into a competitive advantage?
• What would we do if failure literally wasn’t an option?
• How would someone from a completely different industry solve this challenge?
• How would we handle this if no government funding existed at all?
• What are participants begging us NOT to change about our services? 
• What’s the smallest step we could take today that moves us toward sustainability?
• If we only had 6 months of funding left, what would we prioritise?
• What would we regret not trying if we looked back in 5 years?
• If we locked our three smartest colleagues in a room for 2 hours to work on this problem, what would they come up with?

Take small actions now:

1. Map dependencies – Where are you most vulnerable?
2. Diversify revenue – Who else needs the value you provide?
3. Build efficiencies – How can we deliver better outcomes, more quickly?
4. Create loyalty – How do we make ourselves less generic, more useful, and more sought after?
5. Add to choice and control – Can we deliver more and better services in different ways to increase participant choice?

Bottom line:

The NDIA’s statement isn’t a threat – it’s another reminder that things have changed. They’ve just told us exactly where we stand.

The truth is hard to take, but we can do it: 

• Our opportunity: Providers who adapt to reality > providers waiting for rescue.
• Our choice: Victim of policy or architect of our own solutions?

Need a 30-minute pep talk to get the creative juices going? Check out this terrific essay by George Mack.

Curious about how to actually apply high-agency principles in your practice or workplace? On 25 August, we’re releasing our Courage Playbook – available only for our Banter Booster Premium subscribers. Sign up here.