Hi! I am Cheryle and I am new to this platform. I have been in private practice in Townsville for over twenty years and I would like to start seeing NDIS clients. I would appreciate any guidance or feedback on how to receive NDIS referrals. Thanks.
Hey Cheryl 
Welcome to the platform! Its an absolute pleasure to have someone as experienced as you join the community.
I lived up in townsville for a year myself for work and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Lived a street away from The Strand. Its beautiful up there.
The fact that you have 20 years in private practice is definitely a huge plus. I’d imagine you’d have somewhat of a name for yourself in Townsville already if this is the case.
There are several options available to you with regards to connecting with NDIS participants:
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Being that you have been registered for over 20 years, I would call local Support Coordinators and let them know that you are looking to expand into the NDIS market after 20 years in private practice. I would imagine you’d stand out with your long standing experience.
Just be mindful that some support coordinators get calls daily with NDIS providers looking to connect with the intention of hopefully achieving some referrals. Some may not have an interest in connecting. Don’t be deterred though. Its a numbers game. Some will be very interested in connecting and others may already have an extensive network. -
Another option which would be beneficial for you would be to contact with the Local Area Coordinator’s (LAC’s) in your local area. LAC’s are involved with participants at the beginning of their NDIS journey helping with plan creation and initial community connections. You need to connect with these people and let them know that you exist.
You can search for LAC’s here: https://www.ndis.gov.au/contact/locations
After searching 4810 and selecting townsville city, this is the LAC it turned up with in Townsville City:
https://www.ndis.gov.au/contact/locations/-19.2591%2C146.8178/50/10498
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Another option at your disposal is to post in NDIS townsville FB groups that allow advertising in their group (check their rules). Advertising in facebook groups can yeild some results, but sometimes it can be easy to blend in. The groups that allow advertising just have an endless stream of adverts and it can be quite overwhelming. Its also not the most efficient or effective method for participants to be sifting through posts in a facebook group looking for someone that exactly suits their needs. Its usually easier for participants to simply make a post asking for what they need, so you just need to be ready to respond to those posts quickly.
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You can run paid ads on google or facebook specifically targeting participants. You can either educate yourself in this regard or seek the services of a marketing agency that specifically specialises in advertising for NDIS companies and would already have a decent knowledge on how to effectively target your ideal prospective clients.
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… and last but not least, you have our platform at your disposal, completely free of charge. Our platform has a non-solicitation policy. So you can’t advertise on our platform directly, however, you are given the ability to have a post signature. So every post you make, is a passive promotion of your services anyway.
It may seem counter intuitive not to be able to directly advertise, but I’ve spoken to many participants that are repulsed by communities full of adverts. So not only does this scare a lot of participants away, but most providers end up simply blending into a sea of other adverts anyway. Ultimately, it can yeild some results, but on the whole, its an ineffective system.
What we have build here is a platform that allows providers to build relationships with participants and to stand out by providing real value up front. The providers who don’t care enough to get involved and put in the community building efforts required to succeed in this industry, will slowly fade into the background. The providers who truely care and take the time to help participants will easily stand out. We also reward providers who put in the effort by giving them greater visibility and higher rankings on the directory. Its a system designed to reward your efforts.
Participants and their support networks come here for support during their NDIS journey and don’t have to be worried about being bombarded with adverts and sales pitches. So participants have more than one reason to be here other than simply searching for services and they usually stick around because they see it as a “safe space’”.
The fantastic thing is, if you make one helpful post to help one participant, there is going to be potentially thousands of other participants over time who have the same question who end up viewing that 1 helpful post… of which links directly through to your directory listing.
Online community forums have very strong SEO properties as the most commonly asked questions are usually discussed in great detail on platforms like this. So when people do google searches asking these same questions, google very commonly spits out discussion threads like reddit, Quora and forums like this. If someone clicks through to our forum and sees your helpful post, they have the ability to click on the directory link in your post signature. They are then directed to your directory page which has all of your contact details. Very powerful stuff.
If you feel up to it, I would suggest trying your hand at writing an article in the Helpful Articles section. As a psychologist of 20 years, I feel like you would have a wealth of knowledge that participants with mental health struggles would hugely benefit from. It would give them the opportunity to connect with you and get a feel for you.
There is another psychologist on the platform who has not long joined and has been doing a fantastic job of connecting with participants. She has recently written a helpful article for the community.
In general, I highly suggest simply being present on the platform and interacting with participants and their support networks. Helping them with their queries about NDIS (if you have the knowledge) or assisting them with challenging mental states etc (which you’re a professional at). Lots of participants don’t have questions about NDIS and are simply struggling with stressors in their life. They come here to be heard. Its a brilliant opportunity to connect and to provide real value up front. Thats effective marketing. To genuinely help someone in a time of need and for them to get a feel for you as a person… and again. Its not just that one person who will read your comments. Many people will read thes comments and discussions.
Just FYI, I moved your question to the Educationsal NDIS Business Articles section as this was a business related question. We separate business related talk from the participants forum so they don’t have to be exposed to discussions that are irrelevant to them. It keeps things clean and orderly.
I also changed the title of your thread so that its a little more descriptive with regards to seeking guidance or feedback on how to receive NDIS referrals. This will attract anyone else who is able to assist you with their knowledge to your thread.
I strongly reccommend introducing yourself to the community so that people can get to know you
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Hi Jake.
Thank you very much for your reply!
I have emailed Feroslac@ndis and uniting care.
Thank you.