Questions to Ask an ILO Provider
Before choosing an ILO provider, ask how they'd run exploration and design, how they find and check hosts and housemates, what back-up support they arrange, how often they'd check in, how they handle problems, and what's in their service agreement. You can talk to as many providers as you like, and the person the ILO is for should be part of every conversation.
Questions About Exploration and Design
This stage shapes everything after it.
- How would you spend the exploration and design hours, and how do you keep me at the centre of decisions?
- How do you involve my family and friends, and the people who already help me?
- Will you also run the ILO in stage 2? If not, who will?
- Can you help look for housing, or link me with other services, if that's needed?
- How will you make sure I understand and agree with the service proposal?
Questions About Hosts and Housemates
The primary support is the heart of an ILO, so ask how it's found and supported.
- How do you find hosts and housemates, and what checks do you do on them?
- How do I get to know someone before we decide to live together?
- What training and support do hosts and housemates get from you?
- How are hosts and housemates paid, and is it written into the service proposal?
- What happens if a host or housemate needs to leave?
Looking for an ILO Provider?
We'll connect you with a registered ILO provider who may be able to help.
Questions About Back-Up and Supplementary Supports
Every ILO needs support for the times the host or housemate isn't available.
- Who steps in when my host or housemate is at work, unwell or on holiday?
- Do you offer on-call support, drop-in support or a mentor?
- How do you build in help from family, friends or neighbours?
Questions About Monitoring and Problems
The NDIA makes monitoring the joint job of the person and their provider.
- How often will you check in, and will it be in person, by video or by phone?
- How can I raise a problem between check-ins, and who do I talk to?
- How do you handle a disagreement between me and the people I live with?
- How quickly can you change my supports if my needs change?
Questions About Costs and Agreements
Get the money side clear before anything is signed.
- What do you charge for exploration and design, and is it within the NDIS price limits?
- What will your stage 2 quote include, and how much of it goes to monitoring and adjustment?
- Are you a registered NDIS provider? (Needed if my funding is agency-managed.)
- What's in your service agreement, including notice periods and how I can change provider?
Get independent financial advice
The NDIA recommends that participants and providers both get independent financial advice before agreeing to an ILO, because payments received through an ILO may be assessable for tax.
Questions People Ask
How many ILO providers should I talk to?
As many as you need to feel confident. Under the NDIS you choose your providers, and you're not locked in to the first one you speak to.
Should the person the ILO is for be there?
Yes. The NDIA says ILO decisions should be made by the person, supported to be involved as much as possible.
What if the provider can't answer these?
That tells you something. A provider who has set up host or housemate arrangements before should be able to explain how they work in practice.
Keep Reading
- NDIS ILO providersWhat an NDIS ILO provider does in each stage, the rules they follow, registration and plan management, and what to look for when choosing an ILO provider.
- Host arrangementsHow an NDIS ILO host arrangement works: living full time in a host's home, what a host does, how hosts are paid, the back-up around them and the checks.
- Housemate arrangementsHow an NDIS ILO housemate arrangement works, sometimes called co-residency: sharing your own home or a rental with a housemate who supports you, and the rules.
- Monitoring and changing an ILOHow ILO monitoring works: what the monitoring plan covers, who's responsible, how to raise a problem, and how an ILO can change without a plan reassessment.
- How we choose providersThe checks every provider has to pass before we connect them with anyone.
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