NDIS website design: what participants and coordinators look for

Good NDIS website design lets a participant, a family member or a support coordinator work out within a minute whether you offer the support they need, in their area, with room to take them on, and how to make a referral. That means plain language, pages that work with screen readers and on phones, clear information on how you can be paid, and claims that sit within the NDIS Code of Conduct.

Many visitors to an NDIS provider website are not the participant. Support coordinators, plan managers, parents and partners often search on someone’s behalf, and they are usually comparing several providers at once. The site has to work for each of them, and it has to be usable by people with a wide range of disabilities.

Who reads an NDIS provider website

• Participants want to know what you do, whether you understand their situation, and who will actually turn up.
• Families and carers look for signs of safety and consistency, and for how to raise a concern if something goes wrong.
• Support coordinators compare many providers quickly. They want your services, your service area, whether you have capacity, and how to send a referral.
• Plan managers need your business details and how you invoice.

Write each page so that any of these readers can find their answer without phoning you first. A coordinator who has to call to learn whether you cover a suburb may simply move to the next provider on the list.

What participants and coordinators look for

These are the details that decide whether someone gets in touch. Put them high on the page, not in a downloadable brochure:

1. The supports you offer, in everyday words. Name each service (“help at home with cooking and cleaning”, “support to get to work or TAFE”) and, where it helps, the NDIS support category it falls under.
2. Where you work. Suburbs, towns or regions, and whether you travel.
3. Current availability. Whether you are taking new participants, any waitlist, and when it was last updated. An out-of-date “we have capacity” causes more frustration than a clearly stated waitlist.
4. Registration status. If you are a registered NDIS provider, say so clearly. If you are not, do not imply it.
5. How you can be paid. Explain which ways of managing NDIS funding you work with. Check the plan management pages on the NDIS website (ndis.gov.au) before you write this, because the rules on who can use which providers matter to participants.
6. The people. Real photos and short profiles of the team, the checks and qualifications relevant to the work, and the languages spoken.
7. A simple referral path. A short form, a phone number, an email address and a text option, with a line on how quickly you reply.

Accessibility is part of the service

An NDIS website that a screen reader cannot read, or that cannot be used without a mouse, tells visitors something about the service behind it. The international standard is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). The W3C’s WCAG overview says WCAG 2.2 was published on 5 October 2023, with an update on 12 December 2024, and that success criteria sit at three levels: A, AA and AAA. Aim for level AA, the middle level.

In practice, that means:

• Headings in a logical order, so screen reader users can jump through the page.
• Text descriptions on every meaningful image, and captions on videos.
• Strong colour contrast, and text that can be enlarged without breaking the layout.
• Every link, menu and form usable with a keyboard alone.
• Form fields with visible labels, clear error messages and no time limits.
• Large tap targets on phones, where most visitors will be.

Our guide to website accessibility in Australia covers testing and the legal background in more detail.

Plain language and Easy Read

Write as you would explain the service across a table. Short sentences, one idea per paragraph, and everyday words. Where NDIS terms are unavoidable, explain them the first time: “capacity building (supports that help you build skills and independence)”.

Offer an Easy Read version of your key pages, using short sentences with a supporting picture for each point. Add a line on how to get information in other formats or languages, and how to contact you through the National Relay Service or an interpreter if you use them. These details show a participant that you have thought about how they communicate.

NDIS rules that shape what your website says

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (Code of Conduct) Rules 2018 set out the NDIS Code of Conduct. The rules say it applies to all NDIS providers and the people they employ or engage, whether or not the provider is registered. Among other duties, section 6 requires them to respect the privacy of people with disability and to act with integrity and transparency. Section 6(2) says they must not, without a reasonable justification, represent or charge a higher price for goods for a participant than for the same goods for someone who is not a participant.

For a website, that points to a few habits:

• Describe your registration status, qualifications and experience accurately.
• Avoid promises about outcomes for a participant’s goals.
• If you show prices for goods, show the same price to everyone.
• Do not pressure people to switch providers or sign up quickly.

The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission publishes guidance on the Code and on registration at ndiscommission.gov.au. Read its current guidance before you publish, and get advice for your situation. This is general information, not legal advice.

Privacy on an NDIS website

Referral forms often collect health and disability information, which is sensitive. Under the Privacy Act 1988, section 6FB says an activity that assesses, maintains or improves someone’s health is a health service, including when it takes place while caring for a person with a disability. Section 6D(4) says a business that provides a health service and holds health information (other than in an employee record) is not covered by the small business exemption, whatever its turnover. Check how this applies to your services.

Keep referral forms short, ask only for what you need to respond, and say what happens to the information. Our guide on website privacy policies in Australia lists what the policy must contain.

NDIS provider marketing beyond the website

A good site still needs people to find it. For most providers, that means a complete Google Business Profile for each location, steady relationships with local support coordinators, and fast replies to every referral. A coordinator with a participant waiting needs an answer, so aim to reply to every referral the same business day.

Behind the website, the referral form should go straight to the person who handles intake, with a reminder if nobody replies. Our guide to NDIS provider software and automation covers that side.

CentriWeb builds accessible websites on WordPress with referral forms that go straight to the person who handles intake.

Testing your NDIS website before launch

Before the site goes live, test it the way your visitors will use it. Put the mouse away and move through every page and form with the Tab key. Turn on the screen reader built into your phone or computer and listen to the homepage and the referral form. Open the site on an older phone over mobile data, and zoom the text to double size.

Then ask two or three real users to try it: a participant, a family member and a support coordinator you work with. Give each one a task, such as finding out whether you cover their suburb or sending a referral, and watch where they hesitate. Fix those spots first. Repeat the keyboard and screen reader checks whenever you add a page or change the form.

NDIS website design: pages to build first

1. Home: who you support, where, a referral button and phone number.
2. One page for each main support you offer.
3. Service areas.
4. About and team, with real photos.
5. Referrals and availability.
6. Funding and fees: how you can be paid.
7. Feedback and complaints, including how to contact the NDIS Commission.
8. Accessibility statement, Easy Read versions and the privacy policy.

Start with those eight, keep availability current, and review the wording each time the NDIS rules or your registration change.