The NDIS and allied health world is changing quickly, and a lot of providers are realising that the way they built their businesses over the last few years may not be the way they need to run them going forward. Pricing changes, reduced travel income and tighter funding are forcing business owners to look much more closely at where their money is coming from, how their team is spending time and whether their business is actually sustainable.

In this episode of the NDIS Provider Growth Journey, Michael speaks with Alyce Svensk about what she is seeing across allied health businesses right now. They talk about why providers can no longer assume referrals will simply keep turning up, why relying almost entirely on NDIS funding creates risk, and why having a Plan A, Plan B and Plan C is becoming increasingly important. Alyce explains that some providers are now having to learn business skills they never really needed before, including marketing, private client acquisition and understanding other funding pathways.

They also get into the difference between simply having a caseload and actually building a strong business. For years, many allied health providers could grow without doing much marketing because demand was already there. That environment is changing. Michael and Alyce talk about why providers need to understand what they are genuinely good at, become known for something and make a conscious decision about the type of clients and work they want rather than taking whatever happens to arrive.

Alyce also talks about the importance of having other leaders around you. Running a business can be isolating, and trying to work everything out yourself can waste an enormous amount of time. She shares what she is building through her business hub, where allied health business owners can learn from each other, keep up with changes affecting their businesses and have a place to talk through the practical problems that come with running a team.

If you run an NDIS or allied health business and you are wondering how to protect your profitability, diversify where your clients come from and build something that can keep working as the sector changes, this episode is worth listening to.

That was a great podcast.

If you want some one-on-one support, get in touch with me, michael@athletickoala.com.au.

The SCHADS Award is one of those things most NDIS providers know they need to get right, but very few people feel completely confident about. The problem is that getting it wrong can cost you in both directions. You can underpay staff without realising it, or you can overpay because you are trying to protect yourself from making a mistake.

In this episode of the NDIS Provider Growth Journey, Michael speaks with Garth Belic from Paycat about where providers are losing money through wages and rostering without even knowing it. They get into sleepovers, minimum shift requirements, broken shift allowances, rest periods between shifts, overtime and what happens when someone gets called in at the last minute and suddenly pushes into a much more expensive pay rate.

Garth also explains why rostering should not just be about filling a shift. Every rostering decision can have a wage consequence, and providers often do not discover that cost until payday. A staff member in their 77th hour of the fortnight, a short shift around a sleepover, or the wrong break between shifts can quickly eat into already small margins. For providers working under price caps, understanding those costs before the roster is finalised can make a big difference.

They also talk about what to do if you discover you have been paying staff incorrectly, why getting employment contracts right from the start matters, and why trying to manage SCHADS calculations manually in spreadsheets becomes risky as a team grows. Garth explains how Paycat approaches the problem by interpreting timesheets against the award and turning them into compliant payslips, as well as how wage costs could increasingly be surfaced while providers are actually building their rosters.

If you employ support workers, manage rostering, or find yourself spending hours trying to work out whether your payroll is actually right, this episode will help make the SCHADS Award a lot less mysterious.

That was a great podcast.

If you want some one-on-one support, get in touch with me, michael@athletickoala.com.au.

In this episode of the NDIS Provider Growth Journey Podcast, Michael sits down with Brett Sams from Psychosocial Safety Co to work through one big question: how do you market something that businesses genuinely need, but often don't understand the value of until it's too late?

Brett helps businesses reduce staff burnout, improve psychosocial safety and keep good people from leaving. But as Michael points out, selling "staff wellbeing" can be a hard sell when the person making the decision is thinking about revenue, recruitment costs and keeping the business running.

So this episode turns into a practical marketing session.

Michael and Brett look at who Brett should actually be marketing to, why targeting everyone usually means reaching no one useful, and why directors are a very different audience from managers or employees. They also talk about moving beyond the disability sector, targeting businesses where losing one key staff member can have a serious financial impact, and using LinkedIn much more deliberately.

A big part of the conversation is about changing the way Brett describes what he does. Instead of selling psychosocial wellbeing or workplace culture, Michael pushes him to connect the service directly to things directors care about, like staff retention, absenteeism, recruitment costs and the money lost when experienced staff walk out the door.

They also get into risk reversal, building an offer that's easier to say yes to, creating a smaller first step before asking someone to commit to a larger program, and why your marketing should speak directly to the person who can actually make the decision.

If you're running an NDIS, allied health or professional services business and you're struggling to explain the financial value of what you do, there's a lot in this episode to think about.

Find Brett Sams:
Website: https://psychosocialsafetyco.com.au/
Email: info@psychosocialsafetyco.com.au

Watch or listen to more episodes of the NDIS Provider Growth Journey Podcast:
https://athletickoala.com.au/ndis-podcast-provider-growth-journey/

#NDIS #NDISProviders #BusinessGrowth #Marketing #StaffRetention #PsychosocialSafety