From survival to sustainability: A financial blueprint for NDIS providers in 2025
- Rachel Riley
- May 8
- 3 min read
In a year that began with crisis mode for many NDIS providers, 2025 demands a shift toward structure, strategy, and sustainable financial operations. The sector stands at a crossroads, burdened by rising labour costs, tighter audits, and unrelenting compliance requirements. Financial fragility is no longer just a concern; it’s a constraint on mission.
As we’ve seen in the NDIS Provider Outlook Report 2025, ‘small inefficiencies compound into big financial problems’. But these issues aren’t unsolvable. With clear targets, system-wide visibility, and disciplined financial controls, providers can transition from loss to surplus, and from survival to leadership.
Facing hard truths: Where the money leaks
Half of all NDIS providers operated at a loss in 2023–24. Many didn’t realise it until the damage was done.
SIL homes, for example, are often operating below cost without clear visibility on the numbers. Services designed to support some of the most vulnerable Australians are being delivered in conditions that barely cover staff wages, let alone account for compliance, training, or management oversight.
Financial distress doesn’t start with catastrophic failure. It begins with blurred visibility; an unmonitored shortfall, a payroll error, an incorrectly scoped plan.
That’s why the first step toward financial sustainability is not just better budgeting. It’s systemic oversight.
What gets measured gets focus
To stabilise financially, providers must embed a practical, data-driven approach across every service line. The most effective providers are:
Auditing service-level profitability to understand which supports are sustainable, and which aren’t.
Implementing early warning systems to flag financial risks before they escalate.
Tracking progress against clear financial targets, from cost-to-income ratios to surplus thresholds.
The principles are simple. The systems need to be robust. Providers need a structured way of monitoring operational losses, tracking service funding adequacy, and flagging compliance or performance risks early. Not-for-profit doesn’t mean not-for-surplus - and getting ahead of financial issues is critical to protecting quality of care.
Build compliance into your operations… not on top of them
The compliance load is growing. In 2024 alone, penalties imposed by the NDIS Commission topped $1.6 million. This isn't just a legal problem - it’s a financial one. And the risk is compounded when reporting is done manually or across disconnected systems.
The solution? Treat compliance as part of the financial operating system. Systems like Drova GRC integrate with regulatory updates and automate compliance tracking. They can provide audit-ready records, transparency over funding, and clear accountability trails that reduce the risk of fines and delays.
Providers are spending less time on participant outcomes and more time on red tape, and they’re struggling to keep up. Streamlining that process isn’t just about cutting admin. It’s about freeing up resources to deliver care.
Workforce efficiency is a margin issue
Labour costs consume over 80% of total NDIS revenue, according to StewartBrown benchmarking data. That means small inefficiencies - missed roster gaps, payroll errors, or misaligned staffing models - have outsized impacts on the bottom line.
In practice, workforce planning needs to be linked to financial monitoring. From tracking the accuracy of payroll to aligning staffing with plan revenue, providers need systems that tie people directly to profitability. Those already doing this are not just reducing costs; they're retaining staff, improving morale, and growing with confidence.
From reaction to resilience
Across the board, the message is consistent: you can’t control what you can’t see. For NDIS providers looking to future-proof their services, the roadmap is clear:
Embed financial controls to reduce revenue leakage and cost overruns.
Use real-time insights to track service performance and funding adequacy.
Link compliance, finance, and workforce planning under one operational view.
Financial strength is mission-critical. The NDIS is one of Australia’s most transformative systems. But to keep delivering its promise, it needs providers that are financially resilient - not just passionate.
For those ready to take control, a structured GRC system may be your most important investment this year.
Learn more in our ‘5 Steps to a Surplus’ guide, a practical roadmap that outlines how NDIS providers can identify revenue leakage, strengthen compliance, and build long-term financial stability with Drova.
